''The Devil's Eye'' () is a 1960 Swedish
fantasy comedy film written and directed by
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...
.
Plot
In accordance with the Irish proverb that "A woman's chastity is a stye in the Devil's eye",
Satan
Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...
believes a pain he feels in his eye is a
stye and it is being caused by a virgin on Earth. In particular, the pain is connected to Britt-Marie, the daughter of a vicar. Britt-Marie is still a virgin at 20, and she is engaged to a man named Jonas. Satan fears Britt-Marie may serve as an example to her friends to remain virgin, and opts to send
Don Juan to seduce Britt-Marie. Don Juan is enduring what he considers a boring punishment: Repeatedly, a woman comes to him threatening to kill him, and he seduces her and takes her to bed. However, before any sex occurs, a
demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including
f ...
emerges to say the "show is over", and the woman disappears. Satan comes to Don Juan, telling him he can go to Earth and if he seduces Britt-Marie, Satan will allow Don Juan to have a dreamless sleep, a relief from his punishment.
Don Juan accepts the challenge, accompanied by his servant Pablo. The demon also follows them, determined Pablo will not enjoy any sex while on Earth. Don Juan and Pablo meet the vicar, a happy and gullible man who invites them to his house. At the house, Pablo becomes enamoured with the vicar's wife, Renata. Don Juan meets Britt-Marie and attempts to seduce her, questioning her relationship with Jonas. She agrees to kiss him. The demon also stokes quarrels between Britt-Marie and Jonas, and Jonas leaves. During the night, Pablo seduces Renata. The demon appears to the vicar to tell him Renata is committing
adultery, and gives him the key to Renata's bedroom. Instead of entering the bedroom, the vicar instead uses the key to lock the demon in his cupboard. The next morning, the demon tells the vicar he dreamed that while Renata slept with one of the vicar's guests, his daughter slept with the other.
Concerned, the vicar runs to Britt-Marie's bedroom, but finds her alone there. Don Juan has fallen in love with Britt-Marie and is unable to seduce her in his usual fashion; Satan laments his defeat. After Don Juan returns to hell, Satan learns Britt-Marie has married Jonas, and he takes her virginity on their wedding night. This alone does not cure Satan's eye. However, Britt-Marie lies to Jonas, claiming she had never kissed another man; the lie heals Satan, giving him a minor victory. Satan decides to put Don Juan to sleep, decreeing he will dream of love, a cruel punishment.
Cast
*
Jarl Kulle as Don Juan
*
Bibi Andersson as Britt-Marie
*
Stig Järrel as Satan
*
Nils Poppe as The Vicar
*
Gertrud Fridh as Renata
*
Sture Lagerwall as Pablo
*
Georg Funkquist as Count Armand de Rochefoucauld
*
Gunnar Sjöberg as Marquis Giuseppe Maria de Macopanza
*
Gunnar Björnstrand as The Actor
Production
SF Studios
SF Studios is Sweden’s largest film studio. It is involved in production, distribution, and movie theater market chains (both Swedish and international, including American) with headquarters in Stockholm and local offices in Oslo, Copenhagen ...
required Bergman to make a comedy before agreeing to produce Bergman's idea for ''
The Virgin Spring''. The story was inspired by the Danish radio play ''The Return of Don Juan'' by ; Bergman was intrigued by the character's resurgent popularity. The "Irish proverb" cited in the film is fictional and was invented by Bergman.
Release and reception
In 2018,
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...
released the film on
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
in
Region A, along with 38 other Bergman films, in the set ''
Ingmar Bergman's Cinema''. On the
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, ''The Devil's Eye'' holds an approval rating of 71% based on 7 reviews.
References
Bibliography
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External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Devils Eye, The
1960 films
1960 comedy films
1960s fantasy comedy films
1960s Swedish films
1960s Swedish-language films
Films based on the Don Juan legend
Films directed by Ingmar Bergman
Films set in hell
Films scored by Erik Nordgren
Films with screenplays by Ingmar Bergman
Swedish black-and-white films
Swedish fantasy comedy films