The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde inseglet) Reviews and Ratings


  • ElCochran90
    November 26, 2009
    ElCochran90
    "If all is imperfect in this imperfect world, then love is most imperfect in its perfect imperfection."

    DET SJUNDE INSEGLET (1957)


    Director: Ingmar Bergman
    Country: Sweden
    Genre: Drama / Fantasy
    Length: 96 minute...( read more)s

    Photobucket


    Undoubtedly, Ingmar Bergman is one of the most genius, brilliant, allegoric, symbolic, complex and intelligent auters in the entire history of cinema. He was the one who helped Swedish cinema to rise out of the blue and acquire a characteristic style of its own, but it was in the year of 1957 when he received complete international attention through two of his first and most financially successful films: Det Sjunde Inseglet and Smultronstället (1957). Det Sjunde Inseglet immediately belongs to the most superior category of cinema. Its extraordinary inventiveness, visual style and apocalyptic perspective has been several times imitated, but never duplicated. Never before had cinema questioned the true essence of life, the existence of God and the negative consequences of religion towards its society when seen as the opium of the masses in such a straightforward manner. With an extraordinary cast that includes the Swedish cinema legends Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Bengt Ekerot and Gunnar Björnstrand, not to mention one of the scariest and most sensational antagonists ever portrayed in celluloid, Det Sjunde Inseglet has the power to shatter the already established code of ethics, to attack and criticize the monstrous consequences of misleading religion and even to modify the perspective towards life itself.

    A man named Antonius Block and his squire return to their homeland from the Crusades only to find the country completely devastated by the infamous Black Plague. In case this wasn't enough, Block has an encounter with Death who tells him that his time is already up. With the mere and obvious purpose of buying time, Block challenges Death to a game of chess that will ultimately decide the fate of the knight while he is given the chance to return to his wife after ten years and to question the meaning of life, the senselessness of death and the very existence of God. Director Ingmar Bergman was nominated for a Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival of 1957, which unfairly lost against William Wyler for his film Friendly Persuasion (1956). However, Bergman won the Jury Special Prize, which tied with Andrzej Wajda's Kanal (1957). He also won a Silver Ribbon for Best Director - Foreign Film at the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists in the year of 1961.

    The title Det Sjunde Inseglet is a direct reference towards the eighth chapter of the Book of Revelations of The Holy Bible, citing the text during the first minutes and just before the shocking, implicit ending. To cite such literary source may imply a context of apocalyptic perdition and existential confusion. The character of Antonius Block, masterly interpreted by Max von Sydow, would be completely remade in Andrey Tarkovsky's timeless, religious masterpiece Andrey Rublyov (1966). He is a man whose faith in God is suddenly shattered into pieces because of the catastrophic environment that always surrounded him. Nonetheless, it is this same environment the one that starts to build and ultimately experience a highly religious way of life. Chapels are being constructed while people suffer a destructive plague which origins remained unknown by that time. The easiest and most logical explanation such degraded and increasingly violent society found for such tragedy was the very plague being a direct punishment of God for the sins of the human being. And so begins the personal journey of self-discovery of Block exactly at the time when, ironically, death has already assured its victory.

    Det Sjunde Inseglet possesses an extraordinary cinematographic work by Gunnar Fischer. The camera catches and consequently attracts all of the symbols and elements that beautifully decorate the mysterious and unpredictable development of the plot. From the vast ocean to the interior of the chapels and the breathtaking landscapes through which a group of unusually funny travelling players go through, Block starts to gather pieces of a possible meaning of life that may acquire a more significant meaning if rather strong emotional connections start to be worked on. It is interesting how, throughout decades of moviemaking, directors have given a somewhat surreal and symbolic connotation when travelling players are used as either main or secondary characters. In this case, they serve the mere function of the protagonists' epiphany. One of them swears to have visions of the Virgin Mary while Block is seeing Death, so they could be interpreted as the counterpart of an imminent and unavoidable fate. Despite its relatively short running time, enough character development is offered, visionary sequences, partial surrealism and religious imagery is offered in order to magically expand it. Bergman's direction is absolutely phenomenal and instead of mistakenly resorting to exaggerated grandiloquence, he decided to treat the story with such delicacy that one may even feel that it must be analyzed like the tenderest physical features of a rose.

    Det Sjunde Inseglet may also be subject to an escapist analysis. It is an essay on the easily corrupted soul and the most negative outcomes when external facts utterly deteriorate any possible optimistic perspective. Its existentialist subject matter may ultimately lead to either a depressing reaction from the audience or to a cathartic one. Bergman's ethereal and heavenly screenplay, which was also based on his play, contains outstandingly surprising and hidden layers of wisdom. The most typical and somewhat ridiculous faults of the human being are contrasted with what seems to be the end of mankind... or so they perceive it. It also pays a strong attention to detail, from having conversations of the importance of family relationships to the normally devastating hardships of failed romances. The performances are phenomenal, from a comical theatre actor to an idealist, violent, but undeniably charming squire. The film slowly reveals several moments of brilliance, like if the screenplay allowed a gorgeous piece of art to blossom under the influence irradiated by the power of darkness. Such plot is remarkably unpredictable, thus enhancing the power of the final conclusion: eternal wandering and never-ending doom. The philosophical material of the film is overabundant and it has the sheer capacity of strengthening the faith in every single religious man, not to mention a possible questioning of the atheists' point of view and take on life.

