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Sawdust and Tinsel was Bergman s thirteenth feature as a director and his most complex and shocking film to date. Albert, the owner of a small and tawdry circus, arrives at a small town where he attempts to effect a reconciliation with his wife Agda whom he left for the circus many years previous. She refuses to resume the marriage whilst Albert s lover, Anne, upset at Albert s rejection of her, has a humiliating affair with an actor, Frans. During a performance given by the circus, Frans begins to taunt Albert and, enraged, challenges him to a fight during which he is severely beaten. Deciding that suicide is his only escape he tries to take his own life but fails. As the circus leaves town, the ill-fated couple find themselves reluctantly and miserably committed to each other. Special Features: -Bergman Trailers -Film Notes
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By MRAM
Format:DVD
Ingmar Bergman's Sawdust and Tinsel, tells the story of Albert (Åke Grönberg), a circus ringmaster, who arrives at his former hometown, where he attempts to restart his marriage with his wife Agda (Annika Tretow), whom he left for the circus. She rejects him, whilst Albert's mistress Anne (Harriet Andersson), upset by his indifference towards her, has an affair with Frans (Hasse Ekman), a theater actor.
During a performance given by the circus, Frans taunts Albert. Enraged, Albert challenges Frans to a fight and loses. Albert tries and fails, to commit suicide. In the end Albert and Anna have no choice, but to except their fate and reluctently remain unhappily committed to one another.
The most interesting scene was a flashback, concerning the circus clown Frost (Anders Ek) and his estranged wife Alma (Gudrun Brost).
This mesmerisng scene depicts a trusting Frost coming down to the beach, to find his wife entertaining an army platoon. Seeing her enjoy the company of other men destroys him. As the soldiers laugh at the couple, Alma face changes from happiness to humiliation and then hysteria. As Frost carries her back, the look of pain and sadness spreading across his face is tragic. This brilliant scene is silent except for the music, the jeering of the soldiers and the splash of the waves, creating a spellbinding, haunting effect.
This is Bergman's thirteenth film as a director. Sawdust and Tinsel is considered to be the most complicated and shocking film he ever made. The cinematography by Sven Nykvist (their first collaboration),the brilliant screenplay and fantastic acting, makes this an early Bergman masterpiece.... Read more ›
During a performance given by the circus, Frans taunts Albert. Enraged, Albert challenges Frans to a fight and loses. Albert tries and fails, to commit suicide. In the end Albert and Anna have no choice, but to except their fate and reluctently remain unhappily committed to one another.
The most interesting scene was a flashback, concerning the circus clown Frost (Anders Ek) and his estranged wife Alma (Gudrun Brost).
This mesmerisng scene depicts a trusting Frost coming down to the beach, to find his wife entertaining an army platoon. Seeing her enjoy the company of other men destroys him. As the soldiers laugh at the couple, Alma face changes from happiness to humiliation and then hysteria. As Frost carries her back, the look of pain and sadness spreading across his face is tragic. This brilliant scene is silent except for the music, the jeering of the soldiers and the splash of the waves, creating a spellbinding, haunting effect.
This is Bergman's thirteenth film as a director. Sawdust and Tinsel is considered to be the most complicated and shocking film he ever made. The cinematography by Sven Nykvist (their first collaboration),the brilliant screenplay and fantastic acting, makes this an early Bergman masterpiece.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A. Smith
Format:DVD
One of my favourite Bergman films, this is from his early works. It is great to see the Criterion Collection release this special edition with good extra features (a newly restored high definition digital transfer with five minutes of new material, audio commentary by Bergman scholar Peter Crowe, a video introduction from Bergman from 2003, and an essay booklet).
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This early Bergman film is the potent visual seed from which all his later (greater) films grow.To see it is to see them before they had been articulated and flowered.All the acting in this superb film is first rate: Ann,(Anderson),dripping with sensuality, but with a profound saving innocence.Albert(Gronberg), driven as the circus director,by anger and humiliation.And Frost(Eckman), the clown to end all clowns,who we see at the beginning in an expressionistic flash-back shot in stark sunlight of unimmaginable horror in long-off crowd shots or in close-ups comparable to Christ carrying his cross(his partner,Alma). We are in a travelling circus trekking across the country to its next town.This town is where Albert's wife lives with his children and he's going to see them.She is now successful and he wants to leave his younger mistress and the circus and settle down in security and peace. Anne fears him returning to his wife and she cuckolds him with a sleazy theatrical cad.Bergman's vision of the sexual-emotional battle between the sexes is particulary well realized,the hoops we all(yes us) have to jump through to bond through humiliation and desire and the need for security. However the creative artist -another theme-is driven by demons and lays bare his soul.We also get the interplay and contrast between cinematic space and theatrical space.Bergman came from a theatrical tradition and utilises it with his use of light and shadow and long-shot.With cinematic space, he moves right up close or people move towards the camera like Anderson.Albert's close ups show him in all his sweaty suffering.But he is, like the theatre director, a tyrant and they both keep their shows on the road.But the theatre folk look down their noses at the circus folk at the bottom of the pecking order.... Read more ›
By K. Gordon
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
Less beloved by many critics than much of Bergman's best known work and
I can understand why. The overly melodramatic main story of love and
betrayal in a small-time circus is pretty banal stuff.
But for me the film was saved by the beautiful images of the first
Bergman/Sven Nyqvist teaming, and the short prologue piece - far braver
and more experimental than the main body of the film itself - of a
clown from the same circus and his humiliating love for an aging diva,
It's so much more interesting than the very similarly themed main story
that the device sort of backfires.
Still, this is full enough with bravery, images and ideas, that it can
compensate for its heavy- handed or over-the-top moments.
I can understand why. The overly melodramatic main story of love and
betrayal in a small-time circus is pretty banal stuff.
But for me the film was saved by the beautiful images of the first
Bergman/Sven Nyqvist teaming, and the short prologue piece - far braver
and more experimental than the main body of the film itself - of a
clown from the same circus and his humiliating love for an aging diva,
It's so much more interesting than the very similarly themed main story
that the device sort of backfires.
Still, this is full enough with bravery, images and ideas, that it can
compensate for its heavy- handed or over-the-top moments.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By K. Gordon
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
Less beloved by many critics than much of Bergman's best known work and
I can understand why. The overly melodramatic main story of love and
betrayal in a small-time circus is pretty banal stuff.
But for me the film was saved by the beautiful images of the first
Bergman/Sven Nyqvist teaming, and the short prologue piece - far braver
and more experimental than the main body of the film itself - of a
clown from the same circus and his humiliating love for an aging diva,
It's so much more interesting than the very similarly themed main story
that the device sort of backfires.
Still, this is full enough with bravery, images and ideas, that it can
compensate for its heavy- handed or over-the-top moments.
I can understand why. The overly melodramatic main story of love and
betrayal in a small-time circus is pretty banal stuff.
But for me the film was saved by the beautiful images of the first
Bergman/Sven Nyqvist teaming, and the short prologue piece - far braver
and more experimental than the main body of the film itself - of a
clown from the same circus and his humiliating love for an aging diva,
It's so much more interesting than the very similarly themed main story
that the device sort of backfires.
Still, this is full enough with bravery, images and ideas, that it can
compensate for its heavy- handed or over-the-top moments.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Unwatchable
Sven Nikvist's first collaboration with Bergman makes for beautiful images in a terminally boring film.
Published on 7 Feb 2009 by SD
4.0 out of 5 stars
so weirdly good!
Bergman really has an eye for capturing weird moments and surreal experiences in his films. He's a really brilliant director. Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2008 by Ms. F. I. Macdonald
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