Bergman introduced us to Liv Ullmann, Max Von Sydow and Bibi Andersson, among others. He crafted such masterpieces as
Persona, Cries and Whispers, The Seventh Seal and
The Virgin Spring. He exposed American audiences to a much more internal cinema. Antonioni gave audiences a tantalizingly enigmatic form of cinema. His films were often slow in pace, rich in ideas and unwilling to tell the viewer exactly what to think. He is probably best known for
L'Avventura, Blow Up The Passenger. I also want to mention the contributions of Laszlo Kovacs and Michel Serrault. Kovacs started with low-budget sixties flicks such as Psych-Out and Targets, and went on to help define American seventies cinema with films such as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces,Shampoo and the black and white film Paper Moon . Serrault will probably be best remembered for his flamboyant performance as Albin in the La Cage Aux Folles films.
Let's have a moment of silence for these great artists who will sorely be missed. The silver screen has dimmed a little with their passing. But they will live on in their stunning films. So celebrate their lives and talent by going out and renting a movie. -----
