Gycklarnas afton (Sawdust and Tinsel)(Sunset of a Clown)(The Naked Night) poster & wallpaper
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Harriet Andersson, ??ke Grönberg, Anders Ek, Gudrun Brost, Hakke Ekman ... see more see more... , Kiki , Annika Tretow , Lissi Alandh , Gunnar Bjornstrand , Naemi Briese , Hasse Ekman , ??ke Fridell , Vanjek Hedberg , Agda Helin , Curt Löwgren , Erik Strandmark , Majken Torkeli , Goran Lundstrom , Olaf Riego , Hanny Schedin , Åke Grönberg

This rich, powerful Ingmar Bergman film charts the frustrations and humiliations of several circus performers. The circus's portly owner, Albert (Ake Gronberg), recalls a humiliating incident involvin... read more read more...g the company's clown, Frost (Anders Ek), who discovered his wife, Alma (Gudrun Brost), swimming nude before a band of cheering soldiers. Having concluded his recollection, Albert visits his estranged wife, Agda (Annika Tretow), who realizes that he has made little money with his circus endeavor. While Albert endures the humiliating encounter with his wife, his jealous mistress, Anne (Harriet Andersson), retaliates by yielding to a seductive local actor, Frans (Hasse Ekman), then realizes that she has been exploited and debased. Later, the drunken Frost informs Albert of Anne's sexual indiscretion, whereupon Albert determines to thrash Anne's cynical lover. In the ensuing altercation, however, Frans manages to thwart Albert's bullish attacks and deliver a series of punishing blows. Beaten and degraded, Albert ponders suicide, then decides to avenge himself on unfaithful women by killing the company's bear, beloved by the provocative Alma, whose betrayal of Frost has so haunted Albert. Following the bear's demise, the company departs to another town. Gycklarnas Afton is full of powerful performances and staggering sequences, including the legendary flashback in which Frost finds his wife cavorting nude before the soldiers. In this scene, played with almost hysterical intensity, Frost, dressed as a clown, tearfully carries his nude wife from the water, past the soldiers, and back to the circus tent. The soundtrack's jarring contrast between sheer silence and a blaring brass band, coupled with the black-and-white cinematography's emphasis on glaring sunlight, generate a mood of considerable tension and unease. This extraordinary scene ranks among Ingmar Bergman's greatest feats and readily establishes Gycklarnas Afton as an unflinching examination of the human condition. ~ Les Stone, Rovi

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9 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Ingmar Bergman

Release Date: September 14, 1953

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DVD Release Date: November 20, 2007

Stats: 101 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (101)

  • matertenebraum
    December 13, 2009
    matertenebraum
    I first, and probably, last saw this wonderful film over 7 years ago. It has not been easy to catch again and then I think that when the time since you have last seen a favourite gets too long you begin to have concerns as to whether it will live up to your memory of it. Having j... read moreust watched it again I am blown away all over again. I cannot believe how much of the fantastic visuals I remembered and the extent to which the power of the film is still so affecting. There is not a wasted frame, this is pure cinema throughout. The acting is stupendous, the cinematography outstanding and the bitter sweet tale so seemingly simple, yet so devastatingly all consuming. I know Bergman has made more poetic films and more profound ones but I still think this one is hard to beat for so eloquently presenting those basic issues that matter to everyone.
  • smootysveen
    February 7, 2009
    smootysveen
    Bergman does Fellini before Fellini did Fellini.
  • littlecharmer1959
    October 13, 2008
    littlecharmer1959
    Oh Ingmar, you never fail to impress me!

    The plot concerning the lives of a circus troupe is simple and nothing new but Bergman makes it his own. Filled with gorgeous images, such as the great use of mirrors and that amazing flashback sequence with the clown. The performances ... read moreare also strong especially Åke Grönberg as Albert the ringmaster, and Andersson, who as always, is brilliant.
  • thrusz
    February 8, 2008
    thrusz
    You know, for a second...I actually thought this could be a happy movie. IT'S A MOVIE ABOUT A CIRCUS?! You can understand my logic, right? Okay, but it's Bergman. Bergman is depressing. This is Bergman at his most depressing. But here's the kicker...it's an amazing movie.
    ... read more
    This feels like one of Bergman's most contained films. It isn't very long and really uses some of the best cinematography that I've seen in his movies. I couldn't help comparing the flashback of the clown to the closing of The Seventh Seal, but I really like that famous moment so I'm glad to see that mentality used here.

