--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most screenplays, most motion pictures…" description: "\"Most screenplays, most motion pictures, owe much more to the screenplay. Ingmar Bergman has such an economy of language, so little language in his piec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/002/rod-serling-2652_bergman_most-screenplays-most-motion-pictures-ow_2327257.png" --- # Most screenplays, most motion pictures, owe much more to… ![“Most screenplays, most motion pictures, owe much more to the screenplay. Ingmar Bergman has such an economy of language, so little language in his piece, it is so visual, his moods are introduced and buttressed by camera rather than by word or character. But again, that's unique.” quote by Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/002/rod-serling-2652_bergman_most-screenplays-most-motion-pictures-ow_2327257.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/002/rod-serling-2652_bergman_most-screenplays-most-motion-pictures-ow_2327257.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/002/rod-serling-2652_bergman_most-screenplays-most-motion-pictures-ow_2327257.png) > “Most screenplays, most motion pictures, owe much more to the screenplay. Ingmar Bergman has such an economy of language, so little language in his piece, it is so visual, his moods are introduced and buttressed by camera rather than by word or character. But again, that's unique.” [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Screenplays provide the foundation for films; Bergman's minimal dialogue lets visuals convey mood, showing the power of image over word. **In simple terms:** Screenplays are the core; Bergman's sparse words let images speak. Key Takeaway Value strong scripts and visual storytelling. Themes film screenwriting visual storytelling Mood analytical appreciative Type critical artistic When to use this quote - film analysis - creative writing - directorial style Key Concepts minimalism cinematography story structure Questions to Reflect On - How do actors enhance a minimalist script? - What is the balance between dialogue and image? A Different Perspective The view may discount the role of actors and editing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bergman/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Ingmar Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ingmar-bergman-942410/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Mood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood/) [Motion picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motion-picture/) [Motion pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motion-pictures/) [Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Screenplay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screenplay/) [Screenplay Ingmar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screenplay-ingmar-5584316/) [Screenplays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screenplays/) [Script](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/script/) [Unique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unique/) [Visuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visuals/) ## Related quotes > [An Ingmar Bergman film would probably owe a sizeable bulk of its import and its direction and its quality to the directorial end and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/an-ingmar-bergman-film-would-probably-owe-a-sizeable-bulk-of-its/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [ I realized that a lot of the great directors that I admire from \[Ingmar\] Bergman to \[Fredrico\] Fellini re always shooting, then going into… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-forster/i-realized-that-a-lot-of-the-great-directors-that-i-admire-from/) [Marc Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-forster/) > [I think Ingmar Bergman, Francoise Truffaut - all these people created images in my mind, beautiful pictures, I loved what was known at that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-deshannon/i-think-ingmar-bergman-francoise-truffaut-all-these-people-created/) [Jackie DeShannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-deshannon/) > [Sometimes I work on film sets. I've done this for 40 years. I always wanted to photograph on the set of an Ingmar Bergman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/sometimes-i-work-on-film-sets-i-ve-done-this-for-40-years-i-always/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [Mexican cinematographers Gabriel Figueroa and Emilio Fernandez were students of both Sergei Eisenstein and Toland. Their exteriors and lighting were gorgeous. And the films…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilmos-zsigmond/mexican-cinematographers-gabriel-figueroa-and-emilio-fernandez-were/) [Vilmos Zsigmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilmos-zsigmond/) > [I would not have made any of my films or written scripts such as Taxi Driver had it not been for Ingmar Bergman, What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-schrader/i-would-not-have-made-any-of-my-films-or-written-scripts-such-as-taxi/) [Paul Schrader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-schrader/) > [I was going to design sports cars, but my father came to my college to visit me. At the time he was making a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cromwell/i-was-going-to-design-sports-cars-but-my-father-came-to-my-college-to/) [James Cromwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cromwell/) > [“I make my films, Charlie. I do my lighting, place my camera angles and I tell the actors to walk this way and