He said his favorite Hollywood director was Billy Wilder.
He was an admirer of the films of 'Francois Truffaut' and Jean-Pierre Melville.
His grandmother introduced Ingmar to the cinema and went with him to several shows when he was a little boy, always in secrecy since he wasn't allowed to go to the movies by his strict father.
His movies The Virgin Spring (1960), Through a Glass Darkly (1961) and Fanny and Alexander (1982) were Oscar-nominated for "Best Foreign Language Film". All three movies won.
His three favorite movies are: The Emigrants (1971), La Dolce Vita (1960) and Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953).
His Top 11 films are (as presented at Goteborg Film Festival, Sweden in 1994): The Circus (1928), Port of Shadows (1938), The Conductor (1980), Kvarteret Korpen (1963), The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). The Phantom Carriage (1921), Rashomon (1950), La Strada (1954), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Marianne and Juliane (1981), Andrei Rublev (1966).
Inspired the word "Bergmanesque"
Is buried on the island of Fårö, where he had lived most of his life.
Likes to watch BMX racing on television.
Lived on the island of Fårö since the early 1960s, but moved to Munich, Germany for a while battling with the Swedish government over alleged tax evasion.
No relation to Ingrid Bergman, although he was married to another Ingrid, Ingrid Bergman.
Often directed plays for the radio.
Profiled in "Films and Dreams: Tarkovsky, Bergman, Sokurov, Kubrick and Wong Kar-Wei" by Thurston Botz-Borsnstein. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2008.
Published "Tre dagböcker", including the diaries of him, his fifth wife Ingrid and their daughter Maria von Rosen (2004).
Swedish Film Institute announced Bergman will donate his raw footage, photographs and manuscripts from his films and plays to a new foundation established to honor him. (5 June 2002)
The rock band Van Halen wrote a song called "The Seventh Seal" (from the "Balance" album) in honor of his films. The song talks about The Seventh Seal (1957) and The Virgin Spring (1960).
The Swedish film industry ground to a halt in 1951 due to a ten-month strike by studio personnel, intended as a protest against an "amusement tax" levied against motion picture producers. During this period he directed several TV commercials for a soap called Bris (i.e. Breeze). He later said he was "absurdly grateful" to get this job.
Was chosen the world's greatest living filmmaker by "Time" magazine (11 July 2005).
Was fluent in French.
Was romantically linked to Harriet Andersson from 1952 to 1955 and Bibi Andersson from 1955 to 1959.