The inspired, innovative cinematographer was 100. He had not worked since the late '70s.
Of course everyone will put up images from The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries, and of course they should, but I wanted to illustrate Fischer's artistry with a pair of screen caps from Ingmar Bergman's 1949 Thirst. The troubled couple Rut (Eva Hennig) and Bertil (Berger Malmsten) have another one of their fraught conversations in their claustrophobic train car, with Bertil playing with his cigarette lighter as Rut speaks.
Look at the subtle way the flame from the ignited lighter illuminates not just the frightening look on Bertil's face but also seems to brighten, just the tiniest bit, Rut's cheek, the white of her right eye. It's lighting manipulation, and light capture, at an incredibly subtle and technologically advanced level. It's the kind of almost spiritual illumination that made Fischer such an exceptional film artist and superb Bergman collaborator. R.I.P.
Sad to see there isn’t a lively discussion going on in this topic. Criterion have some nice screenshots up on their ‘Current’ section, this one being my personal favourite:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion_images/current/current_39_185.jpg
100 years of age is a good innings, and it’s sadly fitting that both Fischer and Bergman passed in summer…
Not only did he make it to 100, but he seems to have retained his faculties well into old age. ‘Sight & Sound’ interviewed him a few years ago and he sounded very informative.
Thanks for the heads-up Oliver C, time to dig into the pile of old Sight and Sound’s!
It might have been the January 2006 issue, Mark.