or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
15 used & new from Ł6.10
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
From The Life Of The Marionettes [DVD] [1980]
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images

From The Life Of The Marionettes [DVD] [1980]

DVD ~ Robert Atzorn
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: Ł19.99
Price: Ł6.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: Ł13.01 (65%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 3 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 10? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
12 new from Ł6.93 3 used from Ł6.10
Learn about Lovefilm
Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

Frequently Bought Together

From The Life Of The Marionettes [DVD] [1980] + The Rite [DVD] [1969] + Music In Darkness [1948] [DVD]
Total RRP: Ł59.97
Price For All Three: Ł20.94

Show availability and shipping details

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

From The Life Of The Marionettes [DVD] [1980]
60% buy the item featured on this page:
From The Life Of The Marionettes [DVD] [1980] 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
Ł6.98
Cries And Whispers [1972] [DVD]
16% buy
Cries And Whispers [1972] [DVD] 4.2 out of 5 stars (5)
Ł6.98
The Silence [DVD] [1963]
10% buy
The Silence [DVD] [1963] 4.3 out of 5 stars (7)
Ł7.98
Hour Of The Wolf [DVD] [1968]
7% buy
Hour Of The Wolf [DVD] [1968] 4.0 out of 5 stars (5)
Ł2.98
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Actors: Robert Atzorn, Heinz Bennent, Martin Benrath, Toni Berger, Christine Buchegger
  • Directors: Ingmar Bergman
  • Writers: Ingmar Bergman
  • Producers: Ingmar Bergman, Helmut Rasp, Horst Wendlandt, Lew Grade, Martin Starger
  • Format: Black & White, Full Screen, PAL
  • Language German
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: All Regions
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 18
  • Studio: Tartan Video
  • DVD Release Date: 25 Feb 2002
  • Run Time: 99 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005V4WV
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 41,745 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Made in Munich while Bergman was in self-imposed exile from Sweden, From the Life of the Marionettes is not so much a "whodunit" as a "whydunnit". The film opens with the shockingly violent and senseless murder of a prostitute by Peter, a young, successful businessman. Through a series of non-chronological flashbacks to a time before the crime, we attempt to fathom just what impelled Peter to perpetrate this terrible murder.

Along with wife Katarina, the character Peter also featured in Bergman's 1973 film Scenes from a Marriage. Here, as there, we see that they are wedded in the sense of being emotionally chained to each other, yet hating each other for their mutual dependency. There is also a perturbing scene in which they both appear to "get off" when he takes a knife to her throat. His cold and duplicitous psychiatrist glibly ascribes the murder to a repressed homosexuality resulting in a violent outburst, while Katarina's business partner, who is gay, appears to harbour a desire to sabotage the pair's marriage. This film has an airless, fake-lit quality about it, which reflects the conditions of the characters' lives but by the end, leaves you mesmerised and still uncertain as to why what happened has happened. A late but great Bergman work.

On the DVD: This edition adequately enhances the stark monochrome in which most of the film is set. Bergman's notes reveal that his depictions of Peter in his psychiatric ward were based on his own behaviour during a recent spell in a similar institution following his arrest for tax evasion. Philip Strick's critical notes observe that the sparing use of colour at the beginning and end of the film signify what may have been the only times in Peter's life when he "experienced reality". --David Stubbs



Video Description

DVD Special Features: Star and Director Filmographies
Scene Selection
Philip Strick Film Notes
Extract from 'Bergman's book 'Images-My Life in Film'
The Bergman Collection Trailer

Language: German Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English
Video Aspect Ratio: Original 1.33:1 Ratio

See all Reviews

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Rite [DVD] [1969]

The Rite [DVD] [1969]

DVD ~ Gunnar Bjornstrand
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)  Ł6.98
Cries And Whispers [1972] [DVD]

Cries And Whispers [1972] [DVD]

DVD ~ Harriet Andersson
4.2 out of 5 stars (5)  Ł6.98
Music In Darkness [1948] [DVD]

Music In Darkness [1948] [DVD]

DVD ~ Mai Zetterling
3.0 out of 5 stars (1)  Ł6.98
After The Rehearsal [DVD]

After The Rehearsal [DVD]

DVD ~ Liv Ullmann
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  Ł6.98
Autumn Sonata [1978] [DVD]

Autumn Sonata [1978] [DVD]

