The Phantom Carriage (Körkarlen) - 1921

This was reportedly Ingmar Bergman's favourite film – and no wonder. Legend has it that the last sinner to die on New Year's Eve is condemned to drive the carriage of death for a year, reaping souls. This year it is the malicious drunkard David Holm (Sjörström), killed in a brawl at the stroke of midnight, who is forced to confront the misery he has wreaked in life. Sjörström was an innovative, pioneering filmmaker and many of his techniques have a modern feel. He uses flashbacks and unsettling superimposition as a rich backdrop to this unflinching analysis of life, death, despair and redemption. Subtle, absorbing performances avoid the melodrama which characterises so many films of this era. It may be a silent classic, but the new score by KTL creates an intense sonic experience of disquietingly resonant bass, distant guitar chords and surreal noises of sawing, hammering and tearing, all of which serve to push you to the edge of your seat. Modern viewers will be gripped and terrified in a whole new way. [Caroline Scott-Thomas]