{"id":31799,"date":"2013-06-25T17:10:36","date_gmt":"2013-06-26T00:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31799"},"modified":"2021-01-01T10:55:48","modified_gmt":"2021-01-01T17:55:48","slug":"magician-the-1958","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31799","title":{"rendered":"Magician, The (1958)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You represent what I detest most of all: the unexplainable.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-Poster-144x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"144\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-31802\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-Poster-144x300.jpg 144w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-Poster-61x128.jpg 61w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-Poster.jpg 288w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 144px) 100vw, 144px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn 1840s Sweden, a mute magician (Max von Sydow) and his troupe arrive in a small town, where the police commissioner (Toivo Powlo), a doctor (Gunnar Bjornstrand), and a civil servant (Erland Josephson) all attempt to determine whether von Sydow&#8217;s powers are real or illusionary.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ingmar Bergman Films<\/li>\n<li>Magicians<\/li>\n<li>Max von Sydow Films<\/li>\n<li>Morality Police<\/li>\n<li>Scandinavian Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAccording to IMDb, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0000005\/\">Ingmar Bergman<\/a> directed no less than 67 films (including some made-for-TV titles and some shorts) over the course of his lengthy career; of these, Peary lists 18 in his <em>GFTFF<\/em>. <em>The Magician<\/em> (also known as <em>Ansiktet<\/em>, or <em>The Face<\/em>) is chronologically the fifth &#8220;entry&#8221; in his book, following <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19859\"><em>The Naked Night \/ Sawdust and Tinsel<\/em> (1953)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31807\"><em>Smiles of a Summer Night<\/em> (1955)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15365\"><em>Wild Strawberries<\/em> (1957)<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=48778\"><em>The Seventh Seal<\/em> (1957)<\/a>; of these, it bears most resemblance to <em>The Naked Night<\/em> in its focus on travelling performers, who represent a disruptive presence to staid Scandinavian morality. In both films, Bergman compassionately yet ruthlessly reveals the hidden vulnerabilities of those whose calling is to provide respite and\/or entertainment to the masses &#8212; and in <em>The Magician<\/em>, Bergman simultaneously exposes &#8220;magic&#8221; (a proxy for cinema?) as a necessary deception, a tool we use to allow ourselves the enjoyment and satisfaction we crave. In one particularly humorous and bawdy vignette, for instance, a cook lets herself be sweet-talked by a salesman in the troupe, revealing shortly thereafter that she&#8217;s aware his &#8220;love potion&#8221; is a sham but doesn&#8217;t mind, since her real goal is to bed him. (Ah, these refreshingly frank Scandinavian films! How 1950s American audiences must have eaten them up!) <\/p>\n<p>This being a Bergman film, however, other vignettes are much less light-hearted. The central storyline &#8212; regarding von Sydow&#8217;s mute magician and his wife (Ingrid Thulin), dressed to look like his young male accomplice as part of their collective disguise &#8212; involves scandal, shame, and infidelity; and a subplot involving a suicidal traveler (Bengt Ekerot &#8211; &#8220;Death&#8221; in <em>The Seventh Seal<\/em>, though you may not recognize him) is decidedly grim. It&#8217;s to Bergman&#8217;s credit that he manages to mix sensibilities so fluidly throughout his  episodic narrative, shifting easily from comedy to tragedy as various characters&#8217; stories come together to tell a broader thematic tale. Bergman seems to be arguing that we all want to be &#8220;seduced&#8221; (visually, romantically, metaphorically) in one way or another, yet we simultaneously crave rational control over ourselves and our environment; the question is, can these conflicting goals co-exist? Unfortunately, <em>The Magician<\/em>&#8216;s narrative gets a bit muddled towards the end, making it less satisfying as a whole than it could be; however, it remains worthy viewing at least once by all film fanatics.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gunnar Fischer&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-Cinematography.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-Cinematography.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"601\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31801\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-Cinematography.jpg 800w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-Cinematography-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-Cinematography-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine performances by the entire cast<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-von-Sydow.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-von-Sydow.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-von-Sydow.jpg 800w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-von-Sydow-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Magician-von-Sydow-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Bergman&#8217;s slyly satirical screenplay\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as yet another provocative early Bergman film. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Foreign Gem<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0051365\/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2\">IMDb entry<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/review?res=9F00EED8123CE63BBC4051DFBE668382649EDE\">NY Times Original Review<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.tvguide.com\/the-magician\/review\/105256\">TV Guide Review<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/moria.co.nz\/fantasy\/ansiktet-themagician.htm\">Moria Review<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s3281magi.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cinematicthreads.com\/review.php?id=3282&#038;ltr=M\">Cinematic Threads Capsule Review<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/ansiktet\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You represent what I detest most of all: the unexplainable.&#8221; Synopsis: In 1840s Sweden, a mute magician (Max von Sydow) and his troupe arrive in a small town, where the police commissioner (Toivo Powlo), a doctor (Gunnar Bjornstrand), and a civil servant (Erland Josephson) all attempt to determine whether von Sydow&#8217;s powers are real or illusionary. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Ingmar Bergman Films Magicians Max von Sydow Films Morality Police Scandinavian Films Review: According to IMDb, Ingmar Bergman directed&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31799\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31799"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61001,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31799\/revisions\/61001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}