NET Playhouse Biography; In Search of Strindberg
- Series
- NET Playhouse Biography
- Episode
- In Search of Strindberg
- Producing Organization
- WNET (Television station : New York, N.Y.)
- Sveriges Radio
- Contributing Organization
- Library of Congress (Washington, District of Columbia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/512-xg9f47j01x
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- Description
- Episode Description
- Hour long piece, produced by WNET in coorperatin with Sveriges Radio, Stockholm in 1972. It was rebroadcast as episode 213 of New York Biography in 1973.
- Episode Description
- Internationally renowned Swedish actor Max Von Sydow, star of many Ingmar Bergman classics including The Seventh Seal, Shame, and The Passion of Anna, probes the dark, brooding world of the playwright August Strindberg in this production entitled In Search of Strindberg, filmed in Sweden and in Paris. Producer Jack Kuney has adapted his teleplay from the dramatic and autobiographical writings of Strindberg incorporating scenes from three of the playwrights important works The Father, Miss Julie, and The Bond. Strindberg (1849-1912) is considered the greatest Swedish playwright and was an important influence on drama in Europe and the United States. He was also a novelist, short story-writer, and poet. His life was profoundly unhappy; born prematurely, out of wedlock, the insecurities of his childhood followed him throughout his existence. Often the circumstances of his adult life became intertwined with his writings. I dont know if The Father is a fiction or if my life is a fiction, he wrote. The biography unfolds with Von Sydow as the voice of Strindberg. Under the soundtrack the actor adds visual detail to the narrative. Scenes from the plays enacted in English by Swedish performers are woven into the biography where Strindbergs fiction parallels his life. The tone of that life is established in childhood: Its whispered in the family that Im a changeling. A child substituted by the elves for the baby that was born. Are these elves the souls of the unhappy who still await redemption? If so, I am a child of an evil spirit. We look into the writers early years of frustration and pessimism as a librarian at Stockholms Royal Library, with his first play, Master Olaf later to be recognized as a near masterpiece already rejected. He marries the Finno-Swedish actress Siri Von Essen but, after a brief blissful episode, their relationship deteriorates, ending in divorce. His grief is intensified when he loses custody of the children. Increasingly the theme of his writings become Love between a man and a woman is war. Strindberg goes to live alone at the cottage of a friend who had drowned himself in a nearby pond. He contemplates the same fate, but resists, because the unconscious will continually entice men to live through the illusion of the hope toward a better life. After a time, his interest in women is revived and he suffers two more relationships that fail to lasts. He writes As a poet I blend fiction with reality, and all my hatred of women is theoretical for I couldnt live without the company of women. He goes to Paris, where we follow his metaphysical thoughts as he wanders through streets and parks acknowledging omens and finally waiting for the winds to blow me whither they will. Near the end of his life he says: What I found bitterer than death was having to take the great jobs seriously and treat as holy what was coarse I want to lie with the poor not the rich. On a simple wooden cross should say: O Crux Avise Unica Welcome Cross, My Only Hope. He died of cancer in Stockholm at the age of 63. Playhouse New York Biography In Search of Strindberg is a production of the national programming division of WNET/New York, in cooperation with Sveriges Radio, Stockholm. Scenes from Strindbergs plays staged by Keve Hjelm. This program is transmitted nationally by Public Broadcasting Service. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Broadcast Date
- 1972-03-23
- Broadcast Date
- 1973-10-30
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Documentary
- Drama
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Credits
-
-
Actor: Lindblom, Gunnel
Actor: Granhagen, Lena
Actor: Hjelm, Keve
Actor: Brundin, Bo
Actor: Bjork, Anita
Actor: Hopf, Heinz
Associate Producer: Moseley, Peter
Director: Kuney, Jack, 1919-2007
Director: Hjelm, Keve
Editor: Moseley, Peter
Executive Producer: Venza, Jac
Producer: Kuney, Jack, 1919-2007
Producing Organization: WNET (Television station : New York, N.Y.)
Producing Organization: Sveriges Radio
Story Consultant: Lindfors, Viveca, 1920-1995
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2337241-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 2 inch videotape
Generation: Master
Color: Color
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- Citations
- Chicago: “NET Playhouse Biography; In Search of Strindberg,” 1972-03-23, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed August 22, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-xg9f47j01x.
- MLA: “NET Playhouse Biography; In Search of Strindberg.” 1972-03-23. Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. August 22, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-xg9f47j01x>.
- APA: NET Playhouse Biography; In Search of Strindberg. Boston, MA: Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-xg9f47j01x