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The Serpent's Egg

The Serpent's Egg

Mystery · Drama · Thriller · 1977

In 1923 Berlin, following the suicide of his brother, an American acrobat struggles to survive while facing unemployment, depression, alcoholism, and the social decay of Germany during the Weimar Republic.

Movie details

The Serpent's Egg

“The kind of terror that could never be... until now... until Bergman!”

1977 Mystery · Drama · Thriller 2h 0m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

In 1923 Berlin, following the suicide of his brother, an American acrobat struggles to survive while facing unemployment, depression, alcoholism, and the social decay of Germany during the Weimar Republic.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Serpent's Egg?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ingmar Bergman

Written by

Ingmar Bergman

David Carradine

David Carradine

Abel Rosenberg

Liv Ullmann

Liv Ullmann

Manuela Rosenberg

Gert Fröbe

Gert Fröbe

Inspector Bauer

Heinz Bennent

Heinz Bennent

Hans Vergerus

Toni Berger

Toni Berger

Monsieur Rosenberg

Christian Berkel

Christian Berkel

Student

Paula Braend

Paula Braend

Madame Hemse

Court is in session

Put The Serpent's Egg on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.