Ingmar Bergman Quotes

Powerful Ingmar Bergman for Daily Growth

About Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007), one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of cinema, was born on July 14, 1918, in Uppsala, Sweden. His childhood was marked by religious tensions, as his parents held starkly different beliefs - his father was an atheist while his mother was deeply spiritual. This dichotomy significantly influenced Bergman's work, often exploring themes of faith, guilt, and existential dread. After a brief stint in the military during World War II, Bergman began his career as a stage director at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, where he honed his craft under the guidance of director Alf Sjöberg. In 1946, Bergman made his feature film debut with "Torment," marking the start of a prolific cinematic journey that spanned over six decades. His major works include classics like "The Seventh Seal" (1957), "Wild Strawberries" (1957), "Through a Glass Darkly" (1961), and "Cries and Whispers" (1972). These films, characterized by their philosophical depth, complex characters, and visually striking imagery, have become staples of world cinema. Bergman's personal life was tumultuous, marked by four marriages and numerous affairs. Despite these struggles, he continued to produce groundbreaking work, exploring the human condition with unparalleled intensity. His final film, "Saraband" (2003), served as a poignant reflection on his own life and career. Ingmar Bergman's legacy extends far beyond Sweden, earning him an international reputation as a master storyteller whose work continues to inspire and captivate audiences worldwide. His profound explorations of the human psyche have left an indelible mark on cinema, making him one of the most influential figures in film history.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Life is not worth living without love."

This quote by Ingmar Bergman expresses the deeply human need for love as a fundamental aspect of life's purpose and fulfillment. It suggests that love, in its various forms - romantic, familial, platonic, self-love - is essential to experiencing life to its fullest. Without love, existence may seem devoid of meaning or joy, making it less appealing to embrace. This perspective underscores the interconnectedness between human emotion and overall wellbeing.

"I believe in God, but I also believe that God allows us free will. He doesn't interfere with our actions, he just observes."

This quote by Ingmar Bergman expresses a perspective of divine presence that respects human autonomy. According to Bergman, one believes in the existence of God while acknowledging that this deity neither intervenes nor controls human actions. Instead, God is viewed as an observer, allowing for free will and personal growth within a cosmic context. This interpretation emphasizes the notion that while there may be a higher power, it does not dictate the day-to-day affairs of humanity.

"To make a work of art is to risk finding oneself alone."

Bergman's quote signifies the vulnerability, courage, and isolation that artists experience when creating. The process of making art involves expressing personal thoughts, feelings, and perspectives, which may not always resonate with others or even be understood. This separation between the artist and the audience can feel isolating, yet it is a risk worth taking for the sake of artistic expression.

"The face of the other person, at times excitingly alien and unfamiliar, remains my last anchor to reality, the ever present reassurance that I am not entirely isolated."

This quote by Ingmar Bergman highlights the importance of human connection in our existence. He suggests that in a world where we might feel isolated or lost, encountering another person serves as a reminder that we're part of something larger - society. The other person's unfamiliarity can stimulate us and their presence provides comfort, acting as a tangible link to reality. This connection helps counteract feelings of alienation, proving essential for maintaining our emotional balance and sense of belonging.

"I am often asked if I believe in God. I answer: In myself, no. But I'm afraid of myself, so I prefer the company of others. If it wasn't for other people, I wouldn't exist."

This quote by Ingmar Bergman expresses his personal belief or lack thereof in a higher power (God) but highlights his profound appreciation for human connection. Bergman suggests that he doesn't believe in himself alone but acknowledges the fear and uncertainty that he feels about himself, leading him to seek solace and existence within relationships with others. Essentially, this quote underscores the importance of community and interpersonal connections in overcoming one's inner doubts and fears.

I was booed at the premiere of 'Miss Julie,' a remarkably stimulating experience.

- Ingmar Bergman

Stimulating, Julie, Remarkably

When we came out from the Elysee palace, there was a gigantic limousine waiting for us and four police on motorcycles. It is probably one of the few times I have experienced my fame. I thought it was so fantastic that I laughed to the point of shouting.

- Ingmar Bergman

Waiting, Thought, Gigantic, Fantastic

I am very much aware of my own double self. The well-known one is very under control; everything is planned and very secure. The unknown one can be very unpleasant. I think this side is responsible for all the creative work - he is in touch with the child. He is not rational; he is impulsive and extremely emotional.