do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingmar-bergman/i-make-my-films-charlie-i-do-my-lighting-place-my-camera-angles-and-i/) [Ingmar Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingmar-bergman/) > [Sometimes I get a little tired of it. But you know, what a privilege, to get tired of working with Ingmar Bergman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-ullmann/sometimes-i-get-a-little-tired-of-it-but-you-know-what-a-privilege-to/) [Liv Ullmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-ullmann/) > [Ingmar Bergman had a great sense of humor, and he had a very special, characteristic laugh that you always recognized - if he went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-von-sydow/ingmar-bergman-had-a-great-sense-of-humor-and-he-had-a-very-special/) [Max von Sydow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-von-sydow/) > [A movie that I've seen probably the most is 'Fanny & Alexander,' the Ingmar Bergman movie. I even dragged my friends to the super…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/a-movie-that-i-ve-seen-probably-the-most-is-fanny-alexander-the/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [When I was first exposed to the films of Ingmar Bergman, I found them frank and disturbing portraits of the world we live in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/when-i-was-first-exposed-to-the-films-of-ingmar-bergman-i-found-them/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [Ingmar Bergman is a long way from me, but I admire him. He, too, concentrates a great deal on individuals; and although the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/ingmar-bergman-is-a-long-way-from-me-but-i-admire-him-he-too/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [The major difference frequently is in time. The motion picture, for example, gives you considerably more freedom of expression than does the confined thirty-minute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/the-major-difference-frequently-is-in-time-the-motion-picture-for/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [I think I'm innocently representing a certain belief in motion pictures, and, well OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/i-think-i-m-innocently-representing-a-certain-belief-in-motion/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) ## More by Rod Serling > [If you want to prove that God is not dead first prove that man is alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/if-you-want-to-prove-that-god-is-not-dead-first-prove-that-man-is/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [There is nothing in the dark that isn't there when the lights are on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/there-is-nothing-in-the-dark-that-isn-t-there-when-the-lights-are-on/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [There are weapons that are simply thoughts. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/there-are-weapons-that-are-simply-thoughts-for-the-record-prejudices/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [I don't believe in reincarnation. That's a cop-out, I know. I don't really want to be reincarnated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/i-don-t-believe-in-reincarnation-that-s-a-cop-out-i-know-i-don-t/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [I was deeply interested in conveying what is a deeply felt conviction of my own. This is simply to suggest that human beings must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/i-was-deeply-interested-in-conveying-what-is-a-deeply-felt-conviction/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [If in any quest for magic, in any search for sorcery, witchery, legerdemain, first check the human spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/if-in-any-quest-for-magic-in-any-search-for-sorcery-witchery/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [Any state, any entity, any ideology that fails to recognize the worth, the dignity, the rights of man, that state is obsolete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/any-state-any-entity-any-ideology-that-fails-to-recognize-the-worth/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [It may be said with a degree of assurance that not everything that meets the eye is as it appears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/it-may-be-said-with-a-degree-of-assurance-that-not-everything-that/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [I don't know what my friends do. Generally they become producers. That way they can stop writing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/i-don-t-know-what-my-friends-do-generally-they-become-producers-that/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [I just want people to remember me a hundred years from now. I don't care that they're not able to quote any single line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/i-just-want-people-to-remember-me-a-hundred-years-from-now-i-don-t/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [According to the Bible, God created the heavens and the Earth. It is man’s prerogative - and woman’s - to create their own particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/according-to-the-bible-god-created-the-heavens-and-the-earth-it-is/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [“In his grave, we praise him for his decency - but when he walked amongst us, we responded with no decency of our own.