April 11, 2006

Vilgot Sjöman, 1924 - 2006.

The Swedish writer and film director Vilgot Sjöman has died at the age of 81.

The Local.

Vilgot Sjöman

The writer/filmmaker who studied film at UCLA in 1955 and trained with Ingmar Bergman in the early 1960s, made over 20 films between 1962 and 1995, including a 5-part documentary following Bergman during the filming of Winter Light in 1963. But he will be remembered mostly for his 1968 pioneering quasi-documentary I Am Curious (Yellow), which became a hallmark document about Swedish society during the sexual revolution, mixing sex and politics in a totally revolutionary way.

Annika Pham, Cineuropa.

I don't wish to insult I Am Curious (Yellow), though I wouldn't say I like the film. It will always remain a landmark of cinema, pushing the US further away from censorship (especially in the case of something as non-threatening as sexuality).

Joe Bowman, Fin de cinema.



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Posted by dwhudson at April 11, 2006 9:26 AM

Comments

This is very sad. I just rented Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie, then purchased it. I went back in my rental history to discover I also just watched "Solaris" and two and a half weeks later, Stanislaw Lem dies.

Not weird enough? Okay more... I see I rented:

A friend's daughter studies dancing, so I wanted them to see, "The Red Shoes" and I find out last week Moira Shearer died in January. The strange part is when I told her about "The Red Shoes", at first she thought I was talking about "Reds," and I pulled that out and watched it with her the next night. A few days later, watched "Interiors" then Maureen Stapleton died.

Maybe that's not weird, maybe I just like old movies and those that worked on them are dying off now.

Still, it is kind of troubling to me... What if I'm like that guy in "I Bury the Living" and whatever DVD I rent, someone from that film DIES!

Has this ever happened to you?

If I have the power over Life and Death...

Is there any DVDs you think I SHOULD rent?

Posted by: Jerry Lentz at April 11, 2006 12:15 PM

I dunno, everyone's talking about this guy Uwe Boll. Maybe you should check him out.

Just... kidding!

Posted by: David Hudson at April 11, 2006 2:34 PM