DVD ~ Ingrid Bergman
4.8 out of 5 stars (6)  Ł6.98
› Explore similar items

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
german
bergman

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Bergman's most underrated masterpiece., 11 May 2004
From the life of the Marionettes is not known as one of Ingmar Bergman's best film. Indeed after having watched it for the first time I was distinctly unnmoved. The film is slow and quiet and though it is only 100 minutes or so long, it might seem@like far more. Like most Bergman, it needs to be watched in the correct mood. If you're tired or want not to think,@this film will not be what you're lookinng for.
After the second viewing however, I was struck by the subtle brilliance of this movie (so subtle indeed that I couldn`t see it first time around).
We begin by witnessing a man killing a young woman. It is an angry, fearful event. This man is Peter Engermann, as we find out later, and the woman is a young prostitute named Katarina, or 'Ka' as she is known. The audience is treated after this to a massively complex film structurally, being shown events from up to weeks before the murder and likewise after. This confusing way of showing us the happenings of the time leading up to and following the murder highlight Peter's intense emotional struggles as he fights with himself over his sexual frustration and his desire to kill his own wife, also called Katarina, an ironic coincidence not lost on Peter. This deep desire is, we see, as a result of far more than just hate. He seems not to know why he wants to kill her and the audience sees scenes of quite touching closeness between the couple, which adds to the sense of confusion surrounding his bloodlust.
'Real scenes', where we see characters interacting, are spliced intermittently with scenes where we see just one character, for instance Peter's mother, being interviewed by the police, somewhat in the Rashomon mould. It is in these scenes where one may lose interest. However, they provide a wonderful insight into the emotions of those affected by Peter's actions and the mystery surrounding Peter's feelings is heightened by the various speeches.
One must pay attention throughout the film to appreciate it's brilliance. Each character we meet is in some way explored, from Peter's secretary, who shows, if even for just a moment, a concern for his welfare, to the desperate Tim, a colleague of Peter's wife, lonely, unhappy and in love with Peter, as we find out from his tragic interview with the police.
The acting is superb, all delivering memorable performances, with Robert Atzorn as Peter showing us once again that Bergman can pick a leading male when he wants one, and none of Bergman' weighty, highly experimental screenplay is lost we imagine, in it's transferal from page to screen, or we would certainly be looking at one of the greatest films ever-made.
The film is held aloft, triumphant in it's splender, by Sven Nykvist's mind-boggling cinematography which is, as always magical. Indeed, another remarkable thing about this film is it's colour, or lack of it. It begins in the bright reds of the peep-show where Ka works but, after only 10 minnutes or so, goes black and white and stays that way until the epilogue. The modern audience may perhaps prefer the colour, but one feels instinctively that black and white suits better Bergman's themes and the dark nature of the film.
The DVD, as with all the Tartan Bergman's is interesting and insightful, with extracts from Bergman's book, 'Images-my life in film', proving to be the highlight of the SPECIAL FEATURES section.
Bergman is quoted on the back of the box as stating that 'I am rather proud of From the Life of the Marionettes' and it's not hard to see why. It is a must for Bergman fans and really anyone who loves a beautifully made, beautifully performed piece of cinematic art, as this film is. Bergman's most underrated masterpiece, but a masterpiece all the same.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars ANOTHER BERGMAN EXPERIMENT, 18 Oct 2007
By stuart "s.vernon" (MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
Ingmar Bergman's From the Life of the Marionettes, his last film done while in exile during the late 70's, hearkens back to his experimental period in the mid to late 60's. Here he's trying for a deconstructive way to get inside the mind of his subjects, most notably the character of Peter Egermann. The fatal flaw of the film, however, is also something that adds an unusual kind of connection to the material for a Bergman film. It's erratic in its narrative as the director tests himself with jumping around from different times around a single event. But unlike how this has been done by the likes of Tarantino, this is meant not really as a useful story trick, but to try to get different perspectives and acute angles of the subject at hand. The film doesn't reach its greatness for the same reason that it does keep itself watchable- this is very murky, depressing times, loaded with dialog that may or may not go ways to help explain or give some interest in the supporting/main characters, and some startling, if dated, surreal experiences.

It's also a little strange that Bergman decided to connect these characters, however loosely, to the couple in the first episode of the Scenes From a Marriage series, where Peter and Katarina (then played by Jan Maljsmo and Bibi Andersson) were the volatile arguers who juxtaposed the main focus of the film. Here, portrayed by Robert Atzorn and Christine Buchegger, are not only not as spot-on as the former actors (though they are still quite good and splendid in some scenes), the couple is picked under Bergman's psychological microscope where the relationship is very strained and a fatalistic. The opening scene is definitely a mind-blower, with an intensity and harsh sexual edge that is uncommon to Bergman's films (one of his best openings to be sure). Indeed, one of the nice twists, a little shocking at first and then intriguing, is how the filmmaker lets out inhibitions and shows the more explicit images of nudity and the sensual, as well as rock and disco music.

Along with a fragmented approach to the storytelling, where infidelities, insecurities, shame, depression, and outright rage and confusion are brought out in segments that range from the convincing to missing the mark. In a way, maybe Bergman's aims are lowered this time in exile, and he delves more into a doomed personality with visual surprise. Sven Nyvkist, as usual, is still very good with what he does in the frame, especially as this is 90% black and white (with a strange blue tint at times), and his services come into great use in a visual detailing of a dream involving Peter and Katarina naked in a wide, white space. It's maybe the best sequence in the film. In experimenting with the dramatic interpretations, it's not as successful, and some of the supporting actors aren't as good as the leads (a scene with one of the actors talking into a mirror is one of my least favorite scenes Bergman's ever wrote/directed).

Its obscurity is not, therefore, that staggering to see. But it is a good and occasionally spine-tingling character study, and if you are into the filmmaker's work already it's a find that might prove better or more fulfilling. 7.5/10
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Too much navel gazing..., 18 Oct 2007

Whereas Tarkovsky lets the poetic image speak for itself, Bergman is compelled to plaster his cinematography (near-perfect as it is) with the usual existentialist cliches.

Why don't his characters just get on with it instead of agonising over sweet-nothings?

Give me Tarkovsky any day.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums
  • drama  (151 discussions)

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject






i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.