- Ingmar Bergman

I Think, Very, Unpleasant, Unknown

The demons are innumerable, appear at the most inconvenient times, and create panic and terror. But I have learnt that if I can master the negative forces and harness them to my chariot, then they can work to my advantage.

- Ingmar Bergman

Work, Terror, Advantage, Inconvenient

Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.

- Ingmar Bergman

Art, Deep, Rooms, Directly

When I was young, I was extremely scared of dying. But now I think it a very, very wise arrangement. It's like a light that is extinguished. Not very much to make a fuss about.

- Ingmar Bergman

Think, I Think, Very, Extinguished

I make all my decisions on intuition.

- Ingmar Bergman

Intuition, Make, Decisions

The individualists stare into each other's eyes and yet deny each other's existence. We walk in circles, so limited by our own anxieties that we can no longer distinguish between true and false, between the gangster's whim and the purest ideal.

- Ingmar Bergman

Own, Other, Whim, Anxieties

There are so many books I want to read. Difficult books. That's what I intend to do and what I'm longing for.

- Ingmar Bergman

Want, Books, Read, Intend

I think that for some time now I have been living with an anxiety which has had no tangible cause. It has been like having a toothache, without the conscientious dentist having been able to find anything wrong with the tooth or with the person as a whole.

- Ingmar Bergman

Some, Been, I Think, Toothache

I'm very, very lazy. I love to sit in a chair and look out the window and do nothing.

- Ingmar Bergman

Love, Very, I Love, Sit

I had a bad conscience until I discovered that having a bad conscience about something so gravely serious as leaving your children is an affectation, a way of achieving a little suffering that can't for a moment be equal to the suffering you've caused.

- Ingmar Bergman

Bad, Conscience, Discovered, Gravely

I dream about doing a film about once a week.

- Ingmar Bergman

Dream, Doing, Week, I Dream

Everything is worth precisely as much as a belch, the difference being that a belch is more satisfying.

- Ingmar Bergman

More, Difference, Precisely, Satisfying

I have such difficulty calming down - my stomach, my head, reality, everything. That is the reason I live in Faro.

- Ingmar Bergman

Reason, Down, Stomach, Calming

I am extremely suspicious of dreams, apparitions and visions, both in literature and in films and plays. Perhaps it's because mental excesses of this sort smack too much of being 'arranged.'

- Ingmar Bergman

Dreams, Mental, Literature, Visions

Mother was actually a great doer and organizer. All the special occasions were directed by mother.

- Ingmar Bergman

Mother, Special, Actually, Doer

There hasn't been anyone with whom I can discuss my scripts. Even when the film is done, there is no one I can show it to who gives his sincere opinion. There is silence.

- Ingmar Bergman

Film, Show, Been, Scripts

I write scripts to serve as skeletons awaiting the flesh and sinew of images.

- Ingmar Bergman

Skeletons, I Write, Images, Scripts

I haven't put an ounce of effort into my families. I never have.

- Ingmar Bergman

Effort, Never, Families, Ounce

I am normally afraid of birds and have never dreamt of any bird in my life.

- Ingmar Bergman

My Life, Dreamt, Am, Normally

Aging is not uncomplicated. Creativity is an extraordinary help against destructive demons.

- Ingmar Bergman

Help, Extraordinary, Against, Demons

I have a feeling of complete balance. The sea, the house, the loneliness, the light. Everything is clearer. Much more precise. I have the feeling that I am living on a limit, and I'm crossing that limit sometimes.

- Ingmar Bergman

Living, Sometimes, More, Precise

The only thing I consider appalling would be to suddenly become a vegetable and a burden on other people. A soul slowly dying out, trapped in a body in which the insides gradually sabotage me - that, I think, would be terrifying.

- Ingmar Bergman

Other, I Think, Terrifying, Appalling

I have always appreciated the honest brutality of the international film world. One need never doubt one's worth in the market. Mine was zero.

- Ingmar Bergman

Need, Always, Mine, International

We didn't know that Mother had gone through a passionate love affair or that Father suffered from severe depression. Mother was preparing to break out of her marriage, Father threatening to take his own life.

- Ingmar Bergman

Love, Passionate, Through, Affair

The smallest wound or pain of the ego is examined under a microscope as if it were of eternal importance. The artist considers his isolation, his subjectivity, his individualism almost holy.

