Ingrid Bergman

by David Thomson

"Ingrid Bergman was far more than just a sweet, virtuous, 'natural' Swedish girl--she was a dark sensualist over whom many men might go mad. Her very gaze delivered a climate of adult romantic expectation." Adored by millions for her luminous beauty and elegance, at the height of her career Bergman commanded a love that has hardly ever been matched, until her marriage fell apart and created an international scandal. Here the renowned film writer David Thomson gives his own unique take on a woman who was constantly driven by her passions and by her need to act, even if it meant sacrificing everything.

Genres: Film, Biography, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2009

About the author

David Thomson, renowned as one of the great living authorities on the movies, is the author of The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, now in its fifth edition. His books include a biography of Nicole Kidman and The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood. Thomson is also the author of the acclaimed "Have You Seen . . . ?": A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films. Born in London in 1941, he now lives in San Francisco.

Reviews

[Kailey · Rating 1 out of 5]

David Thompson’s book focused on Ingrid’s career rather than her personal life (though oddly writes very little on some of her later films) and I got the feeling the author was acting as if the fact Ingrid wanted to be in movies that were substantial was something to be sneered at or mocked.

The fact he suggests Bergman ruthlessly took advantage of the sick Victor Fleming during the filming of Joan of Arc completely rubs me the wrong way, especially when the author oh so “cleverly” ends the section of the book about the film with “But Fleming was the casualty. He died in January 1949” (right after filming the movie completed).

Whether it’s about the famous story of how she fought for the “bad girl” role in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde that he claims never happened or how she “decided to be amazed and altered by [Rossellini’s Open City]”, he loves to make Ingrid’s entire career seem completely calculated. He suggests she will do anything to advance her career and lie for her own benefit. He also makes unnecessary comments on her looks as she grows older [“Ingrid was 41 (and ready to past for older)”].

To top this book off, he ends it by making an out of place dig at Lauren Becall (whom has apparently “become a harsh mockery of Slim”) and with some melodramatic lines about how Ilsa Lund will forever need to hear As Time Goes By because “it is her only way of stopping time”. AKA the most cliched ending to a book about Ingrid Bergman possible.

[Marissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

David Thomson is a world-renowned film critic, but this little book feels like he knocked it together in his spare time and then his editor was too intimidated to ask him to improve it. Yes, it provides an overview of Ingrid Bergman's life, star persona, and major films, but also features irrelevant tangents, odd speculations, and just plain bizarre or flowery prose ("You didn't flatter this one by telling her you loved her and sending her flowers and paying her the earth. You had to love her").

Also, I realized, maybe I'm not interested in hearing what a man in his 70s has to say about Ingrid Bergman, especially if the subtext of the writing always keeps circling back to the actress's beauty, desirability, sex life, etc. Sometimes it even goes beyond subtext: Thomson speculates "Some night [Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini] must have yielded to love-making if only to escape the insoluble contradictions in the rest of their lives." I love Bergman's performances and star persona, but I'd rather hear what younger and more rigorous writers have to say about those things.

Update 9/2/18: for some sensitive and non-prurient writing about Bergman, try this essay by Pamela Hutchinson on her early Swedish films: https://www.criterion.com/current/pos...

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Thomson has seen everything and has a million opinions that inform the dozen allusions that occur on each page. His take on Ingrid Bergman is that she was a tortured soul, a woman who (as they say today) made bad decisions. This is not a biography, but the equivalent of Thomson sitting across from you at a table, delivering a lecture titled, "What You Should Think About Ingrid Bergman." Along the way, he offers 3- or 4-page riffs on Casablanca, Notorious, and The Bells of St. Mary's (which he scorns). He made me want to see the Italian films I never have, like Stromboli and Europa '51. Ultimately, the story is a sad one. "How could anyone live at that fever-pitch for more than a few years?" Thomson asks. "As it was, Ingrid Bergman was only really Ingrid from Casablanca to Under Capricorn--seven years." It's a terrific book. I'd read David Thomson if he wrote about Tom Arnold.

[Viktória Ceiner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected this to be a great book based on David Thomson's work, but all I felt is that he somehow was forced to write a book about a person he dislikes very much. I don't quite know how you can dislike Ingrid, but go ahead, just don't title it Great Stars. (And please - as a film historian, don't say a movie is bad. Find different ways to say not great.)

[Stavros G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'm not sure what other people were expecting from this book. I thought it was an insightful and thought provoking examination of one of Hollywood's most enduring icons. Thomson has a really talent for connecting the personal and specific into the larger hollywood storyline. If you want a detailed review of Bergman's life and work this is not for you if you want to come to a greater understanding of how bergman fits into the history of hollywood and the art of acting itself than this book will prove invaluable.

[Yooperprof · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite poorly written. . . Although David Thomson predictably has some intriguing insights and deserves credit for bringing attention to some of Bergman's lesser known films, this book is full of awkward sentences and allusions that aren't property explained. It seems at times that author Thomson is just speaking into a microphone. The book is a odd length - too short to provide an adequate synopsis of Miss Bergman's careers, and it doesn't do a good job of pointing readers in the right direction if they want to know more about the subject.

[Laurie · Rating 1 out of 5]

very short book. not very satisfying.

[Jell · Rating 3 out of 5]

my first foray into biographical books about Hollywood's most enduring icons.