Liv Ullmann Movies
Though born a citizen of Norway, Liv Ullmann did not set foot in her homeland until she was seven years old. The daughter of a Norwegian engineer stationed in Japan at the time of her birth, Ullmann moved to Canada when World War II broke out, then relocated to Norway in 1946, where she received the bulk of her education. Deciding upon an acting career, she studied at the Webber-Douglas academy in London. Ullmann began her stage work in Stavanger and Oslo, and in the late '50s, she starred in the Norwegian production of The Diary of Anne Frank.In films from 1959, Ullmann's breakthrough role was catatonic actress Elisabeth Vogler in Ingmar Bergman's Persona (1966), a part she landed primarily because of her striking resemblance to co-star Bibi Andersson. Bergman became Ullmann's mentor and paramour; they lived together for several years, during which time Ullmann bore the director a daughter named Linn Ullmann, who has occasionally appeared in her mother's films. Ullmann was honored with numerous New York Film Critics Awards during the early '70s; she also earned Oscar nominations for her work in The Emigrants (1971) and Bergman's Face to Face (1976), and has received eight honorary college degrees.
An attempt to establish herself in Hollywood films was largely unsuccessful, though Ullmann received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in 40 Carats (1973). She fared rather better on Broadway, starring in a 1977 revival of Anna Christie and a 1979 musical adaptation of I Remember Mama. In 1977, she wrote her memoirs, Changing, prematurely as it turned out, since she had many years' work ahead of her. During the '90s, Ullmann turned to directing, helming the theatrical features Sofie (1992) and Kristin Lauransdotter (1995) (both of which she also scripted), and the 1996 Swedish TV miniseries Enskilda Samtal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
In this romance, two young lovers on the lam seek shelter on a seemingly deserted farm and end up entangled with the returning owner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
In this Scandinavian melodrama, a Swedish lieutenant journeys to a lonely island off the coast of Lapland for a summer of badly needed rest and relaxation. Once there, the soldier rents a hunting lodge from an aging local. Soon he encounters his landlord's lovely daughter who, while finding the stranger attractive, is put off by her innate distrust of men. With patience, he shows that men can indeed be trusted; he also introduces her to love. Unfortunately, the girl gets quite jealous when her father's lovely mistress also begins flirting with the stranger. The father is an abusive and jealous man; he cannot help but notice that his formerly passive daughter and mistress have begun standing up to him. To get even, he sends for the wealthy baron who once courted his daughter. He then informs his daughter that her lover, the soldier, has also been carrying on with his mistress. The lass disbelieves him until she sees the truth for herself, and the utterly distraught young woman agrees to marry the baron. The father then makes a play for his former mistress who spurns him and flees into the snowy mountains. It is an unfortunate coincidence that the soldier should choose that time to fire a signal shot to his lover, for his gun triggers off a deadly avalanche that sweeps the hapless mistress to her doom. The father goes mad with grief and burns down his hunting lodge. Later the lieutenant tries to smooth it all over with the daughter, but she is disconsolate and rejects him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jarl Kulle, Bibi Andersson, (more)
- 1962
This conventional drama by Norwegian director Nils R. Muller examines the mentality, emotions, and life of an unfortunate child, Tonny, born out of wedlock to a mother who is a hooker and a father who is an alcoholic. Neither parent is the type to give an unwanted or even a wanted child a loving home and as a result of his cold-hearted upbringing, Tonny does not have much of a chance in the world. First he ends up in a reformatory for juvenile delinquents and when he is no longer so juvenile, he goes to prison for his crimes. Even when he gets out of jail and tries to reform there is really no hope for him since no one and nothing are there to help pull him up by his bootstraps. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Per Christensen, Liv Ullmann, (more)
Persona is difficult to characterize in simple terms, but it may be helpful to describe this complex film as being an exploration of identity that combines elements of drama, visual poetry, and modern psychology. The central story revolves around a young nurse named Alma (Bibi Andersson) and her patient, a well-known actress named Elisabet Vogler (Liv Ullmann). Elisabet has stopped speaking, and the attending psychiatrist treats the actress by sending her to an isolated seaside cottage under Alma's care. There the nurse, who must do all the talking for both women, becomes a little enamored of the actress. One evening Alma tells Elisabet about some exhilarating sexual experiences she once had and their unpleasant aftermath. Soon after sharing this confidence, the nurse reads a letter Elisabet has written and is shocked to learn that the actress thinks of her as an amusing study. The relationship between the women becomes tense, and they wound each other. Then Alma has a long dream in which her identity merges with that of Elisabet, but when the nurse awakes, both women have apparently come to at least temporary terms with their psychological problems. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, (more)
- 1968
