Damn. Both Bergman and Antonioni reported dead within the last 24 hours. Essentially those were the two whose movies sucked me into all this classic cinema geekiness. Not to say they turned me into a cineast. I had been going to the movies, watched independent contemporaries too. But only after I saw some of their black and white movies (notably Tystnaden and La Notte) late at night on TV during a phase in my life when depressing tales about human nature had lots of appeal (I mean, they still do ;), was it that I started to actively seek out more classics. I started to dig deeper.

I owe Antonioni and Bergman a lot. By chance I re-watched Scenes of a Marriage only last week.  Actually I learnt only yesterday that there is a Swedish 300 minutes TV version of Scenes..., I need to get that! Even just sitting through the theatre cut is a painful and yet fascinating experience. Even though it is not his strongest film they way I see it.

And I am glad to still have essential movies from both of them to watch for the first time.  I always felt I should watch Fanny and Alexander sometime around Christmas. That is yet to come, and I already look forward to it. Somewhere I heard yesterday that we should consider Bergman not as a great director, but as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.

On the bright side, I think both had enough opportunities to say what they want, weren't taken from us at the height of creativity. Their body of works is substantial and here to enjoy - or to endure ;)