    Ingmar Bergman has achieved to create one of the best films of all time, but the description doesn't end there. It has been subject to multiple references and critical discussions about the ideas depicted, and although its temporary controversy and its depressing content may pretend to be spiritually dangerous, Det Sjunde Inseglet is arguably the most original and visionary adaptation of the Book of Revelations that introduced the condemnation to every single non-believer person. The character of the Grim Reaper, of course, is not real. It is an illusion of our hopeless attempts to achieve redemption because of our past actions with brand new ones. If we make a list of the things that remain at the end, we would be definitely shocked to see that if such things can be written down, they would be negative and disastrous.

    100/100
  • luiser2gh
    November 25, 2009
    luiser2gh
    This is a Masterpiece, without a doubt!, cada aspecto de esta pelicula es genial, la fotografia impecable, salvo algunos momentos de las actuaciones, pero creo que es debido a la epoca, aun asi esto no me distrajo de lo asombroso de la pelicula. Todo se resume en la genialidad de...( read more) Ingmar Bergman, tanto en su guion el cual esta bellamente escrito, por ocaciones me recuerda a una tragedia de Shakespeare, en realidad es brillante; asi como su direccion, la adaptacion al film de su obra teatral me deja sin palabras, realmente no se que decir para describir esta obra maestra es la perfecta convinacion de intelecto-arte-sentimientos.-
  • AgentLexi2132
    November 24, 2009
    AgentLexi2132
    ''I met Death today. We are playing chess.''

    A man seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.

    Max von Sydow: Antonius Block


    Seventh Seal is Dark, beautiful, meaningful,...( read more) and indeed explores the most serious themes of faith and search for the Divine, Seal is known as one of the masterpieces of Bergman. One of the film's inspirations was a painting that Bergman saw as a young boy and was awed by: "There was everything that one's imagination could desire. Angels, saints, dragons, prophets, devils, humans. There were very frightening animals: serpents in paradise, Balaam's ass, Jonah's whale, the eagle of Revelation. All this was surrounded by heavenly, earthly and subterranean landscapes of strange yet familiar beauty. I remember Death playing chess with a Crusader, Death sawing at a tree to a branch of which clung a naked man with staring eyes, and across a gentle hill Death leading the final dance towards the dark lands''.

    The film follows the journey of a knight Antonius Block (Sydow) returning from the Crusades, through Sweden ravaged by plague. The knight has lost his faith in the blood and horrors of the battlefield, "Faith is a torment. It is like loving someone who is out there in the darkness but never appears, no matter how loudly you call." On his way home, he encounters people dying from starvation and disease, being burnt as witches, and encounters with Death(Bengt Ekerot) himself who challenges him to play a game of chess. We then have the story of the family; a happy juggler, his wife, and their infant son. This family is happy because they love each other. They represent the simple joys and hopes of ordinary life in human proportions.

    The Seventh Seal is not all heavy on significance though. It has an incredible story with believable characters, wonderful performances, lots of comic relief and moves easily from drama to comedy as executed in the great Shakespearean plays. We meet an actor named Jof (Nils Poppe), his wife Mia (Bibi Andersson), and their infant son Mikael. Block looks with envy on the simple love of this family for their child. Both Jof and Block see visions of the spiritual world but Jof's visions are life affirming whereas Block sees only reflections of darkness. The film has unforgettable images such as a hawk floating in a cloudless sky, two horses standing in the surf, Jof's vision of the Virgin Mary caring for her child, and a frightening procession of plague-infected flagellants.

    In one of the most intense scenes, Block enters a church and confides in a cloaked man he believes to be a priest (but is actually Death). He asks Death many questions about God, but recieves no answers. This is the first time we see Block have some kind of weakness; he almost breaks down and relents thus says 'I call out to Him in the darkness, but it's as if no-one was there', and 'I want God to stretch out His hand, uncover His face and speak to me.' What answer does he receive? Not even Death knows if God exists. At the end of this scene, Block points out that we 'should make an idol of our fear, and that idol we should call God.' This profound statement is reflected throughout the rest of the film, as we realize that the communities across Sweden don't simply believe in God, but they also live in fear of him. They see the plague as a punishment directly from Him, cue a casual performance with a sinister march, where the damned whip themselves and monks sing the Dies Irae, whilst townspeople emotion lackingly say 'Judgement day looms' in the local tavern.

    Later, Block encounters a witch, whom is being prepared to be burnt at the stake. The first time he sees her, he casually asks her if she has 'seen the Devil'?, but is given no reply. He sees her once more as she is about to be burnt and gives his reason: 'I want to ask him about God.' What comes next is one of the most powerful images of the film. The witch asks Block what he sees in her eyes? and apart from fear, he sees nothing. No Devil. No God.

