Episode 175 – Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night

Scott, David, Trevor, and Arik discuss sex, seasons, witty retorts, dueling, and moral investigation in Bergman's 1955 classic.

This time on the podcast, Scott is joined by David Blakeslee, Trevor Berrett, and Arik Devens to discuss Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night.

About the film:

After fifteen films that received mostly local acclaim, the 1955 comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende) at last ushered in an international audience for Ingmar Bergman. In turn-of-the-century Sweden, four men and four women attempt to navigate the laws of attraction. During a weekend in the country, the women collude to force the men’s hands in matters of the heart, exposing their pretensions and insecurities along the way. Chock-full of flirtatious propositions and sharp witticisms delivered by such Swedish screen legends as Gunnar Björnstrand and Harriet Andersson, Smiles of a Summer Night is one of cinema’s great erotic comedies.

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Watch a scene from the film:

Episode Links:

Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) – The Criterion Collection
Smiles of a Summer Night: Midsummer Merry-Go-Round – From the Current – The Criterion Collection
Smiles of a Summer Night, by Pauline Kael – From the Current – The Criterion Collection
Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) – IMDb
Smiles of a Summer Night – Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
Smiles of a Summer Night | Ingmar Bergman
Smiles of a Summer Night Movie Review (1955) | Roger Ebert
Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) – #237 | Criterion Reflections
TASCHEN Books: The Ingmar Bergman Archives
Ingmar Bergman: An Artist’s Journey

Episode Credits:

Scott Nye (Twitter / Battleship Pretension)
David Blakeslee (Twitter / Criterion Reflections)
Trevor Berrett (Twitter / The Mookse and the Gripes)
Arik Devens (Twitter / Cinema Gadfly)

Music from this episode is by John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John and Robbie Williams.