Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

jadavix "Korkarlen", or "The Phantom Carriage", is a milestone in Swedish cinema. It was a favourite film of Ingmar Bergman, and featured ground breaking special effects to represent the supernatural, and a plot filled with unprecedented complications. All movie goers are familiar with flashbacks; this 1921 work uses flashbacks within flashbacks.The film's superstition states that the last person to die on New Years Eve must spend the next year gathering souls for Death in a lonely carriage. Edit, a Salvation Army sister, lies on her death bed with one last wish: that David Holm, the man she prayed for, should come to see her so she can see if her prayers were answered. He is first visited by the ghost of Georges, a man who died last New Years Eve and is now gathering souls.Along with flashbacks, the film makes liberal use of transparency of characters - and their carriage - to represent the afterlife. At one point we see the Phantom Carriage gliding over water to collect the soul of a man who has just drowned.Death is represented by the "ghost", or transparent actor, rising from the prone body of the deceased, the same actor lying still and opaque. I'm not sure if this is the first movie to use this effect; if it is, it deserves recognition. It reminded me immediately of Patrick Swayze's "Ghost", made some 70 years later. This effect has served filmmakers well.If all of this sounds confusing, unfortunately, that is because it is. I was well on board for "Korkarlen" for its first half. However, in the second I lost interest, tired of keeping up with its constant doubling back on itself. "Korkarlen" is an example of the phrase that we only know what is enough when we know what is more than enough. It pointed the way for special effects and flashback scenes, and perhaps also demonstrated why the latter should not be overused.

Mr_Ectoplasma "The Phantom Carriage" (known as "Körkarlen," or "The Wagoner" in Sweden) opens with a young woman dying in a convent on New Year's Eve in remote Sweden. Meanwhile, David Holm, the man she repeatedly asks to be sent to her bedside, is getting drunk in a cemetery; he dies that evening, and is plunged into an odyssey in which he is taken by a phantom carriage. The carriage is driven by his former friend, who was, in accordance with folkore, forced to drive the grim reaper's carriage for the entire year due to having been the last person on earth to die before the dawn of the new year.Though lauded by most all who have seen it, "The Phantom Carriage" is surprisingly less-known than one may think it would be, especially considering it was the film that influenced Ingmar Bergman to become a filmmaker. In Sweden, it is deservedly heralded as a national classic. It is a seasonal film in that it takes place on the New Year's Eve holiday, a pivotal theme for the film. In many ways, it operates as something of a macabre relative to Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," possessing similar levels of rumination on death, despair, and the human condition. It is a considerably darker story, however, and has more in common with the horror and fantasy genres than "A Christmas Carol."A great deal of the praise for the film has centered on its cinematography, which is absolutely deserved. It's beautifully photographed, from the sepia-toned interior scenes to the icy blue outdoor sequences; the chilly Swedish countryside is captured hauntingly, and the shifting colors indicating the multiple time frames is effective. The special effects, though simplistic, have also been a major point of interest, as it is one of the earliest films to feature such sophisticated use of double-exposure that is still impressive and visually compelling to this day. Visual elements aside, the film is also just narratively sophisticated, and weaves an intricate and thematically rich plot in spite of its silent format.Overall, "The Phantom Carriage" is one of silent cinema's greats. It's visually stunning and loaded with compelling and haunting images, but it's also sophisticated merely in terms of storytelling. A great, somewhat more sinister pairing with "A Christmas Carol," fitting for a cold night in late December. 10/10.

chuckchuck21 THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE (1921) This is a dark morality play that can't help but bring thoughts of A Christmas CAROL to mind yet there is no happy ending. Directed & lead acted by Victor Sjostrom the man that inspired Ingmar Bergman to become a director it is a Swedish folktale as were many Swedish movies of the time. It revolves around the story of a relationship between a Salvation Army Worker (female) & her attempt to help an alcoholic bum who only has negative affects on the lives of those around him. It's a truly dark movie in all aspects with hard lessons for everyone. Intentions are definitely shown here but the story is about actual effects.The FX of the carriage itself are startling & better than you'd believe for such an early movie. My copy was a Criterion Edition & I can only recommend that restoration as I've seen no other. This is a 10/10 for me. It is available in Criterion Blu-Ray also & is 107 mins long, which is the full original Swedish version. English subtitles are included. One both my wife & I are happy to own.

dougdoepke This is certainly no product of Hollywood. The visuals have to be among the bleakest on record, where there's no attempt to prettify anything. So, what we've got as a result is the look and feel of what amounts to an alternate universe, grim and foreboding. It's this mood that carries the movie even when the acting and motivations falter. (I agree that Edit's undying love for David makes little sense within their skimpy context).To me the story comes across as a Christian fable of sin and redemption. David is able to escape his fate by a heartfelt act of bended-knee repentance, while the saintly Edit's prayers are finally answered. After all, David's salvation (and his family's) must be the result of supernatural intervention since the grim reaper admits he's powerless to alter anyone's fate. What the movie does so effectively is combine the subtle religious message with a supernatural mood that surprisingly suggests the absence of a divinity, an absence symbolized by the horror of the reaper and his ghostly carriage. No wonder religious existentialists like Ingmar Bergmann have been inspired by this early effort. (In fact, the hooded figure of "Death" in Bergmann's Seventh Seal {1956} bears a distinct resemblance to the reaper}.)The narrative is pretty uncompromising, conveying little distinction between reality, dream, or flashback. But I expect that adds to the overall surreal mood. The spectral images are well done for such an early stage in film technology and chillingly convey another dimension. Despite the occasional crudities the movie remains a highly compelling antique. But I wouldn't recommend it as relaxing entertainment.