The Hour of the Wolf (original Swedish title: Vargtimmen) is Ingmar Bergman's spin on the demons that plague his fellow creative artists. Max von Sydow plays a painter who, while spending a summer in seclusion with his pregnant wife Liv Ullmann, is visited by bizarre and disturbing visions. Before long, Ullmann is also experiencing her husband's hallucinations; one of these, an old, faceless woman, advises Ullmann to read Von Sydow's diary. Doing so, Ullmann discovers that her husband has been cheating on her with Ingrid Thulin. In the subsequent domestic squabble, Von Sydow shoots and wounds his wife. The artist's punishment for this behavior is to have his lover, now dead, spring back to life and humiliate him in full view of Ullmann. Hour of the Wolf has something to say about the dangers of artists becoming too self-centered and self-involved; one hopes that most artists are not as thoroughly punished (or punishable) as Max Von Sydow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, Max von Sydow, (more)
Shame demonstrates the futility of escaping the consequences of war. In 1971, the Rosenbergs, Jan (Max von Sydow) and Eva (Liv Ullmann), have retreated to an island off the coast of their unnamed country, which is embroiled in a civil conflict. Trained and employed as classical violinists, they make a modest living raising and selling lingonberries, though they continue to play their instruments. When a plane carrying soldiers crashes on the island, Jan and Eva see their lives changed in an instant as soldiers from both sides of the conflict overrun the island and fighting breaks out. The couple is arrested and charged with collaborating with the rebel forces. Colonel Jacobi (Gunnar Bjornstrand), an old friend of the couple, is in charge of the army defending the island, and he agrees to have the couple released if Eva will have sex with him. Shortly after Jan learns of Eva's betrayal, rebel forces gain the upper hand and order Jan to execute Jacobi, which he readily agrees to do. Not sure which side is safe to throw in with, the couple agree to leave on an early morning boat for another island, which is presumably sheltered from the conflict. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, Max von Sydow, (more)
From Dr. No director Terence Young comes this action thriller starring Charles Bronson as Joe Moran, an ex-con whose old gang of drug dealers has just been released from prison. When it turns out the thugs have been holding a grudge against him, they kidnap Moran's wife, played by Liv Ullmann. In order to get her back and get his revenge, Moran is forced to take on the whole crew by himself. Written by Albert Simonin and Shimon Wincelberg, Cold Sweat was based on the novel Ride the Nightmare by Twilight Zone scribe Richard Matheson. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Liv Ullmann, (more)
- 1970
- PG
In this suspense thriller, Max von Sydow is Selem, who inconveniences his sister Esther (Liv Ullman) and her husband, Dr. Anton Jenks (Per Oscarsson) by being accused of murder. They rid themselves of the inconvenience by having him committed to a mental hospital. This situation drives him into genuine insanity, and he seeks revenge by escaping to commit horrific crimes in such a way that they will be blamed on Dr. Jenks. Having done this, his plan is to return to the mental hospital without being detected. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
Liv Ullmann plays the widowed, crippled Anna Fromm, who while traveling on a remote island calls upon reclusive ex-convict Andreas (Max von Sydow) in order to use his telephone. After Anna leaves, Andreas discovers she's left her purse behind; he opens it, hoping to find some identification. A letter in the purse details Anna's unhappy marriage and the depths of her loneliness. Eventually, Anna moves in with Andreas, who has become more closely acquainted with her through the intervention of Anna's friends Ellis and Evan Vergerus (Bibi Andersson and Erland Josephson). But tensions and conflicts ensue, and threaten to destroy the burgeoning relationship between Anna and Andreas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, (more)
- 1971
- PG
Director/writer Jan Troell's expansive saga deals with the Larsen family, who during the 19th century famine in Sweden emigrate to the more fertile fields of Minnesota. With painstaking detail, the director follows the Larsens as they make the perilous (and, to some of their fellow immigrants, fatal) journey by foot, steamer, train, and paddle boat. The film, which originally ran 190 minutes but was pared down to 150 by its director for American consumption, earned Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Foreign Language Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Direction, and Best Actress (Liv Ullmann). The Emigrants was followed by a sequel, Nybyggarna ("The New Land"); both films have been edited together for TV release under the title The Emigrant Saga. The subsequent American TV series The New Land (1974) starred Bonnie Bedelia in the role created in The Emigrants by Liv Ullmann, and Scott Thomas in the patriarch role originated by Max von Sydow. In 1991, Sven Nykvist directed a "prequel" to The Emigrants titled The Ox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, (more)
