Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
The Magician
Ingmar Bergman's excellent ensemble piece concerns a 19th-century mesmerist and a scientist and police chief out to discredit him.
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Overview
Underrated (perhaps due to its sly comedy and a chilling climactic scene that uses horror tropes), this excellent ensemble piece concerns the hostile encounter between a 19th-century mesmerist (Max von Sydow) and the bourgeois authorities – a scientist and a police chief – bent on discrediting him. The film summarises Bergman’s preoccupations to date, while offering further wry reflections on the illusionistic aspects of art and entertainment.
Related
Tchaikovsky's Wife Tchaikovsky's Wife
Biopic 2022 144 mins Director: Kirill Serebrennikov
Award-winning director Kirill Serebrennikov (Petrov's Flu) charts the tumultuous relationship between the 19th-century composer and his wife, in this poignant and powerful biopic.
Nezouh Nezouh
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: Soudade Kaadan
Enchanting feminist coming-of-age drama, from award winning Syrian director Soudade Kaadan.
The Turin Horse The Turin Horse
Drama 2011 155 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Béla Tarr’s devastating, starkly pared-down final feature, inspired by Nietzsche.
Werckmeister Harmonies Werckmeister Harmonies
Drama 2000 147 mins Director: Béla Tarr
A stuffed whale sparks social apocalypse in this haunting cinematic masterpiece from Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky.
The Man from London The Man from London
Drama 2007 139 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Tilda Swinton stars in this profoundly nocturnal Georges Simenon adaptation.
Pandora's Box Pandora's Box
Drama 1928 134 mins Silent Director: G.W. Pabst
Louise Brooks dazzles as the iconic showgirl who leaves a trail of destruction in her wake, in one of the great silent films of the Weimar era.
Clemency Clemency
Drama 2019 112 mins Director: Chinonye Chukwu
Alfre Woodard is quietly devastating as a weary prison warden presiding over her twelfth execution, in this Sundance-winning death row drama.
Naked Naked
Drama 1993 131 mins Director: Mike Leigh
David Thewlis stuns as the motormouth predator of Mike Leigh's divisive masterpiece.
The Quiet Girl The Quiet Girl
Drama 2021 91 mins Director: Colm Bairéad
A neglected girl lives a joyful summer in Colm Bairéad's Academy Award-nominated debut that combines outstanding beauty and heart-wrenching performances.
Blue Jean Blue Jean
Drama 2022 97 mins Director: Georgia Oakley
A closeted PE teacher reckons with her identity during Thatcherite Britain in Georgia Oakley’s delicate yet gripping BAFTA-nominated debut.
Leviathan Leviathan
Drama 2014 136 mins Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Winner of Best Film at the 2014 London Film Festival, the latest film from Andrey Zvyagintsev (Elena) is a gripping study of corrupt politics in modern Russia.
Scrapper Scrapper
Comedy 2023 90 mins Director: Charlotte Regan
A gorgeous and colourful heart-warming gem from Charlotte Regan, one of the best new voices in British film.
Through a Glass Darkly Through a Glass Darkly
Drama 1961 89 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
The first part of Ingmar Bergman's 'Faith Trilogy', about a writer (Björnstrand) who joins his daughter, son and son-in-law on holiday, where tensions soon arise.
Winter Light Winter Light
Drama 1962 81 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman's highly personal treatise on the torments of faith, in which a widowed village pastor struggles to deal with his parishioners and ex-lover.
The Seventh Seal The Seventh Seal
Fantasy 1957 96 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman’s best-known film is a brilliant allegorical drama starring Max von Sydow as a knight trying to elude his own death.
Cries and Whispers Cries and Whispers
Drama 1972 91 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
A dying woman (Harriet Andersson) is attended to in her rural mansion by her sisters, in Ingmar Bergman's vivid examination of the human soul.
The Silence The Silence
Drama 1963 95 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Two sisters, one ailing, the other with her young son, check into a hotel in a foreign city readying itself for war, in Ingmar Bergman's nightmarish vision of emotional isolation.
Winter Light Winter Light
Drama 1962 81 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman's highly personal treatise on the torments of faith, in which a widowed village pastor struggles to deal with his parishioners and ex-lover.
Wild Strawberries Wild Strawberries
Drama 1957 88 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Victor Sjöström is magnificent as the crabby professor taking a nostalgic road trip with his daughter-in-law, in Ingmar Bergman's elegiac masterpiece.
Salon Kitty Salon Kitty
Drama 1976 133 mins Director: Tinto Brass
Before Caligula, Italian provocateur Tinto Brass directed this controversial and transgressive drama, inspired by the true story of a Nazi-run brothel in 30s Berlin.
Cries and Whispers Cries and Whispers
Drama 1972 91 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
A dying woman (Harriet Andersson) is attended to in her rural mansion by her sisters, in Ingmar Bergman's vivid examination of the human soul.
Fanny and Alexander Fanny and Alexander
Drama 1982 311 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Bergman’s magisterial and sumptuous portrait of a 20th-century Swedish family, presented in its full-length TV version.
Persona Persona
Drama 1966 84 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
A nurse and an actress who refuses to speak seem to fuse identities in Ingmar Bergman’s disturbing, formally experimental psychological drama.
Autumn Sonata Autumn Sonata
Drama 1978 92 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman’s sole film with his namesake Ingrid sees her as a famous concert pianist visiting her daughter, played by a third giant of Swedish film, Liv Ullmann.
The Silence The Silence
Drama 1963 95 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Two sisters, one ailing, the other with her young son, check into a hotel in a foreign city readying itself for war, in Ingmar Bergman's nightmarish vision of emotional isolation.
Through a Glass Darkly Through a Glass Darkly
Drama 1961 89 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
The first part of Ingmar Bergman's 'Faith Trilogy', about a writer (Björnstrand) who joins his daughter, son and son-in-law on holiday, where tensions soon arise.
Watership Down Watership Down
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1978 92 mins Director: Martin Rosen
An apocalyptic vision pushes a group of rabbits to abandon their warren in search of a new home, in this landmark British animation.
Tchaikovsky's Wife Tchaikovsky's Wife
Biopic 2022 144 mins Director: Kirill Serebrennikov
Award-winning director Kirill Serebrennikov (Petrov's Flu) charts the tumultuous relationship between the 19th-century composer and his wife, in this poignant and powerful biopic.
Nezouh Nezouh
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: Soudade Kaadan
Enchanting feminist coming-of-age drama, from award winning Syrian director Soudade Kaadan.
The Turin Horse The Turin Horse
Drama 2011 155 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Béla Tarr’s devastating, starkly pared-down final feature, inspired by Nietzsche.
Werckmeister Harmonies Werckmeister Harmonies
Drama 2000 147 mins Director: Béla Tarr
A stuffed whale sparks social apocalypse in this haunting cinematic masterpiece from Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky.
The Man from London The Man from London
Drama 2007 139 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Tilda Swinton stars in this profoundly nocturnal Georges Simenon adaptation.