Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

Sawdust and Tinsel

Released Sep 14, 1953 1h 32m Drama List
91% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
In this early Ingmar Bergman film, the Swedish director details the downward-spiraling lives of the members of a failing circus and their daily humiliations and degradations. The hapless clown Frost (Anders Ek) discovers his wife, Alma (Gudrun Brost), proudly skinny-dipping in front of a group of leering soldiers, while put-upon circus owner and ringmaster Albert (Åke Grönberg) undergoes torments from both his wife, Agda (Annika Tretow), and his mistress, Anne (Harriet Andersson).
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Sawdust and Tinsel

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Myles Standish St. Louis Post-Dispatch The whole thing, has been written and directed by Ingmar Bergman in a style so gloomily arty as to be indigestible. Mar 21, 2024 Full Review Fernando F. Croce Slant Magazine Pain and degradation follow, inevitably before the eyes of a derisive crowd. Rated: 3/4 Nov 25, 2007 Full Review Derek Adams Time Out Vsually it is a treat, with Bergman's richly baroque compositions and persistent use of deep focus brilliantly exploiting the circus and theatre settings. And the performances are first-rate. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Vernon Young The Hudson Review The greatest European film to be shown here in the past year -- always excepting La Strada -- is The Naked Night, directed by the virtually unknown Ingmar Bergman. Jan 30, 2024 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Surreal, strange and with the pronounced despair and foreboding which would come to characterize Bergman's filmography, Sawdust and Tinsel is a harbinger of humiliation. Rated: 4/5 Aug 18, 2020 Full Review Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy Not just a showcase for motifs that Bergman would use to create masterpieces later; it's a great film all by itself. Rated: 9/10 Sep 1, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (98) audience reviews
Luca D Really great movie. Says a lot about pride and shame. The movie shows how a man becomes when the woman he loves hurts his pride. The women in the movie seem to not think about consequences which is pretty realistic, and the men feel lost when the woman they love commits shameful careless acts. A very depressing and maddening movie, but definitely worth a watch. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/05/23 Full Review Audience Member As a master of casting his angst into artistic form, Bergman always intrigues us as we ponder the deeper significance of his dramatic and obviously personal themes. In the case of "Sawdust and Tinsel," we're given a window into the pathetic reality of the starving artist, perpetually caught between a grim dedication to one's craft and a desperate yearning to escape the resulting hardships and ridicule. The film offers up a rather disheveled and undisciplined take on themes that would recur in tighter and more convincing form throughout Bergman's storied career. Melodramatic interchanges between key characters are riveting when they occur but are frequently abandoned in favor of digressions which suspend further buildup of the tension that we crave. The film's physical climax in the circus ring is a particularly risky development that fails to payoff, instead leaving the impression that Bergman is starting to run off of the rails. For a more well-crafted and effective rendition of the plight of the artist, check out "The Magician" while coming back to this one only after a more thorough review of Bergman's better known works. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie depicts the typical life of Starving Artists. As the title suggests "tinsel represents the outward appearance and glamor of Circus life. While on the other hand Sawdust represents the lack of income Circus performance suffers. As the film progresses you get a direct view behind the scenes of the Theatre as well as other forms of Artistic lifestyles. Disease and poverty follow the main characters footsteps every step of the way towards desperation and madness. From the directors point of you it is clearly depicting the reality of their struggles. Production value wise this movie clearly wasn't cheaply made. As far as the amount of Actors , rare animals , costumes and designs are concerned. In the end it falls short on many levels and unfortunately the storyline just does not pay off . Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member A refreshing Berman film in that I didn't want to kill myself at the end. Well, almost, but still. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member They said go join the circus. They said it'd be fun. Then this happened. Maudlin, depressing, dull, not a classic. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Fra B A "good" movie in Bergman's career equals to a masterpiece in everyone else's career. There are already very interesting reflections on the artist life. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/06/21 Full Review Read all reviews
Sawdust and Tinsel

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Monika 100% 83% Monika Lola Montes 82% 77% Lola Montes La Strada 98% 93% La Strada Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis In this early Ingmar Bergman film, the Swedish director details the downward-spiraling lives of the members of a failing circus and their daily humiliations and degradations. The hapless clown Frost (Anders Ek) discovers his wife, Alma (Gudrun Brost), proudly skinny-dipping in front of a group of leering soldiers, while put-upon circus owner and ringmaster Albert (Åke Grönberg) undergoes torments from both his wife, Agda (Annika Tretow), and his mistress, Anne (Harriet Andersson).
Director
Ingmar Bergman
Producer
Rune Waldekranz
Distributor
Times Film Corporation
Production Co
Sandrews
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Swedish
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 14, 1953, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 20, 2018
Runtime
1h 32m
Most Popular at Home Now