Justly reputed by everyone (across the board) as the most gifted cinematographer of the 20th century, Sven Nykvist was one of a handful of practitioners of that craft who raised working with cinematic light (as a director of photography and a camera operator) to the level of an art form, on par with Rembrandt, Monet, and Van Gogh. His legacy is inextricable from that of his lifelong collaborator, Ingmar Bergman, under whose aegis Nykvist instantly built his reputation. (It can hardly be deemed accidental that reviews of masterworks such as Through a Glass Darkly [1961], Winter Light [1962], Persona [1966], and Fanny and Alexander [1982] invariably begin by praising those films' gradations of luminescence.) One thus cannot overestimate Nykvist's contribution to cinema or his impact on our way of looking at the world.
For the first decade of his career, Nykvist paired up with directors including Rolf Husberg on Barnen Från Frostmofjället (1945), Lennart Wallen on Lata Lena Ocla Bla Ogde Per (1947), and Schamyl Bauman on Maj på Malö (1948), as well as the legendary Alf Sjöberg, on Barabbas (1953). During the '50s, he also directed a feature about his missionary family's interaction with a witch doctor, shot in the Belgian Congo, called Under the Southern Cross (1956), and made a documentary about Albert Schweitzer.
Though the majority of Nykvist's cinematographic work up through the early '50s wasn't screened outside of Sweden, the tide turned in 1953, when Bergman -- only 35 at the time and already on his 13th film, Sawdust and Tinsel -- transitioned from the cinematographer Hilding Bladh to Nykvist. (Bladh purportedly demanded that Nykvist shoot the film's challenging interior images as a demonstration of his proficiency.) Fortuitously, Ingmar Bergman (only four years older than Nykvist) had the same aesthetic inclinations, which presaged a long working relationship between the men; however, their full collaborative relationship didn't officially begin for another six years or so, until the director's The Virgin Spring (1959). In the mean time, Nykvist shot many additional Swedish films and continued to hone his craft.
The results of the Nykvist-Bergman partnership are infamous; to put it mildly, Nykvist managed to capture every psychological nuance of the director's work on a visual plane -- something that has rarely been accomplished before or since in a director-cinematographer relationship. In addition to the aforementioned titles, their joint credits include: The Silence (1963), The Hour of the Wolf (1968), Shame (1968), Cries and Whispers (1972), Scenes from a Marriage (1973), The Serpent's Egg (1977), and Autumn Sonata (1978). All but The Serpent's Egg were widely hailed as masterpieces. Nykvist arguably delivered his greatest impact with Cries and Whispers, with its expressionistic color scheme and frequent fade-outs to a solid red plane. Variety captured the essence of that film when it observed, "Sven Nykvist's Eastmancolor camera, working on period sets dominated by warm reds, complement the stark emotional undertones." Indeed, that picture netted Nykvist an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, as did Fanny and Alexander.
In between Bergman projects, Nykvist collaborated with such five-star European filmmakers as Mai Zetterling (Loving Couples), Louis Malle (Black Moon, Pretty Baby), and Roman Polanski (The Tenant). Pretty Baby marked Nykvist's first American credit (though not his first English-language film); producer Malle purportedly had trouble securing a permit for Nykvist, and though the two worked fluidly together, Nykvist encountered some difficulties on-set, including trouble with the unions (which objected to his desire to operate the camera) and the crew's frustration regarding his methods of working with natural light (in that case, to emulate the paintings of Vuillard).
As Bergman's filmic activity died in the '80s and '90s, Nykvist segued into far more conventional Hollywood fare, such as Bob Fosse's Star 80 (1983), Norman Jewison's Agnes of God (1985), and Nora Ephron's Sleepless in Seattle (1993). He made a particularly outstanding contribution to Phil Kaufman's The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). Nykvist debuted as a feature film director in 1991 with The Ox (starring Bergman mainstays Liv Ullmann and Max von Sydow), the story of a poor 19th century Swedish farming family; it opened to mixed reviews. In 1995, he lensed Ullmann's well-received directorial debut, Kristin Lavransdatter, a medieval period drama set in Norway. Peter Yates' Curtain Call (1999) marked Nykvist's swan song; soon after, he contracted aphasia, a form of dementia, and moved into a nursing home in his early eighties, which prevented him from shooting Bergman's final film, Saraband (2003).
Sven Nykvist died of causes related to his condition on September 20, 2006. In an obituary, The New York Times' Stephen Holden eloquently summarized Nykvist's central gift by stating: "In [Nykvist's] films, especially those with Mr. Bergman, light assumed a metaphysical dimension that went beyond mood. It distilled and deepened the feelings of torment and spiritual separation that afflicted Bergman characters. But in scenes of tranquillity filmed outdoors, the light might also evoke glimpses of transcendence."
