Script Synopsis:When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the belief that God does not exist, Block sets off on a journey, meeting up with traveling players Jof and his wife, Mia, and becoming determined to evade Death long enough to commit one redemptive act while he still lives.
Note: Multiple links are listed since (a) different versions exist and (b) many scripts posted become unavailable over time. Please notify me if you encounter a stale link.
Watching a movie is like taking a trip into the mind of another person. Fiction stories are concocted by people based on their life experiences and imagination. When the stories are put onto film, audience members are allowed insight into the imagination and personal thoughts of the writer.
Some writers find it easy to share their ideas with other people. Their messages come out strong and clear so that no other interpretation can be assumed. However, there are a few directors who have such complex mind processes that they have difficulty sharing it with others in a linear, easy to understand manner.
Darren Aronofsky, David Lynch and Ingmar Bergman are examples of writers/directors that have this personal challenge. They do not always think in a formulaic, Hollywood manner and this can lead to complex story lines, odd dialogue and questionable plot lines.
However, just because a movie is confusing does not make it bad. Most of the films listed below are considered masterpieces- far beyond their time and steaming with profound thought. However, the full message cannot be understood in one viewing. An audience member may have to research the film and watch it over and over again before it starts making sense.
In order to help with the process of understanding, we have linked to the scripts to some of these great, but confusing, films. Reading the script may help give insight that simply watching the film would not. We hope that with time, you may be able to discover deeper meaning from these films and many other confusing masterpieces.
A few directors have exerted so much influence on cinema as Ingmar Bergman, described by Woody Allen as the greatest film artist since the invention of motion picture camera. During his remarkable career spanning over some five decades, he wrote and directed such masterpieces as The Seventh Seal (1957), The Winter Light (1963), Wild Strawberries (1957), The Silence (1962), Persona (1966), Through the Glass Darkly (1961) and Fanny and Alexander (1982). He mostly explored the existentialist themes of anxiety, death, faith and insanity in his films. Other than cinema, he was also an active and productive director in theater. The stress that he laid upon the characters in his films and the efficient presentation of the feelings behind them is virtually unmatched. His scripts discuss the characters and their innermost fears, hopes and desires in great details.
Three of Ingmar Bergman’s films (The Virgin Spring, Through the Glass Darkly and Fanny and Alexander) won Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. He was nominated for ten more Oscars in the categories of Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture. In 1971, he was also awarded the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the Academy Awards. Bergman has exerted wide influence on directors throughout the world, including the noteworthy Hollywood directors such as Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese. Ingmar Bergman mostly wrote his own screenplays, after in depth analysis and months of retrospection. The English titles of Ingmar Bergman Films, with links to scripts where we found them:
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