Hopefully, those who aren't posting due to the unfamilarity rather than lack of things to say, will be inspired by Bergman's passing to familiarize themselves with his filmography now. From personal experience, there is much to appreciate in his films even when you feel a lot is going over your head. (I think the director wouldn't mind, too. Wikipedia quotes him saying in
one interview: "I want audiences to feel, to sense my films. This to me is much more important than their understanding them.")
And he really deserves that chance, whether one enjoys his works themselves, because his influence on the language of cinema is beyond question. For example, I don't know if its creators
consciously emulate Bergman, but there is simply not denying that the show
Lost owes a lot to him - from visualising protagonists' state of mind to the use of flashbacks. Woody Allen always cited him as his favourite director, too, and for each Allen's movie the less comedic it is, the more obvious Bergman's influence.
Heck, I suppose every visual narrative that puts some emphasis on characters' psychology, borrows from Bergman's legacy, if indirectly. And that's only scratching the surface.
Regarding Antonioni, I didn't hold him in too high esteem (for reasons explained by, appropriately enough, Ingmar Bergman
here), but still, there went another icon. It's both symbollic and creepy that they died on the same day.