The outstanding documentary Light Keeps Me Company (2000), directed by the master's son, Carl-Gustaf Nykvist, provides an exemplary overview of Sven Nykvist's career, with clips from many of his finest films.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Light Keeps Me Company
Cinematographer |
2000 | |||
|
Celebrity
Cinematographer |
1998 | |||
|
Enskilda Samtal
Cinematographer |
1997 | |||
|
Kristin Lavransdatter
Cinematographer |
1995 | |||
|
Something to Talk About
Cinematographer |
1995 | |||
|
Just in Time
Cinematographer |
1994 | |||
|
Mixed Nuts
Cinematographer |
1994 | |||
|
Only You
Cinematographer |
1994 | |||
|
With Honors
Cinematographer |
1994 | |||
|
Sleepless in Seattle
Cinematographer |
1993 | |||
|
Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography
Interviewee |
1993 | |||
|
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Cinematographer |
1993 | |||
|
Chaplin
Cinematographer |
1992 | |||
|
The Ox
Cinematographer, Director, Screenwriter |
1991 | |||
|
Buster's Bedroom
Cinematographer |
1990 | |||
|
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Cinematographer |
1989 | |||
|
Katinka
Cinematographer |
1989 | |||
|
New York Stories
Cinematographer |
1989 | |||
|
Another Woman
Cinematographer |
1988 | |||
|
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Cinematographer |
1988 | |||
|
Dream Lover
Cinematographer |
1986 | |||
|
Nobody's Child
Cinematographer |
1986 | |||
|
The Sacrifice
Cinematographer |
1986 | |||
|
Agnes of God
Cinematographer |
1985 | |||
|
After the Rehearsal
Cinematographer |
1984 | |||
|
Swann in Love
Cinematographer |
1984 | |||
|
Star 80
Cinematographer |
1983 | |||
|
Cannery Row
Cinematographer |
1982 | |||
|
Fanny & Alexander
Cinematographer |
1982 | |||
|
Fanny & Alexander
Cinematographer |
1982 | |||
|
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Cinematographer |
1981 | |||
|
Aus Dem Leben Der Marionetten
Cinematographer |
1980 | |||
|
Willie and Phil
Cinematographer |
1980 | |||
|
Hurricane
Cinematographer |
1979 | |||
|
Marmeladupproret
Cinematographer, Director |
1979 | |||
|
Starting Over
Cinematographer |
1979 | |||
|
Autumn Sonata
Cinematographer |
1978 | |||
|
En och en
Cinematographer, Director |
1978 | |||
|
King of the Gypsies
Cinematographer |
1978 | |||
|
Pretty Baby
Cinematographer |
1978 | |||
|
A Look at Liv
Participant |
1977 | |||
|
The Serpent's Egg
Cinematographer |
1977 | |||
|
Ansikte mot Ansikte
Cinematographer |
1976 | |||
|
The Tenant
Cinematographer |
1976 | |||
|
Black Moon
Cinematographer |
1975 | |||
|
The Magic Flute
Cinematographer |
1975 | |||
|
Monismanien 1995
Cinematographer |
1974 | |||
|
Ransom
Cinematographer |
1974 | |||
|
Scenes from a Marriage
Cinematographer |
1974 | |||
|
The Dove
Cinematographer |
1974 | |||
|
Scenes from a Marriage
Cinematographer |
1973 | |||
|
Cries and Whispers
Cinematographer |
1972 | |||
|
Siddhartha
Cinematographer |
1972 | |||
|
Strohfeuer
Cinematographer |
1972 | |||
|
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Cinematographer |
1971 | |||
|
The Last Run
Cinematographer |
1971 | |||
|
The Touch
Cinematographer |
1971 | |||
|
Erste Liebe
Cinematographer |
1970 | |||
|
Fårödokument
Cinematographer |
1970 | |||
|
The Passion of Anna
Cinematographer |
1970 | |||
|
An-Magritt
Cinematographer |
1969 | |||
|
Riten
Cinematographer |
1969 | |||
|
Hour of the Wolf
Cinematographer |
1968 | |||
|
Shame
Cinematographer |
1968 | |||
|
Persona
Cinematographer |
1966 | |||
|
Att Alska
Cinematographer |
1964 | |||
|
För Att Inte Tala Om Alla Dessa Kvinnor
Cinematographer |
1964 | |||
|
Loving Couples
Cinematographer |
1964 | |||
|
The Silence
Cinematographer |
1963 | |||
|
Lila
Cinematographer |
1962 | |||
|
Morderspiel
Cinematographer |
1962 | |||
|
Schneewittchen und Die Sieben Zwerge
Cinematographer |
1962 | |||
|
Winter Light
Cinematographer |
1962 | |||
|
Die Ehe des Herr Mississippi
Cinematographer |
1961 | |||
|
Through a Glass Darkly
Cinematographer |
1961 | |||
|
A Matter of Morals
Cinematographer |
1960 | |||
|
Far Jag Lana Din Fru?
Cinematographer |
1959 | |||
|
The Virgin Spring
Cinematographer |
1959 | |||
|
Damen I Svart
Cinematographer |
1958 | |||
|
Laila
Cinematographer |
1958 | |||
|
Synnove Solbakken
Cinematographer |
1958 | |||
|
Flickan I Frack
Cinematographer |
1957 | |||
|
Gorilla
Cinematographer, Director |
1956 | |||
|
The True and the False
Cinematographer |
1955 | |||
|
Barabbas
Cinematographer |
1953 | |||
|
Gycklarnas Afton
Cinematographer |
1953 | |||
|
Laughing in the Sunshine
Cinematographer |
1953 | |||
|
Maj på Malö
Cinematographer |
1948 | |||
|
Lata Lena Ocla Bla Ogde Per
Cinematographer |
1947 | |||
|
Barnen Från Frostmofjället
Cinematographer |
1945 |