This book offers an entryway into the cinematic, cultural, and socio-political issues of its time, but remains a classic. Koskinen, the first scholar given access to Bergman's private papers during the last years of his life, draws a picture of Bergman that challenges the traditional view of him as an auteur, revealing his attempts to overcome his own image as the creator of serious art films by making his work relevant to a new generation. The volume addresses issues of censorship and the cinema of small nations, while shedding new light on the shifting views of Bergman and auteurist film, high art, and popular culture.