An in-depth exploration of Bergman’s complete works

The Ingmar Bergman Archives has been nominated as Best Non-Fiction Book 2008 for the August Prize, the Swedish equivalent to the Pulitzer. The dedication reads: 'Paul Duncan and Bengt Wanselius have compiled the ultimate document on Ingmar Bergman's life. Thanks to many people's involvement... it is a reading experience and a picture adventure.' 159 books from 58 publishers were submitted for this category. The winner will be announced at a gala dinner on 24 November 2008 in Stockholm.

The complete works of Ingmar Bergman: an homage to one of the most esteemed film and theater artists of all time, began in cooperation with Bergman himself and made with full access to his archives

Since 1957, when he released The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries, Ingmar Bergman has been one of the leading figures in international cinema. In a career that spanned 60 years, he wrote, produced, and directed 50 films that defined how we see ourselves and how we interact with the people we love, in films like Persona, Scenes from a Marriage, and Fanny and Alexander.

Before his death in 2007, Bergman gave TASCHEN and the Swedish publishing house Max Ström complete access to his archives at The Bergman Foundation, and permission to reprint his writings and interviews, many of which have never been seen outside of Sweden. Picture researcher Bengt Wanselius, who was Bergman’s photographer for 20 years, scoured photo archives all over Sweden, discovered previously unseen images from Bergman’s films, and selected unpublished images from the personal archives of many photographers. Text editor Paul Duncan gathered a team of Bergman experts as contributing editors—Peter Cowie and Bengt Forslund (for film/TV), and Ulla Åberg & Birgitta Steene (for theater)—who have researched and written a narrative that, for the first time, will combine all of Bergman’s working life in film and theater. Such is the depth of Bergman’s writings that most of the story is told in his own words. This book also features a new introduction by Bergman’s close friend, actor and collaborator Erland Josephson, as well as a DVD full of rare and previously unseen material, and an original film strip from Fanny and Alexander.

The publishers have been given complete access to the files and archives of the Swedish Film Institute, Svensk Filmindustri, Sveriges Television, and the Royal Dramatic Theater, as well as many other institutions, publishers, and newspapers, making this not only the most complete book ever published on Ingmar Bergman, but also about an individual director.

Special bonuses

an original film strip from a copy of Fanny and Alexander (1982) that has been played on Bergman’s own film projector.

a DVD containing over 110 minutes of new and rare documentary footage: Bergman’s On Set Home Movies (18 mins, with commentary by Marie Nyreröd); Behind the scenes of Autumn Sonata (20 mins); An Image Maker (32 mins), behind the scenes of The Image Makers by Bengt Wanselius; and A Video Diary of Saraband (44 mins), assistant director Torbjörn Ehrnvall’s video diary from Bergman’s last film, in which Bergman talks about his life and work.

Other contributing authors:

Ulla Åberg, Peter Cowie, Bengt Forslund, Birgitta Steene

About the editors:

Paul Duncan has edited more than 40 film books for TASCHEN, and wrote Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick in the Film Series.

Bengt Wanselius was a freelance photojournalist for every major magazine and publishing house in Scandinavia from 1967 to 1985. He spent 15 years as the house photographer at the Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm, recording the work of internationally well-known theater directors such as Arthur Miller, Andrzej Wajda, Robert Lepage, and Ingmar Bergman. His long collaboration on 20 productions with Bergman ranged from theater and opera to television, creating a unique photographic documentary of Bergman’s works.

About the contributing author:

Erland Josephson is a writer, playwright, actor, and director. He worked with Ingmar Bergman for seventy years. He has also collaborated with a number of other internationally renowned film directors, including Andrei Tarkovsky, Theo Angelopoulos, Liliana Cavani, and István Szabó.