Fanny och Alexander (1982)'s comments

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Pigsthreedifferentones

"Fanny and Alexander" more like just "Alexander"

she is more like a background character or a prop. This is Alex and the adult Ekdahls and Mr. Jacobi's film.

10 years 4 months ago

I thoroughly enjoyed the film. The art direction, cinematography, costuming, and the actors' performances were fantastic. I hope I'm not the only one, but I sensed a darkly comic undertone in some scenes and dialogue that I liked very much. Something else I must mention is the uncanny resemblance I noticed that the actress, Ewa Frölling, has to the actress, Emilia Clarke. There were moments where I was reminded of GOT.

9 years 1 month ago

jdjudge

The idea of it being condensed to, say, 1h45m, makes me want to jump into a pit of sulfur.

11 years 9 months ago

daisyaday

Far from being bored, I find myself thinking about this film long after viewing it.

12 years 4 months ago

dombrewer

I know I'll be firmly in the minority, but it left me a bit underwhelmed to be honest - I didn't really care for the characters and thought the story was incredibly thin given the running time. Give me Bergman's 1950s and '60s output any day.

12 years 6 months ago

IanWass

They should have separate "check-able" versions (i.e. television and theatrical) for this and for "Scenes from a Marriage."

11 years 8 months ago

Siskoid

Ingmar Bergman's semi-autobiographical Fanny and Alexander doesn't work like a normal memoir, since Bergman has said he is not only Alexander, but the strict bishop who becomes the mother's second husband as well. Even with the 188-minute theatrical release (I'll attempt the 312-minute TV version some day), there's almost too much to unpack, but I'll give my readers some leads. First, knowing the director's interest in existentialism and the nature of God, this is the story of a boy trapped between an artist's creative impulse (the theatrical family) and a moral rigidity (the bishop) that while exterior forces in the film, compete within Bergman himself, as evidenced by the visions of characters representing each. In their power dynamic, we also glimpse the conflict between fiction (lies) and Truth. Though the film starts fairly realistically, magic eventually enters the frame, perhaps because these are a child's memories, and the explanations fantastical (though there are plenty of scenes where the children do not figure). In the sumptuous and perfectly posed production (and its four distinct houses), I detect a history of theater (from presentational Passion Play to Shakespeare and on to Strindberg and his dramatization of the unconscious. The houses are also the architecture of religion, starting with a Catholic Christmas, imposing Protestant asceticism, and escaping to Jewish mysticism. As for why Fanny shares the title when she is essentially a mute character, we must turn to the always-present themes of time running out, impermanence, and the quest for continuity the family offers. And so what the characters cling to, lovingly, kindly and for some, possessively, is family. This is Alexander's story and perspective, but he cannot be dissociated from his sister. The title ties their fates together, no matter what. Like I said, almost too much to unpack.

4 years 4 months ago

andyreilly

Gorgeous reds

9 years 7 months ago

dvdgrdnr

Can I check this if I've seen the 4 part TV version, or is that cheating?
Upvote if you think I can check it, Downvote if you think I shouldn't check it. Thanks.

1 year 8 months ago

topichtennis

You got to love that Jew Magic.

12 years 6 months ago

Emiam

9/10

NB. This is the 2 hours shorter original cinema-version (in opposite to the 5 hours TV-version, also here on the website)!

(removed by mod: please post in English)

6 years 2 months ago

Carota

watch the 5.5h version. totally worth it.

9 years 8 months ago

Jonas2k

Watched the theatrical version and it was fantastic. I'm definitely going to see the TV-version next time!

11 years 3 months ago

deadendjob

A great way to finish a fantastic film career for Bergman. Sven Nykvist's cinematography makes every shot a lush mixture of beauty and colour. An unsurpassed epic of incomprehensible greatness. Although... there were a few 'meh' moments. 9/10

12 years 11 months ago

Sobchak

Great film, think I will have to see the DC once.

12 years 10 months ago