Categories
Archives
-

-
Recent Posts
- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- “I don’t represent anything.” — Liz Phair
- “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- “Some syllables are swords.” — Metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan
- “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- “All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.” — Charlie Chaplin
- “As a cinematographer, I was always attracted to stories that have the potential to be told with as few words as possible.” — Reed Morano
- “Even though I’m writing about very dark material, it still feels like an escape hatch.” — Olivia Laing
- “It’s just one of the mysteries of filmmaking that sometimes you do something that you don’t even think it’s important, then it turns out to be.” — Lili Horvát
- “Ballet taught me to stay close to style and tone. Literature taught me to be concerned about the moral life.” — Joan Acocella
Recent Comments
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Scott Abraham on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Scott Abraham on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on March 2026 Snapshots
- sheila on “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- Jessie on March 2026 Snapshots
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Maddy on “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- sheila on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Joseph Pedulla on Susan Hayward Sleeps Raw
- sheila on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- P Nickel on “The realization of ignorance is the first act of knowing.” — Jean Toomer
- Melissa Sutherland on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
-
Tag Archives: Liv Ullmann
“The best thing that can come with success is the knowledge that it is nothing to long for.” — Liv Ullmann
It’s her birthday today. In 2018 I was assigned by the Criterion Collection to write tributes to four of Ingmar Bergman’s actresses: Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, (Liv and Bibi were paired together in one video – Bergman saw them as … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Norway, women directors
2 Comments
“Each time I see it, I know I accomplished what I set out to do as an actress, that I created a person.” — Bibi Andersson on Persona
It’s her birthday today. It was my great honor to write and narrate a video-essay for The Criterion Collection about Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann’s collaboration – both separately and together – with Ingmar Bergman: Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson, … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Bibi Andersson, Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Persona
Leave a comment
“Reality is diabolical.” — Ingmar Bergman
It’s Ingmar Bergman’s birthday today. I saw Persona in college – while studying acting – and was so intimidated by it I thought, “Okay. I can’t ever watch this again.” I needed courage to feel like I still could give … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Bibi Andersson, Ingmar Bergman, Ingrid Thulin, Liv Ullmann, Sweden
6 Comments
R.I.P. Bibi Andersson
From David Thomson’s The New Biographical Dictionary of Film : Expanded and Updated , the entry on Bibi Andersson: “She needed such a holiday to prepare for one of the most harrowing female roles the screen has presented: Nurse Alma … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, RIP
Tagged Bibi Andersson, Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Persona
4 Comments
Criterion Collection video series: Bergman’s Actors
One of my major projects earlier this year was writing essays on four of Ingmar Bergman’s actors, for the Criterion Collection “channel” on FilmStruck (which will cease operations in a couple of weeks, despite an outpouring of protest). It was … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Directors
Tagged Bibi Andersson, Ingmar Bergman, Ingrid Thulin, Liv Ullmann, Sweden
Leave a comment
For Criterion: On Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson
The beginning of a series of videos for the Criterion Collection, written and narrated by Yours Truly, on Ingmar Bergman’s collaborations with actresses. This was a major project for me, and it was an honor to pay tribute to these … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies
Tagged Bibi Andersson, Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Norway, Persona, Sweden
18 Comments
June 2018 Viewing Diary
This viewing diary is amusing to me,. This month has been so full, with mostly bad things (the world/national situation as well as some family awfulness) … and I got a gig early in the month which then took up … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Al Pacino, Bibi Andersson, documentary, Elvis Presley, France, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Harriet Andersson, Ingmar Bergman, Ingrid Bergman, Ingrid Thulin, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Liv Ullmann, Persona, Supernatural, Sweden
28 Comments
March 2016 Viewing Diary
Supernatural, Season 2, Episode 20: “What Is and What Should Never Be” (2007; d. Eric Kripke) My 300-page re-cap here. At Any Price (2012; d. Ramin Bahrani) Inspired by the recent conversation Mitchell and I had about Zac Efron (Part … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Brad Pitt, Charles Beeson, David Lynch, England, Eric Kripke, France, Fritz Lang, Harriet Andersson, Ingmar Bergman, Ingrid Thulin, Ireland, Jensen Ackles, Jeremy Carver, Kim Manners, Liv Ullmann, Martin Scorsese, New Zealand, Ramin Bahrani, Richard Linklater, Ridley Scott, Robert Singer, Supernatural, Sweden, Thomas J. Wright, X-Files, Zac Efron
53 Comments

