It is today considered one of the greatest movies of all time and a classic in world cinema as well as the film that made Ingmar Bergman a world-renowned director and a film which contains scenes that have become iconic through critical analysis, homages and parodies. Critically mixed on original release, it was widely praised for its cinematography and performances while it was criticised for its script.

Film critic, Roger Ebert, included the film in his list of “The Great Movies”.

#8 in Empire Magazine’s 2010 list of “Greatest Films in World Cinema”.

#13 in The Guardian’s 2007 readers poll in the list of “40 Greatest Foreign Films Of All Time”.

#30 in BBC’s 2018 list of “The 100 Greatest Foreign Language Films”.

#43 in Time Out’s 2021 list of “The 100 Best Movies of All Time”.