    Bergman deals with a world of cruelty and somehow makes it real. I know that there are just evil people out there who are so filled with pride and cockiness that they have to tear everyone else down. Perhaps I'm blessed that the negativity in my life is temptered to tolerable limits. But it is hard to watch genuinely good people (who have made mistakes, sure) get torn down. But Bergman isn't necessarily a pessimist. Bergman, I believe, is a crafty optimist. While all this crap is raining down from the skies, there's always that silver lining that has to do with the future. Sure, the situation presented to us hasn't worked out in the way that the characters hoped, but life keeps going, no matter how dark the world gets. In this case, it involves shooting a circus bear. (I told you this movie was depressing!)

    I really have to compliment Criterion again. I've noticed with a lot of their more recent releases, the prints look fantastic. These are movies that have been torn to shreds, but Criterion gets them near perfect. Sawdust and Tinsel and Le Bonheur (review coming soon!) both visually blew me away and I have so say thanks to this company for making these movies available.

    By the way, (little side story) if you can't find Sawdust and Tinsel, you need not look further than your local Giant Eagle. That's right, I bought this and Drunken Angel at Giant Eagle. Man, I wish we had Giant Eagle.
  • cinemakid76
    December 11, 2007
    cinemakid76
    I am a sucker for movies about show people, the circus, theater, etc. I am also devoted to Bergman's films, finding him to be unjustly presumed a "difficult, arty" filmmaker. If you actually watch his movies, you will find an earthy blend of spirituality, sexuality, philosophy,... read more comedy, universal symbols, all with Bergman's deft cinematic touch.

    This early work by the master is damn near perfect as a beautifully photographed evocation of the vagabond life of circus performers and a (slightly underdeveloped) story of romantic betrayal. Fellini's "La Strada" has echoes of this picture and the same sort of gentle sadness permeates the entire film.

    We have passed the era when European art films were either viewed as an opportunity to see raw depicitions of sex or were only supported by academic types who always ruin the joy of art by dissecting it into micro-bits. Bergman is not difficult, he is organic and true and quite possibly the greatest of all cinema artists.
  • sleepykiss
    September 27, 2007
    sleepykiss
    Prob my 2nd fav IBergman now. Complicated story of complicated ppl living ordinary lives... with CLOWNs lol.

View All Gycklarnas afton (Sawdust and Tinsel)(Sunset of a Clown)(The Naked Night) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
February 13, 2001
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

A major early feature by Ingmar Bergman. Full Review

Dan Callahan
November 25, 2008
Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine

Sawdust and Tinsel is Bergman's first film where the idea of humiliation, specifically sexual humiliation, becomes crucial to his conception. Full Review

Tim Brayton
September 1, 2008
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

Not just a showcase for motifs that Bergman would use to create masterpieces later; it's a great film all by itself. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
November 29, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It has great performances and is a visual treat, but its masochistic storyline might not be for all tastes. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
November 25, 2007
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine

Pain and degradation follow, inevitably before the eyes of a derisive crowd. Full Review

August 29, 2006
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Hailed by some at the time of its release as Bergman's masterpiece, this is proof of the director's maturing visual and thematic style. Full Review

Derek Adams
January 26, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

Vsually it is a treat, with Bergman's richly baroque compositions and persistent use of deep focus brilliantly exploiting the circus and theatre settings. And the performances are first-rate. Full Review

May 24, 2003
Film4

[Anticipates] Bergman's mature works. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
June 30, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Leo Goldsmith
November 27, 2007
Leo Goldsmith, Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Click to read the article Full Review

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