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/in-his-grave-we-praise-him-for-his-decency-but-when-he-walked-amongst/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [If you're really a good writer and deserve that honored position, then by God, you'll write, and you'll be read, and you'll be produced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/if-you-re-really-a-good-writer-and-deserve-that-honored-position-then/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [I would guess that the price of the script really is secondary. The credit is much more the essence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/i-would-guess-that-the-price-of-the-script-really-is-secondary-the/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [I don't think it's man's function to write. I don't think it's a normal thing like teeth-brushing and going to the bathroom. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/i-don-t-think-it-s-man-s-function-to-write-i-don-t-think-it-s-a/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) [Explore all 156 Rod Serling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) ## More Bergman quotes > [(On Ingrid Bergman) "I didn't do anything I've never done before, but when the camera moves in on that Bergman face, and she's saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-bogart/on-ingrid-bergman-i-didn-t-do-anything-i-ve-never-done-before-but/) [Humphrey Bogart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-bogart/) > [I tell you this: if I was in the house with those people in the Bergman flicks, I'd walk right out, much less pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bronson/i-tell-you-this-if-i-was-in-the-house-with-those-people-in-the/) [Charles Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bronson/) > [“Jack Bergman, Diplomatic Security Service.” “Why”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-emmett/jack-bergman-diplomatic-security-service-why/) [Patrick Emmett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-emmett/) > [I've never felt Truth was Beauty. Never. I've always felt that people can't take too much reality. I like being in Ingmar Bergman's world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-ve-never-felt-truth-was-beauty-never-i-ve-always-felt-that-people/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [If a face like Ingrid Bergman's looks at you as though you're adorable, everybody does. You don't have to act very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-bogart/if-a-face-like-ingrid-bergman-s-looks-at-you-as-though-you-re/) [Humphrey Bogart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-bogart/) > [ \[Akiro\] Kurosawa, no doubt, was a big influence. Movies sometimes more than directors have influenced me: The Grapes of Wrath, by John Ford, was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/costa-gavras/akiro-kurosawa-no-doubt-was-a-big-influence-movies-sometimes-more/) [Costa-Gavras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/costa-gavras/) > [Maybe the best example of the unmuscled hero is Humphrey Bogart in 'Casablanca.' Bogart was 15 years older than Ingrid Bergman, and it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/maybe-the-best-example-of-the-unmuscled-hero-is-humphrey-bogart-in/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [Bergman movies were the most influential. They used to show at Goucher University, which was where my parents used to live. 'Brink of Life'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/bergman-movies-were-the-most-influential-they-used-to-show-at-goucher/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [Bergman made countless masterpieces, but for one reason or another, 'Winter Light' stays closest to my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-paltrow/bergman-made-countless-masterpieces-but-for-one-reason-or-another/) [Jake Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-paltrow/) > [I will watch everything that Cary Grant did, or Kubrick made or Bergman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/i-will-watch-everything-that-cary-grant-did-or-kubrick-made-or-bergman/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) > [Bergman's my favorite filmmaker, if I had to choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/bergman-s-my-favorite-filmmaker-if-i-had-to-choose/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) > [I owe Mr. Bergman so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-von-sydow/i-owe-mr-bergman-so-much/) [Max von Sydow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-von-sydow/) > [This man (Bergman) is one of the few film directors-perhaps the only one in the world-to have said as much about human nature as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krzysztof-kieslowski/this-man-bergman-is-one-of-the-few-film-directors-perhaps-the-only/) [Krzysztof Kieslowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krzysztof-kieslowski/) > [I remember those days with Bergman with great nostalgia. We were aware that the films were going to be quite important, and the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-von-sydow/i-remember-those-days-with-bergman-with-great-nostalgia-we-were-aware/) [Max von Sydow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-von-sydow/) > [I'm an incurable romantic, and 'Casablanca''s one of the most romantic pictures I've ever seen - the combination of Bogart and Bergman is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-adam/i-m-an-incurable-romantic-and-casablanca-s-one-of-the-most-romantic/) [Ken Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-adam/) [Browse all 81 Bergman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bergman/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most screenplays, most motion pictures, owe much more to the screenplay. Ingmar Bergman has such an economy of language, so little language in his piece, it is so visual, his moods are introduced and buttressed by camera rather than by word or character. 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