The Rite

1969 1h 12m SV

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 97

TV MovieDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Called to court on obscenity charges, a theatre troupe are forced to expose their neuroses and inner psychological torments.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Ingrid Thulin
Thea Winkelmann
Anders Ek
Sebastian Fisher
Gunnar Björnstrand
Hans Winkelmann
Erik Hell
Judge Dr. Abrahamson
Ingmar Bergman
Priest

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ingmar Bergman
Writers: Ingmar Bergman
Languages: Swedish
Countries: Sweden

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 72-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

57 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ingmar Bergman, shot by Sven Nykvist. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Siv Lundgren shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ingrid Thulin and Anders Ek and Gunnar Björnstrand carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0064897 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 97 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ingmar Bergman directs. Sven Nykvist behind the camera. Siv Lundgren cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Sweden. Dialogue in Swedish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 72-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
257 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Ingmar Bergman, shot by Sven Nykvist. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Siv Lundgren shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ingrid Thulin and Anders Ek and Gunnar Björnstrand carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0064897 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 97 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sven Nykvist
Editing: Siv Lundgren
Production design: Mago
Costume design: Mago
Makeup / hair: Börje Lundh
Sound: Berndt Frithiof
Runtime: 72 min · 1h 12m
Status: Released
Original language: SV
IMDB: The Rite (1969)

Also by

Ingmar Bergman

Community reviews

What people are saying

CRCulver2018-09-01
★ 5/10
1969's Riten (The Rite) is one of the least known of Ingmar Bergman's films of the 1960s. Part of that is because the film was made for Swedish television instead of enjoying an international theatrical release. But another reason is that Riten is markedly inferior to his other films of the time. In an unnamed European country, a judge (Erik Hell) summons a traveling troupe of three actors to investigate whether the play they have brought to his community is pornographic. Two of the actors are overtly neurotic. Sebastian Fisher (Anders Ek) is prone to starting fires and afflicted by ill health. he is also glum and insulting. Thea Winkelmann (Ingrid Thulin) is wracked with existential anxiety, overly sensitive and feels suffocated by her surroundings. Hans Winkelmann (Gunnar Björkstrand) is the level-headed one who keeps the troupe together. By the early mid-1960s Bergman had moved on from religious anxiety to an interest in human relationships and psychology. The three actors can be seen as different aspects of a single personality, and Bergman's comments on this in Images: My Life in Film are worth reading. More mysterious is their relationship to the judge, which dominates in the shocking last scene which I won't spoil here. The connection of drama to religious ritual in Ancient Greek is a theme. There is also some daring sexuality here: it's hard to imagine some of the scenes even in a theatrical release of the time, let alone television broadcast. Why is this not among Bergman's best? Although the director had his trusted cameraman Sven Nykvist on hand, the cinematography nothing special: the elegantly planned long takes of other films are missing here, and some shots break off haphazardly. The concerns of the film are too repetitive after Tystnaden, Persona and Vargstimmen, and neither Hell nor Ek are pleasant to watch. Still, Björnstrand and Thulin give an engaging performance. Furthermore, I'm left wondering if there is an homage here to Bergman's colleague Jean-Luc Godard, as the film is divided into a series of tableaux (like Godard's Vivre sa vie) and Thulin wears a distinctly Anna Karina-like wig.

Production companies