Cries and Whispers stars Liv Ullman and Ingrid Thulin as the sisters of dying cancer patient Harriet Andersson. Both sisters have already had brushes with death: Ullman has had an affair which prompted her husband's suicide, while Thulin has long wanted to do away with herself, at one point mutilating her own vagina out of self-hatred. As for Andersson, she has been in pain so long that she feels as though she's in the midst of death-in-life. With her two sisters wrapped up in their own problems, Harriet turns to her housekeeper Kari Sylwan for comfort; Sylwan has herself suffered the death of a child, and has developed a philosophical attitude towards impending doom. One of the most influential moments of the film -- when two of the sisters share the innermost thoughts that they'd kept from one another for so many years -- is filmed without benefit of dialogue, with the music of Chopin (enhanced by cinematographer Sven Nykvist's carefully selected camera angles) "speaking" for the ladies. While Cries and Whispers only won the Oscar for cinematography, the film did very well for itself in international awards contests. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, (more)
- 1972
- PG
This is the second installment of the Swedish epic which began with The Emigrants. Nybyggarna is a chronicle of the life and times of the Swedish immigrants in Minnesota, covering the time period up to and beyond the Civil War. Even though they did not come to America to become Americans, they are gradually drawn into the culture of their new country. Father Karl-Oskar Nilsson (Max Von Sydow) and his wife Kristina (Liv Ullman) battle the elements and political changes in order to survive. The family members have little contact with their neighbors, and because they know so little English, they have difficulty buying things from the nearby general store. Robert (Eddie Axberg), Karl's younger brother, wants to find gold and travels westward with Arvid (Pierre Lindstedt), the Nilsson's strange and skittish farmhand. The two lavish epics, The Emigrants and The New Land were the two most expensive films made in Sweden up to that time. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, (more)
Liv Ullman portrays a female pope -- based on a long-held rumor that the papacy was held by a woman between the reigns of Leo IV and Benedict III -- in this rambling saga directed by Michael Anderson. The British version of the film has been cut, not only removing twenty-one minutes of the film but also an entire contemporary framing story. In the full version, a modern-day woman evangelist, played by Ullman, who feels an affinity to the legendary Pope Joan, pays a visit to her psychiatrist (Keir Dullea). Searching through her past lives to see whether she is the reincarnation of Pope Joan, the film then flashbacks 1000 years to pick up Joan (Ullman in an earlier incarnation of her character) undergoing a succession of trials and tribulations. Joan then meets up with and becomes the mistress of Adrian (Maximilian Schell), a monk with an artistic bent. After the death of Charlemagne when roving bands of Saxons are raping women and ransacking the countryside, Joan flees the country by cutting her hair short and dressing like a man. Together Joan and Adrian escape to Greece. In Greece, Joan's street-corner preaching draws the attention of Pope Leo IV (Trevor Howard), who is impressed by her impassioned rendering of the Gospel. Still disguised as a man, Pope Leo, clueless as to her true sex, hires her as his secretary. From there, she rises up the ladder of the Roman Catholic Church, becoming a cardinal and then Pope Leo's successor. But then she becomes pregnant by a lover from her past (Franco Nero) and Joan must hide her delicate condition from the papal authorities and the rowdy masses. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, Trevor Howard, (more)
- 1973
- PG
Adapted by Jay Presson Allen from the French farce by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Gredy, Forty Carats is a standard-issue sex comedy elevated by the performances of its stars. Fortyish Realtor Ann Stanley (Liv Ullman) finds herself attracted to Peter Latham (Edward Albert) - a man literally half her age. After a summer fling in Greece, Ann and Peter come to a parting of the ways, and that, Ann supposes, is that. Imagine her surprise when Peter comes to visit her back in New York. Though at first dismissed as a fortune hunter, Peter turns out to a financial whiz with a lot more in the bank than his lady friend. Both Ann's mother (Binnie Barnes, whose husband Mike Frankovich produced the film) and daughter (Deborah Raffin) are delighted at the prospect of Ann's romance with Peter -- the only one unsure is Ann herself. Lending his considerable comic expertise to Forty Carats is Gene Kelly as Liv Ullman's ex-husband-who also takes a liking to the personable Edward Albert and encourages the May-December romance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, Edward Albert, (more)
- 1973
James Hilton's beloved fantasy novel about the land of Shangri-La was given an awkward musical treatment in this extravagantly produced flop. Larry Kramer's screenplay stays close to the 1937 Frank Capra original, as a plane fleeing China crashes in the Himalayas and a mixed group of survivors discovers the magical, peaceful land of Shangri-La. Here the film becomes a full-fledged musical, with songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David illustrating the distant realm's nature and the conflict that happiness causes amongst the survivors. Curiosity-seekers may be intrigued by the film's reputation as a notorious dud, but fans of the story would be better served by the classic original, despite a cast of well-respected names, including Peter Finch (in the Ronald Colman role), John Gielgud, Liv Ullmann, and Charles Boyer. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, (more)
