Original and Uncut Version of Bergman's "Fanny and Alexander" at IFC Center

Described by Bergman as "the sum total of my life as a filmmaker," this love letter to the theater and the cinema—his warmest and most personal work—was produced for Swedish television but shortened for theatrical release.  While the edited version won acclaim and awards around the world (including Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film, Art Direction, Costume Design and Cinematography), Bergman preferred the original: truncating it, he wrote, “I had to cut into the nerves and lifeblood of the film.”  Now, IFC audiences can see Bergman’s late masterwork in its full glory on the big screen for the first time, with over two hours of footage restored to his epic of childhood. 
  
Fanny and Alexander centers upon 10-year-old Alexander (Bertil Guve), through whose eyes we witness the adventures of the Ekdahl family, a massive, pleasure-loving clan in turn-of-the-century Sweden. Alexander’s world is one of comfort and stability, but when his theater manager father dies and his actress mother (Ewa Fröling) marries the stern local bishop (Jan Malmsjö), he and his young sister, Fanny (Pernilla Allwin), find themselves trapped in a harsh and restrictive new world that they can neither comprehend nor endure.  It is up to the antique dealer and illusionist Isak (Erland Josephson) to aid in their escape and return them to the security and vitality of the Ekdahl mansion.

Presented in a high-definition digital restoration, the film will screen in two parts with separate admissions.  

Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman (Sweden, 1982)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Avenue, New York City
January 2 – January 15, 2008

For tickets and showtimes: www.ifccenter.com

Image: Fanny and Alexander, courtesy of The Criterion Collection