{"id":8151,"date":"2009-07-13T11:53:50","date_gmt":"2009-07-13T18:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=8151"},"modified":"2022-11-25T12:15:08","modified_gmt":"2022-11-25T19:15:08","slug":"phantom-carriage-the-1921","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=8151","title":{"rendered":"Phantom Carriage, The (1921)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;The one to whom something fatal happens on New Year&#8217;s Eve is forced to drive the Phantom Carriage!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Phantom-Carriage-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Phantom-Carriage-Poster-211x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"211\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-59533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Phantom-Carriage-Poster-211x300.png 211w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Phantom-Carriage-Poster-721x1024.png 721w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Phantom-Carriage-Poster-90x128.png 90w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Phantom-Carriage-Poster-190x270.png 190w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Phantom-Carriage-Poster.png 755w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nOn New Year&#8217;s Eve, an alcoholic (Victor Sjostrom) is visited by the driver (Tore Svennberg) of the &#8220;phantom carriage&#8221; of death, and forced to reflect on his boorish life, during which he abused his innocent wife (Hilda Borgstrom) and rebuffed the assistance of a do-gooding missionary (Astrid Holm).\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>Do-Gooders<\/li>\n<li>Domestic Abuse<\/li>\n<li>Flashback Films<\/li>\n<li>Ghosts<\/li>\n<li>Horror Films<\/li>\n<li>Scandinavian Films<\/li>\n<li>Silent Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBased on a novel by Nobel Prize-winning Swedish author <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Selma_Lagerl%C3%B6f\">Selma Lagerlof<\/a>, <em>The Phantom Carriage<\/em> is primarily known for the influence it had on Ingmar Bergman, who cast the film&#8217;s director (Victor Sjostrom) in the lead role of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15365\"><em>Wild Strawberries<\/em> (1957)<\/a>, and paid explicit homage to its imagery and themes. Yet it remains an important historical milestone in its own right, due simply to its impressive technical innovations: cinematographer Julius Jaenzon, working with lab executive Eugen Hellman, created stunning &#8220;double-exposure&#8221; effects which resulted in truly memorable and haunting imagery (see stills below). Unfortunately, the narrative itself &#8212; a Christian variation of sorts on Dickens&#8217; <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15295\"><em>A Christmas Carol<\/em><\/a>, and a clear precursor to Capra&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15461\"><em>It&#8217;s a Wonderful Life<\/em> (1946)<\/a> &#8212; is less impressive. The film&#8217;s multiple-flashback structure is unduly confusing, and Sjostrom&#8217;s troubled protagonist is such a boorish lout &#8212; he drinks, terrorizes his wife and kids, and knowingly tries to infect as many people as possible with his tuberculosis &#8212; that it&#8217;s truly difficult to feel any sympathy for him as he cowers at death&#8217;s door. Regardless of its narrative shortcomings, however, film fanatics will surely want to check out this film &#8212; which Bergman reportedly re-watched every year after he first stumbled upon it at the age of 15 &#8212; at least once, for its stunning visuals and historical relevance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> See <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Phantom_Carriage\">Wikipedia&#8217;s entry on the film<\/a> to read more about its production history and subsequent influence on cinema. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Julius Jaenzon&#8217;s innovative double-exposure cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/phantom-carriage-double-exposure.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/phantom-carriage-double-exposure.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8158\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/phantom-carriage-driver.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/phantom-carriage-driver.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8159\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Many haunting images<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/phantom-carriage-carriage-in-distance.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/phantom-carriage-carriage-in-distance.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8160\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/phantom-carriage-crosses.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/phantom-carriage-crosses.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8161\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes. 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>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0012364\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/review\/2649\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/724173\/the-phantom-carriage#articles-reviews?articleId=220922\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The one to whom something fatal happens on New Year&#8217;s Eve is forced to drive the Phantom Carriage!&#8221; Synopsis: On New Year&#8217;s Eve, an alcoholic (Victor Sjostrom) is visited by the driver (Tore Svennberg) of the &#8220;phantom carriage&#8221; of death, and forced to reflect on his boorish life, during which he abused his innocent wife (Hilda Borgstrom) and rebuffed the assistance of a do-gooding missionary (Astrid Holm). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Do-Gooders Domestic Abuse Flashback Films Ghosts Horror Films&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=8151\"> 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-8151","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\/8151","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=8151"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88453,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8151\/revisions\/88453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}