Greetings gentle readers and welcome to another installment of the Sunday Morning Movie. Today it’s one of Ingmar Bergman’s lesser known films, The Rite:
https://youtu.be/E1q4lH_QaCE?si=KHYhVffLW9ZwgfGD
and next week’s film, Libera, Mio Amore:
Reviews of The Rite:
Letterboxd says:
I’m with critics at the time, this is a very interesting film with intriguing characters and take on the revenge genre. You got these actors being questioned by a judge regarding an “obscene” play they have going on. But as everything unfolds we come to realize they all share this very dark and complex connection, which the judge attempts to exploits but things seems to backfire in the end as they perform this eerie rite that gives the movie its title.
The masks and the minimalist, bondage-like customs are very creepy, heightened by the score and the confusion of what’s going on. It feels like everything is taking place in some form of hell (the judge’s actor’s last name is actually Hell, not sure if that’s a huge coincidence) or purgatory. Again, it all seems very simple on paper but by the end I was left somewhat confused, with a lot of unresolved questions, especially in all its meanings. Maybe there’s none.
All in all, it makes for an intriguing watch, but would have loved maybe Cowie or someone to maybe do some dive deep and explain the film. Again, it feels very simple and straightforward, but at the same time I was left feeling I was missing something.
and
A fascinating, haunting, and entirely thought-provoking film on art vs. authority. The narrative certainly isn’t without fault and could be seen as fairly sloppy (comparatively to Bergman’s usual standouts), but it provides thoughtful and sincere conversation as always.
My take:
It’s an intense little film. I’m not usually given to psychological drama, but Bergman really captures and holds my attention here. The characters are a bit over the top dramatically but that’s kind of the point, I think. They aren’t supposed to capture full, well-rounded human beings but rather psychological aspects. They are, I suppose, symbols more than persons. I enjoyed it, but only once: ⭐.
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Writer: Ingmar Bergman
Plot (Spoilers!):
Three actors have run afoul of the authorities. They have performed a pornographic act and now they must answer to the law. They are called in for interviews with a judge.
The interviews don’t go well. One of the actors insults the judge. Another attempts to bribe him.
The judge doesn’t take kindly to it all. The actors seek to placate him by performing the act in private. The nervous and neurotic judge finds it all too much. He dies, and the actors are free to move on.
***
Bonuses:
A History of the Infinite
Professor Adrian Moore journeys through philosophical thought on infinity over the last two and a half thousand years. This comes from a BBC radio series.
00:00 Horror of the Infinite
13:30 Aristotle’s Rapprochement
27:07 The Infinite & the Divine
40:35 The Infinite & Human Experience
53:57 The Mathematics of the Infinitely Small
1:07:28 The Mathematics of the Infinitely Big
1:20:13 Crisis & Uncertainty
1:33:39 The Cosmos
1:47:13 Death & Immortality
2:00:43 Where Does This Leave Us?
Frege, Russell, & Modern Logic – A. J. Ayer & Bryan Magee (1987)
A. J. Ayer discusses the work of Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, and modern logic with Bryan Magee. This is from the 1987 series on the Great Philosophers with Bryan Magee.
Rod Serling on the topic of RACE
The Art of Chris Moore (Slideshow)
Chris Moore was one half of the two Chris’s – the other being Chris Foss – two giants of British book cover illustration. Although perhaps a bit less well known than Foss, Chris Moore’s covers dominated the sci-fi section of bookshops while I was growing up in the 70s and 80’s. He had a greater range than Foss too – Moore’s illustrations went far beyond book covers and the science fiction genre.
Traditional Greenlandic Music – 55 Recordings From (1905-1984)
Traditional Greenlandic Music – 55 Recordings From (1905-1984)
Compiled by Michael Hauser
Release Date: 1992
Label: ULO CD-75
Vintage Obscura Halloween Mix [2026] — SIDE B