The Saga of Gosta Berling (1924)
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62% of users liked it
(618 ratings)
Known under a variety of titles, The Atonement of Gosta Berling is an excellent representation of the Swedish silent cinema. Long, complex, and elaborately produced, the film nonetheless never loses sight of the human elements which motivate the story. Lars Hanson stars as Berling, a defrocked… More Known under a variety of titles, The Atonement of Gosta Berling is an excellent representation of the Swedish silent cinema. Long, complex, and elaborately produced, the film nonetheless never loses sight of the human elements which motivate the story. Lars Hanson stars as Berling, a defrocked priest whose rebellious attitude hides a greater sense of idealism than most of his "pious" contemporaries. Among the women in Berling's life is a supposedly married countess, played with instinctive brilliance by a young, awkward, chubby Greta Garbo. Overflowing with betrayals, revenge, and regeneration, Atonement of Gosta Berling has enough plots for ten films. American audiences generally saw a severely truncated version, running approximately half the film's original length. What was left was enough for MGM to invite director Mauritz Stiller and star Greta Garbo to Hollywood, though in typically callous big-studio fashion, Garbo was retained while Stiller was permitted to wither on the vine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Mauritz Stiller
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Art House & International, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1924 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
There are cyclones amid the sprawling stolidity
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Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine
A thorough DVD package for this rare early Garbo film.
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Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine
Stiller's direction is only adequate most of the time, and there are a lot of mismatched eyelines and shots that feel off-balance and uncertain.
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Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
It is the females who come off as the stronger sex here, but the applause at the end is director Mauritz Stiller's.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Greta Garbo
as Countess Elizabeth Dohna
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Lars Hanson
as Gosta Berling
- Ellen Cederstrom
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Jenny Hasselquist
as Marianne Sinclaire
- Gerda Lundequist
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Mona Mårtenson
as Countess Ebba Dohna
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Karin Swanstrom
as Gustafva Sinclaire
- Ellen Hartman-Cederstrom
- Sven Scholander
- Torsten Hammarén
- Lars Hansel
- Ellen Gederstrom
- Gerda Lundeqvist
- Jenny Hasselqvist
- Sixten Malmerfelt
- Karin Svanström
