Editing Cries and Whispers (section)

===Critical reception===
Before the film's release, estimations of Bergman were lowered by ''[[The Rite (1969 film)|The Rite]]'' (1969) and ''[[The Touch (1971 film)|The Touch]]'' (1971).<ref name="Parkinson"/> In Sweden, ''[[Svenska Dagbladet]]'' critic Åke Janzon and ''[[Dagens Nyheter]]'' critic Hanserik Hjerten assessed ''Cries and Whispers'' as a poetically-rendered psychological study.{{sfn|Steene|2005|p=300}} Critic O. Foss wrote a less-positive review in ''Fant'', calling it "a rhapsody of petrified Bergman themes".{{sfn|Steene|2005|p=300}} The Swedish cultural magazine ''[[Ord och Bild]]'' considered the film as Bergman’s  personal  view  on  women and argued that the film was both static and ahistorical.<ref>{{cite book|page=46 |author=Michael Tapper|title=Ingmar Bergman's Face to Face|year=2017|publisher=Wallflower Press|location=London; New York|doi=10.7312/tapp17652 |isbn=9780231851213  |url=https://doi.org/10.7312/tapp17652}}</ref>

The film was generally praised in the United States.{{sfn|Steene|2005|p=300}} In ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Vincent Canby]] called it a "magnificent, moving, and very mysterious new film".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF1731E260BC4A51DFB4678389669EDE |title=Cries and Whispers |last=Canby |first=Vincent |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=22 December 1972 |access-date=12 November 2017|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113165316/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF1731E260BC4A51DFB4678389669EDE |archive-date=13 November 2017}}</ref> He included the film in his list of the ''10 Best Films of 1972''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Critic's Choice-10 Best Films of '72|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/31/archives/critics-choice-ten-best-films-of-72-critics-choice-ten-best-of-72.html|website=New York Times|date=31 December 1972}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] gave ''Cries and Whispers'' four stars (out of four) in his initial review: "We slip lower in our seats, feeling claustrophobia and sexual disquiet, realizing that we have been surrounded by the vision of a film maker who has absolute mastery of his art".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/cries-and-whispers-1973 |title=Cries and Whispers Movie Review (1973) |last=Ebert |first=Roger |publisher=RogerEbert.com |date=12 February 1973 |access-date=21 February 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222111055/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/cries-and-whispers-1973 |archive-date=22 February 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and named it "the best film of 1973".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041215/COMMENTARY/41215001/1023 |work=Chicago Sun-Times |title=Ebert's 10 Best Lists: 1967–present |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908200137/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20041215%2FCOMMENTARY%2F41215001%2F1023 |archive-date=September 8, 2006 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' staff praised the direction for "a hypnotic impact".<ref name="Variety">{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/1972/film/reviews/viskningar-och-rop-1200422883/ |title=Viskningar Och Rop |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |last=Staff |date=31 December 1972 |access-date=15 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116134540/http://variety.com/1972/film/reviews/viskningar-och-rop-1200422883/ |archive-date=16 November 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'', [[Judith Crist]] called it "a work of genius— certainly the most complex, the most perceptive and the most humane of Bergman's works to date".<ref>{{cite magazine| title=In the Right Direction |magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |last=Crist |first=Judith |date=8 January 1973 |volume=6 |number=2 |page=65}}</ref> [[François Truffaut]] made a theatrical comparison, saying that the film "begins like [[Anton Chekhov|Chekhov]]'s ''[[Three Sisters (play)|Three Sisters]]'' and ends like ''[[The Cherry Orchard]]'' and in between it's more like [[August Strindberg|Strindberg]]".{{sfn|Truffaut|1985|p=257}}

