This book tells the story of its rise and fall. It presents a new portrait of Bergman as a political artist exploring a new medium with huge public impact: television. Inspired by Henrik Ibsen, feminism, and alternative psychotherapy, he made a series of portraits of the modern bourgeois family focusing on the plight of women; Face to Face followed in the tracks of The Lie (1970) and Scenes from a Marriage (1973). By his workbooks, engagement planners, and other archival material, we can trace his investigation into the heart of repressive family structures to eventually glimpse a way out. This volume culminates in an extensive study of the two-year process from the first outlines of the screenplay to the reception and aftermath of Face to Face. It thus offers a unique insight into Bergman's world, his ideas and artistry during a turbulent time in cinema history.

Autorentext

Michael Tapper is an affiliated researcher in film studies at Lund University, Sweden, and a film critic at the daily papers Sydsvenska Dagbladet and Helsingborgs Dagblad. His previous books include Swedish Cops: From Sjöwall and Wahlöö to Stieg Larsson (2014) and he has contributed to several anthologies and journals.

Zusammenfassung
The 1976 premiere of Face to Face came at the height of director-screenwriter Ingmar Bergman's career, yet today Face to Face is a largely overlooked and dismissed work. This book tells the story of its rise and fall and presents a new portrait of Bergman as a political artist exploring a new medium with huge public impact: television.