10 Classic Movies That Only Pretentious People Like

6. Anything Ingmar Bergman

The Seventh Seal Personally, I'm a huge fan of Bergman. But let's be honest, Bergman is condescension corporeal. The famed Swedish director is obsessed with death, the fear of death, the death of love, the love for death, God's death, and life after death. Bergman has arguably contributed one of the most expansive oeuvres to the standard film classics. Wild Strawberries, The Virgin Spring, Fanny And Alexander, Persona, Cries And Whispers, The Seventh Seal, Scenes From A Marriage, Winter Light, etc. Each of these films is thought to be a classic. But all of them have crucial qualities of pretension in common. Bergman, a pessimist who longs for optimism, made films wrought with dry, meditative dialogue - the kind you would find in a university's humanities course. And although he had a flare for eery moments of transcendence, you have to wade through a bevy of familial conflict and tedium before you can feel feelings. With a body of work held on an esoteric pedestal, the classics of Bergman aren't for everyone. In fact, they're pretty much meant for the select, pretentious few.
Contributor
Contributor

Ian Tilman Nichols is a film reviewer and enthusiast based out of Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. You can hear more of his thoughts on films by checking out the It's Only a Podcast and Flicksation podcasts.