THE FIFTH ACT - Scarce Fine Copy of The First American Edition/First Printing

Bergman, Ingmar (Translated by Linda Haverty Rugg and Joan Tate) & Bergstrom, Lasse (Contributor)

ISBN 10: 1565846621 / ISBN 13: 9781565846623

Published by New York City, NY: The New Press, 2001, 2001

About this Item

1st Printing. 153 pages. Published in 2001. Collection of the film director's last screenplays. One of Ingmar Bergman's finest achievements. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with the Softcover Edition. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Ingmar Bergman's "The Fifth Act" in a felicitous English translation. Collects four screenplays, two of them successfully turned into full-fledged films: "Monologue", "After the Rehearsal", "The Last Scream", and "In The Presence of A Clown". Unlike most filmscripts, they are being made available in book form because they constitute a literary, not just cinematic, achievement. Bergman said that the collection "deals with my indefatigable companions: The stage, the actors, and film, movie theaters, cinematography". In fact, it is Bergman who is indefatigable. Two of the scripts are autobiographical: In "After the Rehearsal", the director unburdens his artistic and personal relationships with two actresses while "In The Presence of A Clown" is based on his Uncle Carl, an inventor of early-talking film. "The Last Scream", unproduced, depicts the humiliation of filmmaker Georg af Klercker in his futile plea to an indifferent financier/producer for backing. "Bergman writes with honesty and compassion, and the translations are eloquent. In the Foreword, Swedish film critic Lasse Bergstrom succinctly places these scripts in the context of Bergman's entire literary and cinematic oeuvre" (Publisher's blurb). After he completed "Fanny and Alexander" (1982), a film that glows with a rare joy, a seemingly exhausted Ingmar Bergman announced that it was his last film. But the urge to write and work has always been obsessive in his case, and he quickly broke his word. Apart from these scripts, his magnificent three-volume autobiography was adapted as three separate films by Bille August, Daniel Bergman (his director/son), and Liv Ullmann (the great actress, who was his mistress). Then, in 2003, at the age of 85, he wrote and directed yet another film, "Saraband", and once again proclaimed that it was definitely his very last film (it was). Bergman's inability to stop working has always been a blessing, for us if not for him, not a curse. The most prolific film director of his generation, he has had his share of artistic triumphs and failures, his ups and downs. But as Woody Allen, his most ardent admirer in America (himself a very prolific, erratic, and rewarding film director), once said, Ingmar Bergman's failures are so much more interesting and satisfying, even better than most other film directors' successes. Ingmar Bergman died on July 30, 2007 at the age of 89, an irreplaceable loss to world culture. Given the abysmal state and irreversible decline of contemporary cinema, there are no words to describe the loss of its single greatest figure. "The greatest film artist since the invention of the motion picture camera" (Woody Allen). An absolute "must-have" title for Ingmar Bergman collectors. This title is a late-modern classic. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) of the still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce copy thus. The greatest film director of the 20th century. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER INGMAR BERGMAN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 1565846621. Seller Inventory # 9898

Bibliographic Details

Title: THE FIFTH ACT - Scarce Fine Copy of The ...

Publisher: New York City, NY: The New Press, 2001

Publication Date: 2001

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

Signed: no

Edition: 1st Edition.

About this title

Synopsis:

The scripts of award-winning film director Ingmar Bergman have been among the most important documents in film history. Though his vision in such films as Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal has shaped our thinking about the cinema, none of his most recent films have been shown in U.S. theaters. This book brings to English readers for the first time some of the finest creations of Bergman’s mature years. In these three scenarios of extraordinary frankness, even rawness, Bergman shows his tender yet realistic views on the world of theater, cinema, and acting, culminating with In the Presence of a Clown, where he returns to the character of his Uncle Carl, an irrepressible inventor who comes up with an early version of the talking film. These most recent scripts, in effect Bergman’s own fifth act, add an important and moving chapter to his life work. A preface contextualizing the scripts within Bergman’s oeuvre has been added by Lasse Bergstrom, a noted Swedish film critic as well as the publisher of Bergman’s work in Sweden.

About the Author:

Born in 1918, Ingmar Bergman is considered to be one of the great creators of the modern cinema and is responsible for more than forty films. Bergman has been nominated for nine Oscars, and has won numerous other awards.