The Swedish Film Institute magazine "Chaplin" reported that the "Person(a)kult" had spread beyond Sweden by 1967. In one of his early reviews, Roger Ebert gave the film four stars; he called it "a difficult, frustrating film", and said that it (and Elisabet) "stubbornly refuse to be conventional and to respond as we expect". Bosley Crowther, writing for "The New York Times", called "Persona" a "lovely, moody film which, for all its intense emotionalism, makes some tough intellectual demands". Crowther wrote that its "interpretation is tough", and "Miss Ullmann and Miss Andersson just about carry the film—and exquisitely, too". According to the "Variety" staff, "There is no denying the absorbing theme and the perfection in direction, acting, editing and lensing"; they called Andersson's performance a "tour de force", concluding: "Bergman has come up with probably one of his most masterful films technically and in conception, but also one of his most difficult ones". "Time"'s review stated that the film "fuses two of Bergman's familiar obsessions: personal loneliness and the particular anguish of contemporary woman". In the 1972 British Film Institute "Sight & Sound" poll, "Persona" was ranked the fifth-greatest film of all time, the highest placing of a Swedish film. "Persona" was 44th in "Sight & Sound"'s 2002 directors' ranking of the greatest films.