woody allen, ace film critic

Ingmar Bergman died this week, and of all the terrific appreciations of the filmmaker that have popped up since, the best probably comes from 20 years ago. Reviewing Bergman's autobiography, The Magic Lantern, in The New York Times, Woody Allen (a Bergman acolyte) discusses the man's body of work with an enthusiasm and insight that's unparalleled. Woody wasn't trying to be pretentious when he talked about how great Bergman was; he understood him to his bones.

The 1988 piece appears here. (Warning: Formatting issues cause the ending of the article to get a little wonky.)