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Self-portraiture is something one should never get involved in, since it is wrong to lie even though one endeavours to tell the truth.
Ingmar Bergman
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For me he's just a hoax. It's empty. It's not interesting. It's dead. Citizen Kane, which I have a copy of - is all the critics' darling, always at the top of every poll taken, but I think it's a total bore. Above all, the performances are worthless. The amount of respect that movie's got is absolutely unbelievable.
Ingmar Bergman
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I am very shy with people I don't know.
Ingmar Bergman
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If I let myself go, nothing will get done.
Ingmar Bergman
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When you finish a film, you never want to see it again.
Ingmar Bergman
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There hasn't been anyone with whom I can discuss my scripts. Even when the film is done, there is no one I can show it to who gives his sincere opinion. There is silence.
Ingmar Bergman
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When I'm on Faro, I'm never lonely.
Ingmar Bergman
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There are so many books I want to read. Difficult books. That's what I intend to do and what I'm longing for.
Ingmar Bergman
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The demons are innumerable, appear at the most inconvenient times, and create panic and terror. But I have learnt that if I can master the negative forces and harness them to my chariot, then they can work to my advantage.
Ingmar Bergman
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From an early age onward, it was said that 'Ingmar has no sense of humor.'
Ingmar Bergman
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I always work with 18 friends.
Ingmar Bergman
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Our social relationships are limited, most of the time, to gossip and criticizing people's behavior. This observation slowly pushed me to isolate from the so-called social life. My days pass by in solitude.
Ingmar Bergman
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I'm planning, you see, to try to confine myself to the truth. That's hard for an old, inveterate fantasy martyr and illegible liar who has never hesitated to give truth the form he felt the occasion demanded.
Ingmar Bergman
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I have a feeling of complete balance. The sea, the house, the loneliness, the light. Everything is clearer. Much more precise. I have the feeling that I am living on a limit, and I'm crossing that limit sometimes.
Ingmar Bergman
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Mother was actually a great doer and organizer. All the special occasions were directed by mother.
Ingmar Bergman
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The only thing I consider appalling would be to suddenly become a vegetable and a burden on other people. A soul slowly dying out, trapped in a body in which the insides gradually sabotage me - that, I think, would be terrifying.
Ingmar Bergman
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I haven't put an ounce of effort into my families. I never have.
Ingmar Bergman
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The Seventh Seal is one of the few films really close to my heart. Actually, I don't know why. It's certainly far from perfect. I had to contend with all sorts of madness, and one can detect here and there the speed with which it was made. But I find it even, strong, and vital.
Ingmar Bergman
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If I didn't have my profession, I think I would be sitting in a nuthouse. But I have been unceasingly at work, and this has been very healthy for me. So I had no need for therapy.
Ingmar Bergman
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When we came out from the Elysee palace, there was a gigantic limousine waiting for us and four police on motorcycles. It is probably one of the few times I have experienced my fame. I thought it was so fantastic that I laughed to the point of shouting.
Ingmar Bergman
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You find him disgusting with his thick mouth and ugly body and wet appealing eyes. You think he's disgusting and you're afraid.
Ingmar Bergman
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I hope I never get so old I get religious.
Ingmar Bergman
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Love her? You're devoid of all feeling. You lack common decency. You know how to express yourself. You always have just the right words. There's just one thing you haven't the slightest clue about: life itself. You're a craven coward, but a genius at evasions and excuses.
Ingmar Bergman
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I am so 100 percent Swedish... Someone has said a Swede is like a bottle of ketchup - nothing and nothing and then all at once - splat. I think I'm a little like that. And I think I'm Swedish because I like to live here on this island. You can't imagine the loneliness and isolation in this country. In that way, I'm very Swedish - I don't dislike to be alone
Ingmar Bergman
