Saw it for the first time yesterday. And I know I'm hitting Berman with all his less-popular odd stuff (The Magic Flute and Hour of the Wolf before this). I just loved it! Calling out the fake beard and hair right off the bat. A woman dressed as a man and everyone pretending that she is a man. The strange gothic mansion. Clearly Bergman making a comment on audiences and critics. Scary at times but mostly a comedy. I was not expecting a bit of a sex comedy but that's mostly what it is. I did like the ending a bunch as you said. Bergman wouldn't let it end where it should of is part of the joke. I love how they over-stayed their welcome just enough to not get away.

@felixxx999 said:

Clearly Bergman making a comment on audiences and critics ... Bergman wouldn't let it end where it should of is part of the joke.

I never thought of that, the commentary on audiences & critics, but I think you're absolutely right!

Now that I think about it, the whole premise is a great setup. The Magician is forced to perform for an audience (the aristocrats) who have clearly made up their minds about him before he even takes the gig. And the townsfolk are equally deluded in their own ways. It's like it doesn't even matter what the actual show is, people will see what they want to see.

And to end the strange little fantasy, he pulls us into it. We get a bizarre switcheroo at the end that reminds us that the joke's on us.

You're right, this may not be one of his most popular films but I think it packs a lot. It's really fun to find these hidden gems. It sounds like we're both exploring Bergman's lesser-known works. Do you have a favorite so far?

Well I'm watching Virgin Spring right now. 3 out of 4 have a very gothic horror vibe and this one is no different. Max is putting on his chain mail and getting a big knife and waiting til morning. Oh boy. One of the killers looks a lot like the great Marc Maron so I probably shouldn't be snickering.

So far:

1. The Magician
2. Hour of the Wolf
3. The Magic Flute

I suspect Virgin Spring will jump to number one (I can't imagine watching all that horror in one sitting. Thank you home theater). I'm resisting Wild Strawberries -- it looks like a sad tale of growing old and that would just bring me down. The Seventh Seal is probably next. But then I'm not sure. May want to hit one of his very early films, or take a crack at Persona (which I started a while back but was just memorized by the two leads but didn't see what was happening) again. I KNOW I saw some of his later work in theaters but for the life of me I can't remember what ones. But I'm finding his films very easy to digest and entertaining as hell. I think I avoided his films because I thought they'd be just dense art films with no story to grab on to. As I said before they are a bit like the current trend of folk horror in many, many ways so I'm on board. The Magic Flute is like a look back at my childhood with that audience dressed like they were on Zoom. I get a very Christmas-y feel sitting there watching it. And the dragon is great. Maybe I should do a Bergman every night for a while.

Oh I'm also trying to hit all of these without reading about them first, so it's been interesting.

Oh wow The Virgin Spring, I loved that one. The scenes inside the cabin are really dramatically lit, almost like a film noir kinda thing. And those 2 major scenes (you know the ones I’m talking about... the 1st attack and the last violent one) are so brutally & realistically done, it sits with you for a long time.

I haven’t seen Hour of the Wolf or The Magic Flute (just a few clips), but based on your rec I’m going to hunt down a copy. My faves are The Seventh Seal & The Magician... They feel really similar, the way they’re like a dark fairytale. But in Seventh Seal we have Max speaking, and very intelligent & philosophical, so that adds a lot of fun. I think in The Magician as well as The Virgin Spring, Bergman had Max play sort of an inarticulate (or literally mute) person to convey his (Bergman’s) frustration with people and his own emotions. And that’s really powerful too, but in Seventh Seal it’s a different approach where Max is giving voice to his thoughts. That’s all I’ll say, because I agree the less you know about a movie the more you’ll enjoy it.

I haven’t seen Persona or many of his later films. But those are my next undertaking. I’ve been kinda stuck in his b&w period (especially the Max von Sydow flicks) which I can watch over & over until the end of time!

yeah. Max is so good. A silent movie star in a sound film! Did you ever see The Night Visitor? https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/72086-papegojan

@felixxx999 said:

yeah. Max is so good. A silent movie star in a sound film! Did you ever see The Night Visitor? https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/72086-papegojan

Never even heard of it til now but it looks pretty awesome. I had no idea how many films Max was in... Bergman films & The Exorcist are the only ones I've seen. I might hafta jump down that rabbit hole next.