Description Video essay on The Saga of Gosta Berling (1924, dir. Mauritz Stiller), with commentary by Jan Olsson, Professor of Cinema Studies at Stockholm Univeristy, Sweden. Film available on Kino DVD. Part of the Shooting Down Pictures Project. For more information visit alsolikelife.com/shooting. THIS VIDEO UTILIZES COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL UNDER THE FAIR USE PROVISIONS OF THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT. TRANSCRIPT: The Saga of Gosta Berling is Mauritz Stiller's epic adaptation of Selma Lagerlof's immensely popular novel. The film, in two intallments ran well over three hours when it was originally released in Sweden in 1924. In a famous letter to the director, Lagerlof voiced dissent concerning the film version and its liberties over the text. The plot follows its title character, a young defrocked minister, who is entangled in various romantic and political intrigues with various parties connected to the grand Ekeby estate. Among his chief adversaries is Martha Dohna, the grand matron of one of the neighboring estates; among his chief allies is Countess Elizabeth, played by Greta Garbo. The Saga of Gösta Berling is best known as Garbos first major role. Dismissed by critics after the fist part, but celebrated for the second, the success under Stillers tutelage fueled one of the most remarkable acting careers in the history of the medium. Stillers close-ups and halo-like lighting paved the ground for the Garbo myth, which was totally unexpected given her early Swedish work in a <b>...</b>
