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Movies / On DVD / Persona
Persona

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Persona (1966)

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93 %
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Reviews Counted:29

Fresh:27

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8.7/10

Runtime: 84 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: PERSONA opens with a sequence of disassociated and disturbing images--a nail is driven into someone's hand, an animal is slaughtered, a boy is seated in front of the gigantic projection of a... PERSONA opens with a sequence of disassociated and disturbing images--a nail is driven into someone's hand, an animal is slaughtered, a boy is seated in front of the gigantic projection of a woman's face. As the story begins in flashback, Elisabeth Vogler (Liv Ullmann), an acclaimed stage actress, suddenly freezes up in the middle of a performance. She has suffered a breakdown and is now either unable or unwilling to speak. Elisabeth's doctor decides to send her to a seaside cottage on a retreat and asks Alma (Bibi Andersson), a dedicated young nurse, to accompany the patient. As the days go by, in order to elicit a response from her ward, Alma finds herself discussing her most intimate secrets, which Elisabeth seems to silently absorb. Eventually, Alma begins voicing the other woman's thoughts, and to her horror, she realizes that their minds and personalities are merging. In addition to its narrative properties, PERSONA is highly innovative on a formal level, and often seems a comment on the medium of cinema itself. Bergman considered this movie and CRIES AND WHISPERS to be his two most groundbreaking cinematic achievements. [More]

Starring: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Margaretha Krook

Starring: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Margaretha Krook

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Director: Ingmar Bergman

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 10, 2004

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Persona

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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No review available.

comment Comment
11/04/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

A work of many possible readings -- any of which provide deeply disturbing looks into the psyche of the characters or character.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
08/22/07
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Ingmar Bergman's best film, I suppose, though it's still fairly tedious and overloaded with avant-garde cliches.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 4 Comments
07/30/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bergman has come up with probably one of his most masterful films technically and in conception, but also one of his most difficult ones.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/30/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An intense, challenging and complex experimental psychological drama.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/24/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

One of Bergman's undisputed masterpieces is a seminal work of psychonalayis and metacinema, raising more complex questions about identity and role-playing than it could possibly answer, thus deliberately encouraging ambivalence and ambiguity.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
06/30/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
02/18/07
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

Not a movie, but a Film. And a Great Film it is. As good as any.

Full Review Source: Cinemania | comment Comment
07/14/06
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Cinemania

Bergman at his most brilliant.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

One of Ingmar Bergman's most beloved films.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
07/25/05
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Corajoso em sua abordagem narrativa, Bergman cria um dos mais densos dramas psicológicos do Cinema, quebrando as convenções da linguagem para expressar idéias e sentimentos.

comment Comment
05/29/05
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

There are so many stunning monologues and unforgettable set-pieces in Persona that even at a modest 80 minutes, it feels fuller on the surface than most movies twice the length.

comment Comment
08/28/04
Nick Davis
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

No review available.

comment Comment
06/25/04
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

...Bergman's penchant for strangeness eventually undercuts the effective elements.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
02/07/04
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

[Persona] is persistently compelling, primarily due to its contemplative thematic structure, partially devoid of language that allows the spectator to inscribe meaning.

Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
09/30/03
Moira Sullivan
Moira Sullivan
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

In Persona Bergman explores the cinematic medium and the remote depths of human subconscious, having abandoned the question of faith that had hitherto preoccupied him.

Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
09/09/03
Leo Goldsmith
Leo Goldsmith
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Miss Ullmann and Miss Andersson just about carry the film -- and exquisitely, too.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bergman at his most atypically sensual, playful -- even Godardian.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
03/25/03
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

No review available.

comment Comment
02/28/03
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Ingmar Bergman's haunting masterpiece explores the gulf of communication that exists between a nurse and her silent patient.

Full Review Source: FilmFour.com | comment Comment
02/04/03
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
FilmFour.com
 
 
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Latest News for Persona

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The rule that no two Ang Lee movies are ever the same is confidently kept intact with the release of his latest, Taking Woodstock, a comedy about the true story behind the... More...

July 30, 2007: Through Bergman's Past, Brightly
With the passing of Ingmar Bergman Monday, the world of cinema lost one of its most unique and important voices. Thus, we at Rotten Tomatoes decided to pick our favorite Bergman... More...

July 30, 2007: Legendary Director Ingmar Bergman dies at 89
Ingmar Bergman, the "poet with a camera," died in his sleep at his home in Faro, Sweden Monday at the age of 89. The director of such influential films as The Seventh Seal,... More...

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