The Magician DVD

Product Description

An elegant follow-up to Bergman's acclaimed WILD STRAWBERRIES THE MAGICIAN is set in Sweden in the mid-1800s & stars Max von Sydow as the mysterious Albert Vogler of Vogler's Magnetic Health Theater a magician & spiritualist who is en route with his troupe--including Vogler's wife disguised as a young man (Ingrid Thulin); an old crone who peddles herbal remedies & love potions (Naima Wifstrand); & an overbearing manager (Ake Fridell)--to a small town where they are hoping to give a lucrative performance The group is unexpectedly detained however in the home of a prominent citizen where a skeptical doctor (Gunnar Bjornstrand) challenges Vogler to give a demonstration of mesmerism & prove that he does in fact possess supernatural powers Although Bergman thought of THE MAGICIAN as a comedy its more menacing moments are reminiscent of the horror & suspense films of the silent era Alternately somber & lighthearted this esoteric treatise on the nature of truth & illusion should appeal to all moviegoers with a taste for cerebral cinematic fare