Un flic sur le toit

This movie by Bo Widerberg is the peak performance in his career as I see it. It mixes realism with outstanding action sequences that still today haven't been done this good in Sweden. I haven't seen Mannen pa mallorca by Widerberg but that might be the one that ties this film. My favourite scene is probably when Martin Beck is on stakeout in an apartment where he tries to spot the killer. The scene is very well made and the old lady who owns the apartment is mostly concerned that Martin drinks his coffe and eat his cookies. It's pure magic. The best actor in this movie is Hakan Serner in a minor role, he portray the dull everyday life perfectly and it is very easy to imagine that this guy has been in the force way to long. A must see!

In the 60s I was very keen on Swedish films and especially Ingmar Bergman like The Virgin Spring (1960) and The Silence (1963) but also Bo Widerberg like of Love 65 (1965) and really Elvira Madigan (1967) but probably never seen this before. It is wonderful, not so much an art movie, but really well done. At first there is a surprising killing and then, perhaps even more of a lot which seems to relate to Police corruption, and how. They are telling us of a terrible story and then not just the death of a Policeman but more to come, of course, on the roof. Some of the people not actors and the mix does well as it is so thrilling. At the very end maybe it doesn't seem quite as realistic but it is all together splendid.

The popularity which crime fiction writers namely Stieg Larsson and Håkan Nesser enjoy in current times has enabled book readers to consider Sweden from a different perspective.Their books allow people to be able to imagine that despite an excellent welfare state Sweden has a lot of social problems.In the past,criminal tendencies in Sweden were described in gory details by writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö.It is their writings which form the back drop of Swedish film 'Man on the roof'.For a national cinema closely associated with Bergman's dark dramas,'Mannen På Taket' presents a completely different facet of Swedish cinema.It is a thriller which spoke about corrupt policemen hell bent on giving a bad name to their police force.Bo Widerberg gives equal attention to drama as well as thriller elements.The result is an intelligent thriller which enables its viewers to ascertain why some policemen are able to cross lines which are supposed to be judged by them.Admirers of action cinema need to be reminded that their theme makes its appearance in the second half of the film as the first half has been reserved for the through investigation of a brutal murder.

Intense and extremely good police-thriller. Bo Widerberg is earlier responsible for beautiful romantic movies as well as gritty social drama, and suddenly he hits us *slam* right in the face with this movie. "The Man on the Roof" can only be described as the *best* action-thriller ever to come out of Scandinavia. I fear Ingmar Bergman has met his match! The film starts out as a meticulous, detailed account into the investigation of a brutal murder. The search for the killer is lead by homicide detective Martin Beck (surprisingly effectively portrayed by veteran comic actor Lindstedt) and his team in the Stockholm police. Then suddenly barely halfway through, the picture changes pace as it turns into a gripping action movie -and a convincing one at that. Helicopters, machineguns, you name it - and all in the downtown area of Stockholm! I wouldn't believe it had I not seen it for myself. "The Man on the Roof" is definitely as good as expected, and then some.

Police lieutenant Nyman is murdered in his hospital bed and Martin Beck and his colleagues have another murder to solve. They discover that Nyman was a very tough policeman who received several complaints about his methods.

The film is based on the novel "The Abominable Man" (1971) by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, though it was actually a book in the middle of a popular detective series rather than the first. Along with the book, director Bo Widerberg was inspired by William Friedkin's film "The French Connection" (1971).

Widerberg has interestingly contrasted himself with the godfather of Swedish cinema, Ingmar Bergman, noting, "Neither I nor my friends saw very much in him. We didn't find the issue of God's existence that damned important. But it's safe to say you'd be putting yourself in a bad position if you're trying to slit the throat of the father figure before your own debut." Around 750,000 people attended the film in Sweden, making it the most successful film produced by the Swedish Film Institute until Fanny and Alexander was released in 1982. The film was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 50th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. A shame, because this film is great and way ahead of its time. The movie looks as good as any movie today (2017).