SHAKESPEARE

Alternative title

Fanny and Alexander

Synopsis

Feature film. Set in a Swedish provincial town in 1907 depicting the lives of the theatrical Ekdahl family through their siblings Fanny and Alexander. After a Christmas celebration, their beloved father, Oskar, dies. Their mother, Emilie, soon afterwards marries Bishop Vergerus and the children are placed under his unforgiving and puritanical rule. Writers have cited several plot parallels with Hamlet. When the father has his heart attack he is rehearsing the part of the Ghost in Hamlet in an amateur production in the family theatre. Emilies’s hasty remarriage is akin to Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius and her son Alexander, like Hamlet, is estranged from the couple. Oskar’s ghost also returns several times to express his concern for the children.

Language

Swedish

Country

Germany; France; Sweden

Medium

Film

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Year of release

1982

Duration

189 mins; 17,009 feet

Credits

Director

Ingmar Bergman

Producer

Jorn Donner

Cinematographer

Sven Nykvist

Screenplay

Ingmar Bergman

Costume

Marik Vos

Art Direction

Anna Asp

Cast

Bertil Guve	Alexander Ekdahl (Hamlet)
Jan Malmsjo	Bishop Edvard Vergerus (Claudius)
Ewa Froling	Emilie Ekdahl (Gertrude)
Allan Edwall	Oskar Ekdahl (Ghost)
Pernilla Allwin	Fanny Ekdahl

Additional Details

Production type

Fiction Films

Plays

Hamlet; Twelfth Night

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Amateur theatre

Notes

Notes

The uncut television version of the film is available on dvd released by Artificial Eye (in Region 2) and The Criterion Collection (in Region 1). The Criterion Collection edition is anamorphically enhanced and is released as three separate sets: the theatrical version, the television version , and a behind-the scenes film. The Criterion Collection includes commentary by Bergman’s biographer Peter Cowie which alludes to Shakespeare.

History

Made as a television mini-series (circa 300mins) and a theatrical version. Originally shown on Swedish television in 5 parts and a epilogue.

Awards

The film was released in the United States in 1983 and won four Academy Awards: Best Foreign Film (producer Jörn Donner); Best Cinematography (Sven Nykvist);
Best Art Direction (Anna Asp, Susanne Lingheim);
Costume Design (Marik Vos-Lundh).

Reviews

Milne, Tom. Monthly Film Bulletin (vol. 50, no. 591, April 1983 p83-4).

Production Company

Name

Cinematograph

Distributor (Sale)

Name

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