A winking story about truth and lie, science and religious faith, drama and human being.

A black comedy mocking, of all things, the post-Reformation debate between reason and superstition - but here told through sex, drag, a ghost who won't quite die, a Papageno wannabe and a 220-year-old witch. While the Magician's facades (and the cinematic trappings that help him along) all dissolve by the film's end, does that mean reason wins? Kinda. Not really. Sometimes all you can do is laugh.

Bergman skewers faith and reason in one full swoop. And he makes you laugh in the process. I LOVE BERGMAN

DECEIT! This film is incredibly complex, and even gets more so the further away you get from it. As a single example, consider Max von Sydow's character. The dying drunk at the beginning tells us that he's just an actor wearing a fake beard. We take that to mean that von Sydow is the actor, but we're wrong. It's Vogler. But also von Sydow. The movie plays with you, it gets you to re-suspend your disbelief time after time, only to reveal that your first instincts were correct. Incredible.

The fantastic performers really make this film, bringing an intensity, and in the case of Bjornstrand, a subversive quality to the proceedings. Bergman looks to explore the tension between faith/superstition and reason, but the writing just doesn't seem as sharp here as in other of his work from the period. That said, the slightly comic or absurdist tone at the end makes for an appropriate conclusion to what is often an overly serious discussion or even argument.

Bergman is always a treat! Beautifully performed, with a host of brilliantly odd and entertaining characters. With the "The Magician" Bergman manages to play with concepts surrounding mortality, religion and science in a humorous and intelligent way, without becoming laborious or preachy. While overall this movie doesn't compete with Bergman at his most powerful and innovative, it has to be said that his photography and lighting is probably as brilliant as it ever was here.

It's no surprise Bergman seems to lend some respect to the magicians in this movie; his profession isn't too far removed from theirs.

"Both a rebuke to critics and a confession to charlatanism, The Magician puts forward a one-of-a-kind examination of the problem of truth in life and in art."

A beautifully shot enigma with some fascinating themes and ideas about faith going on. The kind of film I could see being a totally different experience with each viewing. And Max von Sydow's face is just heart wrenching.

Kind of an odd one in Bergman's career. Some call it a religious allegory, and while there is something to that, I think it's more about the magic of film and theater. While Bergman achieved fantastic success mixing comedy and drama in Seventh Seal, it often doesn't quite work here. But if it doesn't always gel, it does have some great moments and is generally pretty entertaining, with the usual strong performances. Gunnar Fischer's photography is quite wonderful, too.

A weird Bergman-flick, filled with mystery but lacking the suffocating insight he usually demonstrate.

A very good, if uncharacteristic, Bergman film. I took it to be somewhat of a spiritual allegory, with magic standing in for faith. It's got a strong element of mystery to it, and the photography is excellent. Not quite a masterpiece, but entertaining and interesting throughout.

One of Bergman's lightest and most cinematic efforts. Props for Thulin's turn as a woman disguised as a man.

An astonishing confrontation. Think of it as the thought process, or action and inaction, between science and superstition. One of Bergman's most artistic scripts, and some truly arresting direction.