About

Fanny and Alexander was meant to be the end. Ingmar Bergman had decided to make one final cinematic statement before retiring to a life of theatre, television, and writing. While he would eventually return to the silver screen with 2003's Saraband, Fanny and Alexander is the director's grandest testament: a sweeping, autobiographical portrait of a family told through the eyes of two young siblings in turn-of-the-century Sweden. An opulent production featuring dozens of speaking roles, it would be the most expensive Swedish film produced to date. It is a monumental summation of a life's work; it combines melancholy and joy, high emotion with warm humour. While it did not end up being Bergman's final film, it may still be his magnum opus.

The Television Version of the film runs to a total of 312 minutes, compared to the Theatrical Version’s 188 minutes. This extra time allows Bergman to add texture to the characters and further explore the blurred line between fiction and reality, the dead and the living.