Spielbergman

The affinities have been pointed out before, but with Lincoln, Steven Spielberg apparently continues to demonstrate his Bergman influences.

Spielberg's homages to the perhaps unexpected paragon began early on:

His theatrical debut, Duel (1971), in which a gigantic tanker menaces a car driver, features a moment in a gas station when suddenly the image, like the supposedly burning celluloid of Bergman’s Persona, blurs and runs.

And have continued ever since:

Minority Report (2002) opens with a sequence including shots, derived from Bergman’s Wild Strawberries (1957), which contrast foreground and background, light and dark on the two sides of the screen to emphasise a man’s estrangement from his family.

Both exemples cited from Nigel Morris's nice article on the subject.

Picture above: © Dreamworks Pictures.