There's some magic it has in the shimmering summer tone it sets.
Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 9
Fresh: 9
Rotten:0
Average Rating: 8.8/10
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: This romantic comedy, written and directed by Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, was inspired in part by Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and later became the basis for both the musical A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC and Woody Allen's A... This romantic comedy, written and directed by Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, was inspired in part by Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and later became the basis for both the musical A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC and Woody Allen's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S SEX COMEDY. The principal events take place at a turn-of-the-century manor house where Desirée Armfeldt (Eva Dahlbeck), an actress, and her aging mother are giving a party. Two of the invited guests--Count Malcolm (Jarl Kulle) and Fredrik Egerman (Gunnar Björnstrand), a middle-aged lawyer--are romantically involved with Desirée, a cause for murderous jealousy between the two. Meanwhile, Egerman's youthful wife, Anne (Ulla Jacobsson), who has thus far repulsed all sexual advances on her husband's part, is showing a considerable interest in her stepson (Björn Bjelvenstam)...During the course of the evening, various alliances are formed and dissolved, partners are switched, and all the guests take part in the resulting erotic escapades and intrigue--but in the end, everyone finds their true love. This is lighter, airier fare from a director often associated with existential angst and despair; nevertheless, Bergman's spicy, sophisticated movie received rave reviews and earned him widespread critical acclaim. [More]
Starring: Ulla Jacobsson, Harriet Andersson, Eva Dahlbeck, Margit Carlquist
Starring: Ulla Jacobsson, Harriet Andersson, Eva Dahlbeck, Margit Carlquist, Gunnar Bjornstrand
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Get This Movie
Release:
May 25, 2004
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Single Side - Dual Layer
- Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
- Mono - Swedish
Additional Release Material:
- Video Introduction by Director Ingmar Bergman
- Video Conversation With Film Historian Peter Cowie and Producer Jorn Donner
- Trailers - 1. Swedish Theatrical Trailer
Text/Image Galleries:
- New Piece By Renowned Theater and Film Critic John Simon
- Essay By Film Critic Pauline Kael
Reviews for Smiles of a Summer Night
Though Bergman's staging of the affair occasionally suggests a proscenium is just beyond the frame, the ensemble brings joyful veracity to the romantic complications and well-drawn characters.
Who would have thought that august Sweden would be sending us a film comedy as witty and cheerfully candid about the complexities of love as any recent French essay on l'amour?
As a maker of romantic comedies, Bergman proves himself the equal of Ernst Lubitsch in his heyday at Paramount in the early 1930s.
Latest News for Smiles of a Summer Night
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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