Fanny and Alexander
| Fanny and Alexander | |
|---|---|
 Original movie poster | |
| Directed by | Ingmar Bergman |
| Written by | Ingmar Bergman |
| Produced by | Jörn Donner |
| Starring | Pernilla Allwin Bertil Guve Börje Ahlstedt |
| Distributed by | Sandrew |
Release dates |  December 17 1982 17 June, 1983 |
Running time | 188 min. 312 min. (TV version) |
| Languages | Swedish/German/ Yiddish/English |
Fanny and Alexander (Swedish: Fanny och Alexander) is a 1982 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was originally conceived as a four part TV movie which spanned 312 minutes. A version lasting only 188 minutes long was created later for cinematic release.
Bergman announced that the film would be his last feature, and as of March 2004 it has been the last he has directed, although he has written several scripts since 1986 and has directed a number of TV specials, including After the Rehearsal and Saraband, a sequel to Scenes from a Marriage.
Plot
Template:Spoiler The story is set in the early twentieth century in Sweden and deals with a young boy named Alexander, his sister Fanny, and their well-to-do family. Fanny and Alexander's mother and father are both involved in theater and are happily married until the father's sudden death. Shortly thereafter, the mother finds a new suitor in a bishop and accepts his proposal of marriage, moving into his ascetic home and putting the children under his stern and unforgiving rule.
In addition to its themes of Christianity, repentance, and submission to authority, the film deals with love, estrangement, ghosts, and the paranormal, as well as the more common Bergman theme of existentialism. When the children's father suffers his fatal heart attack, he is playing the ghost of the dead King in Hamlet; the figure of the Bishop, and what happens to him, are reminiscent of Claudius' usurpation and the young Prince's final revenge.
Cast (main)
- Ewa Fröling - Emelie Ekdahl
- Bertil Guve - Alexander Ekdahl
- Pernilla Allwin - Fanny Ekdahl
- Jan Malmsjö - Bishop Edvard Vergerus
- Gunn Wållgren - The grandmother; Helena Ekdahl
- Allan Edwall - Oscar Ekdahl
- Jarl Kulle - Gustav Adolf Ekdahl
- Mona Malm - Alma Ekdahl
- Erland Josephson - Isak Jacobi
- Börje Ahlstedt - Carl Ekdahl
- Christina Schollin - Lydia Ekdahl
- Pernilla August - Maj
- Kerstin Tidelius - Henrietta Vergerus
- Harriet Andersson - Justina
- Marianne Aminoff - Blenda Vergérus
- Stina Ekbladh - Ismael Retzinsky
- Mats Bergman - Aron Retzinsky
Academy awards
The film was released in the United States in 1983 and won four Academy Awards:
- Best Foreign Film (producer Jörn Donner)
- Best Cinematography (Sven Nykvist)
- Best Art Direction (Anna Asp, Susanne Lingheim)
- Costume Design (Marik Vos-Lundh)
Bergman was nominated for both Directing and Writing Original Screenplay but did not win them. Since he has now retired from making theatrically released films, he will thus never have received a personal Oscar for a film.
DVD releases
The uncut TV version of the film is available in DVD editions released by Artificial Eye (in Region 2) and The Criterion Collection (in Region 1). The Criterion Collection edition is anamorphically enhanced and is released as three separate sets: the theatrical version, the television version , and a behind-the scenes film, The Making of Fanny and Alexander; these discs are also available as a 5-disc box set. The Criterion release marked the first time the television version of Fanny and Alexander had been available in North America.