Chopin, meet Darth Vader
I've been watching a lot of Bergman DVD's lately (that's what a netflix subscription will do to you - don't say I didn't warn you). Sadly, one big reason I've been into these movies is that they involve actual conversation. I rarely go to the movies any more -- there is so much crap out there that it's almost too much trouble to try to find the one rarity that doesn't, let's speak plainly, suck.
This weekend I watched Autumn Sonata, which is one of his later (color) films, starring Ingrid Bergman & Liv Ullman as estranged mother & daughter. I thought it was definitely worth seeing, if only for the pleasure of watching the inner workings of a warped relationship.
The other thing that aroused my interested was that the Ingrid Bergman character is a concert pianist, and one of the scenes involves the daughter & mother playing Chopin's Prelude No. 2 in A minor. For some reason, the beginning of it reminded me of the ominous-sounding Darth Vader music from Star Wars. Then, of course, I had to dust off my VHS copy of Star Wars and see for myself. After listening to both I admit the resemblance is not that great, but the mood is definitely similar. What struck me, however, was that although these two movies reside at the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of genere, theme, or pretty much everything else, they are still both good movies. It is not out of some intellectual snobbery that I reject most of the rubbish that's being served up at movie theaters today. But for God's sake, when I think of Anakin Skywalker from SW Episode II turning into Darth Vader, I'm sorry, but I just can't make the leap. The very thought is laughable.
Bergman came to a point in his career when he stopped making movies. Why can't George Lucas do the same?
3:54:56 PM 
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