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
- 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
- 1991
- NR
Based on a true story, the bleak period piece Oxen was co-written and directed by Ingmar Bergman's longtime cinematographer Sven Nykvist. In the small village of Småland in the late 1860s, Helge Roos (Stellan Skarsgård) works as a farmer on an estate belonging to Svenning Gustafsson (Lennart Hjulström) and his wife (Liv Ullmann). Plagued by a terrible famine, Helge illegally kills one of the Gustaffson's last oxen so his own family can eat. He and his wife, Elfrida (Ewa Fröling), feel guilty about it, but the meat keeps them alive through the winter. When he tries to sell the hide in the spring, a clergyman (Max Von Sydow) finds out and encourages him to confess. The judge sentences Helge to a life of manual labor at the state prison for his crime. When he is finally pardoned and released after six years, he returns home to Elfrida to find out that she has been supporting the family by performing sexual services, which has resulted in the birth of another child. In the 1970s, Von Sydow and Ullmann appeared together in a set of films also dealing with the Swedish famine in Jan Troell's The Emigrants and The New Land. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stellan Skarsgård, Ewa Fröling, (more)
- 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)
The Serpent's Egg, or Das Schlangenei is director Ingmar Bergman's second English language production (The Touch was his first). It is, however, his first completely non-Swedish production, made after his voluntary self-exile from Sweden over taxation issues. Set in Berlin in the early 1920s, it explores the fear and despair the city evokes in Manuela and Abel Rosenberg (Liv Ullmann and David Carradine), two Jewish trapeze artists. The suicide of Manuela's husband (Abel's brother), has stranded them in Berlin. Berlin is shown to already possess the sinister elements of cruelty and anti-Semitism which laid the groundwork for the later Nazi takeover. A series of misadventures gets them sent to a medical clinic for treatment. However, the clinic is actually a site for Nazi-type "racial" experiments on humans, which generally either madden or kill the subjects. Das Schlangenei was savaged by the critics for its improbable-seeming story and more particularly, for casting David Carradine (best known for his earlier appearances in the Kung Fu U.S. television series) in a crucial role. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, David Carradine, (more)
- 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
- 1983
Director Henri Safran adapts Henrik Ibsen's stage play to an Australian setting and a turn-of-the-century ambience in this uneven presentation of an illicit love and its consequences. Harold (Jeremy Irons) is a somewhat over-the-edge photographer who has lost out at a career in the sciences. His wife Gina (Liv Ullmann) is an opposite personality type: subdued, quiet, not prone to excessive outbursts. Harold's father the Major (John Meillon) lives with the family, which includes the daughter Henrietta (Lucinda Jones) who is slowly going blind -- and all is as normal as possible until Gregory (Arthur Dignam) shows up and in a two-day period, tragedy strikes. The prig Gregory sees it as his obligation to open up his best friend Harold's eyes with some shocking news: Henrietta is not really Harold's daughter at all, but the offspring of an illicit affair between Gregory's father and Gina. Figuring into this relationship is a wild duck that was once wounded by Gregory's father, and its symbolism looms almost too large over the rest of the complex, claustrophobic household as personalities lead events to their fateful end. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, Jeremy Irons, (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)
- 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)
- 1994
This biography profiles the life and times of early 20th century Swedish painter Anders Zorn who gained notoriety for his nudes. His works are currently worth millions. The film is set in the time when Zorn, already respected for his art, was commissioned to paint a portrait of the Swedish king. Though an excellent painter, Zorn's personal life is dreadful. A boozer and a womanizer who frequently cheats on his wife, Zorn constantly seeks approval for his art. When he travels to the U.S. for a tour he meets Emilie Bartlett the wife of sculptor Paul W. Bartlett with whom he begins a sporadic affair. After Paul commits suicide, Zorn and Emilie move to Sweden. Zorn disregards his wife's feelings and openly displays his affections for Emilie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gunnar Hellstrom, Linda Kozlowski, (more)