''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' critic David Parkinson gave ''Cries and Whispers'' five stars in 2000, writing that the film fit a subset of "character study" at which Bergman was adept.<ref name="Parkinson">{{cite web |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/cries-whispers/review/ |title=Cries and Whispers Review |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |last=Parkinson |first=David |date=1 January 2000 |access-date=15 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116141459/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/cries-whispers/review/ |archive-date=16 November 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Reviewing the DVD in ''[[The New Yorker]]'', Richard Brody said that despite its period setting, the emotional drama resonated with modern audiences.<ref name="Brody">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/dvd-of-the-week-cries-and-whispers |title=DVD of the Week: Cries and Whispers |last=Brody |first=Richard |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |access-date=15 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116133023/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/dvd-of-the-week-cries-and-whispers |archive-date=16 November 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Ebert added it to his "[[The Great Movies|Great Movies]]" list in 2002, writing that to watch the film "is to touch the extremes of human feeling. It is so personal, so penetrating of privacy, we almost want to look away".<ref name="rogerebert.suntimes.com"/> That year, [[James Berardinelli]] praised Andersson's performance as "so powerful that we feel like intruders watching it. She screams, whimpers, begs, and cries. She craves death and fears it". Berardinelli considered Bergman's use of [[crimson]] effective in creating [[mood (literature)|mood]]; the "natural associations one makes with this color, especially in a story like this, are of sin and blood".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/c/cries_whispers.html |title=Cries and Whispers |last=Berardinelli |first=James |publisher=Reelviews.net |date=2002 |access-date=1 April 2017}}</ref> Zendry Svärdkrona's 2003 ''[[Aftonbladet]]'' review called it a masterpiece with wonderful aesthetics but unpleasant subject matter, citing Nykvist and Andersson.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/tv/article10391227.ab |title=Filmtips 30 augusti |last=Svärdkrona |first=Zendry |work=[[Aftonbladet]] |language=sv |date=29 August 2003 |access-date=22 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122184308/https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/tv/article10391227.ab |archive-date=22 November 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[Emanuel Levy]] praised the film's cinematography and the performances of the female leads, calling the result a masterpiece in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://emanuellevy.com/review/cries-and-whispers-1973-masterpieces-of-world-cinema-5/ |title=Cries and Whispers (1973): Bergman's Masterful Chronicle of Pain and Death |last=Levy |first=Emanuel |publisher=[[Emanuel Levy|Emanuellevy.com]] |date=4 February 2008 |access-date=21 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202075434/http://emanuellevy.com/review/cries-and-whispers-1973-masterpieces-of-world-cinema-5/ |archive-date=2 December 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> ''Cries and Whispers'' ranked 154th in the [[British Film Institute]]'s 2012 ''[[Sight & Sound]]'' critics' poll of the greatest films ever made.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b9f3ba7/sightandsoundpoll2012 |title=Votes for Viskningar Och Rop (1972) |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=21 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222112423/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b9f3ba7/sightandsoundpoll2012|archive-date=22 February 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Leonard Maltin]] gave the film three stars in his ''2014 Movie Guide'', praising its visuals but cautioning viewers about the large amount of dialogue.{{sfn|Maltin|2013}} Reviewing the Blu-ray in 2015, ''[[SF Gate]]'' critic Mick LaSalle called ''Cries and Whispers'' a "masterpiece" in which the colour red had an important effect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Blu-ray-review-Cries-and-Whispers-6217865.php |title=Blu-ray review: 'Cries and Whispers' |work=[[SF Gate]] |last=LaSalle |first=Mick |date=22 April 2015 |access-date=21 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042032/http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Blu-ray-review-Cries-and-Whispers-6217865.php |archive-date=1 December 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' critic Andy Klein placed the film "solidly in the existential/emotional angst mode of [Bergman's] best work", called it a triumphant comeback from ''The Touch'', and joked about the resurrection scene: "Yes, technically this is a [[zombie film]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/tn-gnp-dvd-review-bergmans-angst-cries-on-bluray-20150403-story.html |title=DVD Review: Bergman's angst 'Cries' on Blu-ray |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |last=Klein |first=Andy |date=3 April 2015 |access-date=21 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122031120/http://www.latimes.com/tn-gnp-dvd-review-bergmans-angst-cries-on-bluray-20150403-story.html |archive-date=22 November 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[Peter Bradshaw]] of [[The Guardian]] gave the film five stars out of five writing "This film burns, like ice held to the skin."<ref>{{cite web|title=Cries and Whispers review-Ingmar Bergman's diabolically inspired claustrophobic horror|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/31/cries-and-whispers-review-ingmar-bergman-horror|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=31 March 2022}}</ref>

Don Druker wrote a negative review in the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'', criticising a lack of substance,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/cries-and-whispers/Film?oid=1073042 |title=Cries and Whispers |work=[[The Chicago Reader]] |last=Druker |first=Don |date=7 January 1985 |access-date=15 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116134230/https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/cries-and-whispers/Film?oid=1073042 |archive-date=16 November 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]''{{'}}s review called the film a "[[red herring]]" compared to Bergman's purer [[psychological drama]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/film/cries-and-whispers |title=Cries and Whispers |work=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]] |author=VG |date=10 September 2012 |access-date=21 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122023249/https://www.timeout.com/london/film/cries-and-whispers |archive-date=22 November 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

On the review aggregator website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''Cries and Whispers'' has an approval rating of 91% based on 34 reviews, with an average score of 8.50/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Visually stunning and achingly performed, Ingmar Bergman's chamber piece is a visceral rumination on death and sisterhood."<ref>{{cite web|title=Cries and Whispers|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cries_and_whispers|website=Rotten Tomatoes}}</ref>

The February 2020 issue of ''[[New York Magazine]]'' lists ''Cries and Whispers'' as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."<ref>{{cite news|title=The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-oscar-best-picture-losers.html|magazine=[[New York Magazine]]|access-date=March 17, 2025}}</ref>