Every time I see this Ingmar Bergman classic chronicling a Crusades knight's return home and encounter and subsequent chess game with Death-- I think I'm up to 8 times now -- it gets better. I always see something I didn't see before, and enjoy the performances more.… More
Every time I see this Ingmar Bergman classic chronicling a Crusades knight's return home and encounter and subsequent chess game with Death-- I think I'm up to 8 times now -- it gets better. I always see something I didn't see before, and enjoy the performances more. All are first rate -- Max von Sydow as the knight, Gunnar Bjornstrand as his aide, and a host of others. My particular favorite is the young family that make up the traveling theatre troupe. The photography is just amazing to behold, including the iconic last shot of the sillouetted cast dancing behind Death in a surreal conga line. For an extra treat, see a film called "Phantom Carriage", starring a VERY young Victor Sjostrom. It's said that Bergman loved this film so much that he modeled many scenes in Seal after it, and put Sjostrom in Wild Strawberries as a tribute to the man.