A Filmmaker's Guide to: Ingrid Bergman

In this chapter of ‘the filmmaker’s guide’ we’re actually going to be learning about literature and film together. I understand that many of you are sitting in university during difficult times and finding it increasingly hard to study and I understand that many of you who are not at university or not planning on it are possibly stuck of what to do, need a break or even need to catch up on learning film before you get to the next level. This guide will be brief but will also contain: new vocabulary, concepts and theories, films to watch and we will be exploring something taboo until now in the ‘filmmaker’s guide’ - academia (abyss opens). Each article will explore a different concept of film, philosophy, literature or bibliography/filmography etc. in order to give you something new to learn each time we see each other. You can use some of the words amongst family and friends to sound clever or you can get back to me (email in bio) and tell me how you’re doing. So, strap in and prepare for the filmmaker’s guide to film studies because it is going to be one wild ride.

Ingrid Bergman

Who was she?

Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish-American actress who was born in 1915 and worked in film until around the time of her death in 1982. She would begin acting in Swedish Cinema and grew up speaking various languages including: Swedish, German, French, Italian and English. Moving to the USA in the late 30s to get work in her first English-Speaking films, she was known for her work as the emotional female character, having a great range and has been since cited as one of the most influential and talented people in acting history.

What did she do in film?

Known for her natural good looks and her innocent draw in comparison to the glamorous and overly done-up approach of her era, she was a fresh new face that people thought would draw a new kind of audience. It worked and she was also super talented with it. She went from portraying victims of psychological abuse to woman who had come searching for something new and exciting in a city of sin. She was a leading lady in many films and is remembered as such with many actresses to this day copying her style, her acting technique and the ways of her looks and stature. Let us now have a look at her greatest roles and which ones she is most remembered for in order of her career:

Casablanca (1942) dir. by Martin Curtiz

Portraying the leading Ilsa, she is the former lover of Humphrey Bogart and has woven many half-truths into their former relationship. Whilst this happens, there are a number of things that crumble around her including that one song that was 'their song'. She is wise and emotional, she has an incredible amount of draw to her and this is possibly one of her greatest roles ever.

"Gaslight" (1944) dir. by George Cukor

Portraying the confused Paula, she becomes a victim of psychological abuse in a case so twisted that it seems almost too evil to be real. Personally, this is my favourite Ingrid Bergman role and one of my top ten favourite films of all time. The speech she makes when she's trying to find the knife is brilliant and is performed so well that it is, in my humble opinion, the best monologue ever performed by an actress in the history of cinema. I have never seen anything quite like it.

Anastasia (1956) dir. by Anatole Litvak

In the title role, she portrays a woman caught in a war, and caught in love. She is one of the most emotional characters I have witnessed on the screen and even though this film is highly underrated I say that you should watch it. I cannot help but saying how much emotion she can convey with one facial expression - it is absolutely brilliant.

Conclusion

It is no wonder as to why Ingrid Bergman is respected as being one of the greatest actresses in cinema history beside the likes of Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Mary Pickford. She is one of the greatest of her time and was known for her increasing amounts of talent, research and her brilliant work ethic on the screen. Even though she may not be with us anymore, her work is the way she lives on and we can keep her legacy alive forever.