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The Devil's Eye

Released Oct 17, 1960 1h 30m Comedy List
71% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Satan sends Don Juan (Jarl Kulle) to seduce a country priest's (Stig Järrel) chaste daughter (Bibi Andersson).
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The Devil's Eye

Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
TIME Magazine A minor, clever, somewhat symbolixed comedy by Sweden's Ingmar Bergman. Jul 22, 2013 Full Review Time Out The dominant impression, though, as in so many early Bergman movies, is of a deep pessimism that is imposed rather than felt as necessary or productive. Jul 22, 2013 Full Review Penelope Gilliatt Observer (UK) The performances by the Breughel-faced Bergman repertory company are wry, peculiar and comic. Mar 9, 2024 Full Review Sam Jordison Film4 Further proof that Bergman had a lively sense of humour as well as an unusual ability to plumb the depths of the human psyche. Jul 22, 2013 Full Review Fernando F. Croce CinePassion Bergman with Mozart in one hand and Goethe in the other, out to prove that comedy is as desolating as tragedy Feb 4, 2010 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Before the third act ended, I had a pain in the rear part of my anatomy. Rated: C Sep 18, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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júlio a Impecável, maravilhoso, totalmente imperdível para qualquer um! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Full disclosure - I tend to like movies with the devil in them. I also love brooding characters, and weighty questions about life and love, and this film has all of the above. The premise is that in keeping with an Irish proverb, the Devil has a stye on his eye because a woman is about to be married, but is still a virgin. In this case, she's the daughter of a vicar. He sends Don Juan and his sidekick back to earth along with a demon to oversee them, with the mission of deflowering her before the wedding. Things get complicated when Don Juan quickly develops real feelings for her, and his sidekick falls for and begins seducing her mother. Don Juan is brooding, hating both God and the Devil equally for the morality game they play. On the one hand he boldly says "the lack of principles is my principle, vice my virtue, debauchery my asceticism, godlessness my religion." On the other hand, he betrays real sadness when he says "Those capable of love are very few. Their suffering has no limit. I am told they are mirrors which reflect God, and make life easier for us wretches in the dark." Such brilliant dialog is Bergman at his best. The vicar's wife is a complicated character as well - wondering about her husband's love, whether he would be sorry if she died, and telling him that life "is like a comedy - you see me in one part, others see me in another. No one sees my real self", as she seriously ponders whether to sleep with the sidekick. Such a poignant scene, especially as the vicar is a paragon of virtue, desperately wanting to understand her, saying he'll still love her if she sleeps with another, and later overcoming the demon's temptation to try to catch her in the act. So both women, mother and daughter, are faced with the temptation of adultery - one just before her marriage, and the other in middle-age. Both are swayed by pent-up passion, sweet words, and pity - but their feelings and actions are far from simple. Will love be enough to shield them from temptation, even when it truly touches their hearts? I won't spoil it. In addition to all of that, I loved the little touches in the movie, including the ministers in hell advising Don Juan on the art of seduction, the demon morphing into a black cat, and the punishment of Don Juan in hell which consisted of nightly dreams of rendezvous with sensuous women, only to be woken up before he could get his satisfaction ("the performance is over, Don Juan"). One of his later punishments is somewhat shocking given the movie was made in 1960 - he's forced to listen to a demon gives a play by play description of the sounds the one woman he cares about is making while having sex, starting with her panting and ending in an orgasm so violent she's weeping tears of joy. My goodness. Playful, weighty, sacrilegious, creative, well cast, and well filmed - 'The Devil's Eye' may not be Bergman's best movie but it's quite good. I think it's unfair to knock it down based on his other classics - imagine if it was made by someone else! But no, with all of the elements we see here, this is distinctive Bergman. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review s r Original, but I wasn't happy with where it went, but it stayed true to the theme that the battle between good and evil is a close one. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member i hav 2 say was surprized devil didn't win knowing Bergman oddity Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member A clever, and very funny comedy of errors between the figure of the Latin lover, and a lively Scandinavian ice queen. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Os diálogos são espertos e a montagem do filme é bem eficaz, mas envelheceu muito mal. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Devil's Eye

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Satan sends Don Juan (Jarl Kulle) to seduce a country priest's (Stig Järrel) chaste daughter (Bibi Andersson).
Director
Ingmar Bergman
Producer
Allan Ekelund
Screenwriter
Ingmar Bergman
Production Co
Svensk Filmindustri
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
Swedish
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 17, 1960, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 20, 2018
Runtime
1h 30m
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