- Ingmar Bergman

Pain, Considers, Examined

If I didn't have my profession, I think I would be sitting in a nuthouse. But I have been unceasingly at work, and this has been very healthy for me. So I had no need for therapy.

- Ingmar Bergman

Think, Profession, Very, Sitting

Now I want to make it plain that 'The Virgin Spring' must be regarded as an aberration. It's touristic, a lousy imitation of Kurosawa.

- Ingmar Bergman

Want, Aberration, Kurosawa, Lousy

Life wasn't about freeing up human souls. It was about creating obedient slaves in the hierarchical construction of the society - with God at the top, then the king and then the father.

- Ingmar Bergman

King, Slaves, Obedient, Hierarchical

When you're as chaotic as I am, you need a very firm structure in your life.

- Ingmar Bergman

I Am, Very, Firm, Chaotic

I throw a spear into the darkness. That is intuition. Then I must send an army into the darkness to find the spear. That is intellect.

- Ingmar Bergman

Army, Intellect, Spear, Send

The anger and the creativity are so closely intertwined with me, and there's plenty of anger left.

- Ingmar Bergman

Me, Left, Closely, Intertwined

The doors between the old man today and the child are still open, wide open. I can stroll through my grandmother's house and know exactly where the pictures are, the furniture was, how it looked, the voice, the smells. I can move from my bed at night today to my childhood in less than a second.

- Ingmar Bergman

Voice, Through, Bed, Open

I was bloody ill-tempered when I was young.

- Ingmar Bergman

Young, Bloody

On a personal level, there are many people who have meant a great deal to me. My father and mother were certainly of vital importance, not only in themselves but because they created a world for me to revolt against.

- Ingmar Bergman

Deal, Against, Importance, Great Deal

I usually say I left puberty at 58.

- Ingmar Bergman

Say, Left, Puberty

From an early age onward, it was said that 'Ingmar has no sense of humor.'

- Ingmar Bergman

Humor, Sense Of Humor, Early

In 'The Serpent's Egg,' I created a Berlin which no one recognized, not even I.

- Ingmar Bergman

Egg, Which, Even, Serpent

I was very much in love with my mother. She was a very warm and a very cold woman. When she was warm, I tried to come close to her. But she could be very cold and rejecting.

- Ingmar Bergman

Love, Woman, Very, Close

My pictures are always part of my thinking, and my emotions, tensions, dreams, desires.

- Ingmar Bergman

Emotions, Always, Part, Tensions

For me, the human face is the most important subject of the cinema.

- Ingmar Bergman

Face, Important, Most, Cinema

People ask what are my intentions with my films - my aims. It is a difficult and dangerous question, and I usually give an evasive answer: I try to tell the truth about the human condition, the truth as I see it. This answer seems to satisfy everyone, but it is not quite correct.

- Ingmar Bergman

Human Condition, Correct, Evasive

When you finish a film, you never want to see it again.

- Ingmar Bergman

Never, Want, See, Finish

I don't watch my own films very often. I become so jittery and ready to cry... and miserable. I think it's awful.

- Ingmar Bergman

Think, Very, Films, Ready

Not a day has gone by in my life when I haven't thought about death.

- Ingmar Bergman

Death, My Life, Thought, Gone

Writing is boring, very boring, and it takes so much patience.

- Ingmar Bergman

Writing, Boring, Very, Takes

Sometimes, I probably do mourn the fact that I no longer make films.

- Ingmar Bergman

Fact, Longer, Films, Mourn

I am autobiographical in the way a dream transforms experience and emotions all the time.

- Ingmar Bergman

I Am, Dream, Emotions, Autobiographical

There is something joyous about not talking.

- Ingmar Bergman

Talking, Not Talking, About, Something

When I'm on Faro, I'm never lonely.

- Ingmar Bergman

Never, Lonely

If I don't create, I don't exist.

- Ingmar Bergman

Exist, Create

I am very shy with people I don't know.

- Ingmar Bergman

I Am, Know, Very, Shy

We always regret that we did not ask our parents more, really get to know them while they were alive.

- Ingmar Bergman

Alive, More, Always, Regret

My education was very tough.

- Ingmar Bergman

Education, Very, Tough

I hate to travel. I don't go anywhere.

- Ingmar Bergman

Travel, Hate, Go, Anywhere

I am forever living in my childhood.

- Ingmar Bergman

Childhood, I Am, Living, Forever

I hope I never get so old I get religious.

- Ingmar Bergman

Religion, Never, Old, Religious

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