Ingmar Bergman, the Swedish director whose films — including Cries and Whispers, The Seventh Seal, and Fanny and Alexander — represented the peak of the international cinema for much of the sixties and seventies, died today at the age of 89. For now we'll leave it to others to discuss Bergman's masterful art and immense influence. Suffice it to say that without Bergman, we never would have seen this SCTV Bergman parody in which Catherine O'Hara and Andrea Martin whisper fake Swedish at each other.

Ingmar Bergman, Famed Director, Dies at 89 [NYT]