Originally created as a six-part series for television, this film -- widely regarded as one of Ingmar Bergman's most powerful later works -- offers a close-up examination of a relationship as it slowly falls apart, and investigates the toll it takes on both parties. Johan and Marianne (Erland Josephson and Liv Ullmann) are a seemingly successful professional couple who have juggled careers as (respectively) a doctor and an attorney with marriage and children; when we first encounter them, they're being interviewed by a television reporter about what makes their marriage a success, an event contrasted by a later meeting with an openly bitter and combative couple (Bibi Andersson and Jan Malmsjö). But things are not always what they seem on the surface, and Johan announces he has become involved with a younger woman. Johan seems to give little thought to the harm he has done to Marianne, while she is devastated by his abandonment of her. After a stay in Europe, Johan returns to Sweden and visits Marianne; eventually, the divorced couple briefly comes together, but the damage done is too severe to mend. Focusing less on narrative than on a deep-focus portrayal of the thoughts and emotions of two characters, Scenes From a Marriage originally ran nearly 300 minutes in its original television edition; Bergman later edited the film to 168 minutes for theatrical release in Europe and North America. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, (more)
- 1974
- PG
In this historical drama based on actual events, Sweden's Queen Christina (Liv Ullmann) decides in 1654 to give up her throne in order to embrace Catholicism. However, as she studies the faith, she falls in love with Cardinal Azzolino (Peter Finch), a cleric being considered for the papacy. Greta Garbo previously played the same abdicating monarch in the film Queen Christina. Michael Dunn, who plays the dwarf in The Abdication, died during production, and several of his scenes had to be shot with another actor doubling for him. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, Peter Finch, (more)
- 1974
- PG
Based on Lillian Bos Ross' novel The Stranger and adapted by screenwriter Marc Norman 25 years before he would win the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award for 1999's Shakespeare in Love (along with Tom Stoppard), Zandy's Bride is a romantic Western starring (Gene Hackman) as gruff rural rancher Zandy Allan. Looking more for an extra hand around the ranch than a companion, Zandy sends for a mail-order bride from Sweden. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't get what he expected. When his bride, Hannah (Liv Ullmann), arrives she is anything but compliant, bearing a headstrong attitude that rubs Zandy the wrong way. Although he mistreats her at first, Zandy and Hannah fall in love as hardship hits and they must struggle together for their survival. Also starring Eileen Heckart and Harry Dean Stanton, Zandy's Bride was also released under the title For Better, For Worse. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Liv Ullmann, (more)
- 1975
Richard (Michel Piccolo) is a medieval nobleman. After his first wife dies in an accident and is buried in the family vault, he remarries and has children by his second wife. A mad longing for his first wife Leonor (Liv Ullmann) comes over him, and he sells his soul to the devil for a chance to get her back. When she returns, she is a murderous vampire, but his ardor for her continues unabated. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, Michel Piccoli, (more)
- 1976
- R
Liv Ullmann plays Dr. Jenny Isakson, a psychiatrist who is taking a vacation while her husband Dr. Erik Isakson (Sven Lindberg) is elsewhere. Haunted by visions of an old woman, Jenny suffers from profound, inexplicable depression. Desperately in search of a escape from her doldrums, she has an affair with married doctor Tomas Jacobi (Erland Josephson). This only serves to spark an attack of hysteria for Jenny. Again visited by hallucinations of the old woman, she attempts suicide. While hovering between life and death, she imagines she sees all the people who've been influential in her life, and rails against them for causing her neuroses. Only while recovering does she learn who the spectral old woman is and why she is undergoing so harrowing an emotional experience. Like his later Scenes From a Marriage, Bergman's Face to Face (Ansikte mot ansikte) originated as a multipart TV series, which was then pared down into a two-hour-plus feature film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, (more)
It's late 1944, and the Allied armies are confident they'll win the World War II and be home in time for Christmas. What's needed, says British general Bernard Law Montgomery, is a knockout punch, a bold strike through Holland, where German troops are spread thin, that will put the Allies into Germany. Paratroops led by British major general Robert Urquhart (Sean Connery) and American brigadier general James Gavin (Ryan O'Neal) will seize a thin road and five bridges through Holland into Germany, with paratroops led by Lieutenant Col. John Frost (Sir Anthony Hopkins) holding the most critical bridge at a small town called Arnhem. Over this road shall pass combined forces led by British Lieutenant Gen. Brian Horrocks (Edward Fox) and British Lieutenant Col. Joe Vandeleur (Michael Caine). The plan requires precise timing, so much so that one planner tells Lieutenant Gen. Frederick Browning (Dirk Bogarde), "Sir, I think we may be going a bridge too far." The plan also has one critical flaw: Instead of a smattering of German soldiers, the area around Arnhem is loaded with crack SS troops. Disaster ensues. Based on a book by historian Cornelius Ryan, A Bridge Too Far is reminiscent of another movie based on a Ryan book, The Longest Day. Like that movie, it is loaded with more than 15 international stars, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Hardy Krueger, Gene Hackman, Maximilian Schell, and Liv Ullman. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, (more)