    In the end, Block does his good deed before his death. Seeing his looming checkmate and defeat at hand, he purposely knocks the pieces of the chessboard to momentarily stop the game whilst the young couple, Jof (Nils Poppe) and Mia (Bibi Andersson) escape. Death asks him 'Did you profit from your respite?', and he replies 'Yes, I did.' With this selfless act he has saved other lives disregarding his own. Thus actually saving his own soul.
    On to the young couple, they have been interpreted as many different things, what their role is in the film and if they are simply a device. Many believe they symbolize the Virgin Mary and Joseph, however I believe not. Bergman clearly says that they do not represent Mary and Joseph, the evidence being, why would Jof have a vision of the Virgin Mary if she was his wife? Jof provides much of the comic relief, the film, although short, his intense and challenges entice you to think. Jof, who appears innocent, clumsy and somewhat stupid, allows us to take a moment from the film and simply laugh. He provides more than this however. He, his wife, and their baby all appear to be innocent and good. They represent the purity in people, and even through the plague, a corrupt society and man's doubt in God and religion, there still are pure people.

    In conclusion, I can say that The Seventh Seal is certainly one of the greatest films ever crafted or conceived. The unfathomably well-made script, the wonderful photography (shot by one of Bergman's regulars, Gunnar Fischer), the haunting score, the incredible acting and the powerful message all make The Seventh Seal one of the few stunning films ever to be created back in the 50s and even to present day.

    What is the answer to the ever asked question though? Does God exist? Is the idea of a supreme entity a reality? The answer is not black and white, its quite simple...we will never know, not until our time comes. Thus begins the circle again for another generation; ultimately its the journey and our fulfillment of life that reaps the most glory, not the questions about what happens afterwards.
  • SirPant
    November 11, 2009
    SirPant
    Questioning faith and pondering the certainty of death, Ingmar Bergman's masterpiece is hauntingly beautiful, poignant and one of the greatest films ever made.
  • TioBradski
    October 27, 2009
    TioBradski
    Why aren't the first six seals available on DVD?
  • sagapart12
    October 10, 2009
    sagapart12
    Good. I enjoyed the main character quite a bit and really enjoyed the philosophical bent of things. A bit slow at points, and probably that's just me dating myself.
  • marioehrler
    September 20, 2009
    marioehrler
    When it comes to deciding the forefathers of emotional, psychological cinema that deals with potently devastating topics, one of the films that definitely comes up is Ingmar Bergman's utter masterpiece "Det sjunde inseglet". We begin by seeing it as a small, independent film from...( read more) Europe that may be interesting to observe if only for the culture and the obvious linguistic differences. By the end of the last minute, we can't believe how such a seemingly small film has been able to move us, and how it has been able to force us into thinking about heavy and potentially disturbing topics that we've all come to wonder about at some point of our lives...and it does so with such precision and searing accuracy, that we wonder how we couldn't have noticed such a gem before.

    The film deals with a 14th century crusader (Max Von Sydow) who's returning from the Holy Land after many years of endless battle, and on his way home, he encounters the Angel of Death on a long-forgotten beach. Death has, obviously, come to claim him at last, as He has been known to do so for quite a while, what with the Plague finishing off most of Europe with the pest. This particular crusader, an important and intelligent man, decides to challenge Death in a game of chess: he forestalls his demise until the game is over, and if he wins death will move one and let him live for many more years. If Death wins...well, you'll see.

    As the crusader fights an endless game of chess with Death, he travels with his faithful but constantly reproaching squire back to his castle. On the way, they meet a number of interesting characters that help (or, actually, make up) the plot of the film. Each character embodies a different take on the religious aspect of the Dark Ages, and provides, each in his/her own way, a particular point of view on the themes of death, the afterlife, and moral correct-ness.

    The crusader himself has doubts about this, doubts that never let him sleep and that are troubling his existence: What is there in the afterlife? Is there a God and a Devil? Is there even an afterlife or is there simply nothingness once you die? Death is, naturally, vague about these topics and refuses to relinquish any information as he plays chess with the crusader, but the characters he meets provide their own hypotheses to these questions and add to his infinite wisdom. Our crusader decides that he will die only until he has corrected some wrongs in his life and, more importantly, until he has performed a good deed that will finally make his existence on earth valuable.

    But these are very difficult questions to be answered, and Ingmar Bergman makes a point of heightening the difficulty by placing the moral and emotional struggles smack down the middle ages and their obscurely slovenly society. The dialogue and reflective monologues from the characters establish the ideas that torment the characters, and the images that are presented heighten the intensity of the topics (unflinchingly) to astronomical heights, involving the viewer not only in the story and development of the film, but on the director's point and art as well.

    The images seen are some of the most famous and remembered in all of cinematic history; they're short episodes the characters witness, and they're burned into the viewer's mind forever: a procession of martyrs who travel around the country in self-flagellation and pleading for God's forgiveness; a woman who has consorted with the devil and has her hands and feet stoned and broken, and is finally burned at the stake; a poor and kind-hearted juggler who dances like a bear to save his life from an ammoral and sodomite crowd; the Virgin Mary walking with her naked infant in a meadow; a joyous picnic between newfound friends (the scene that, I believe, anchors the point of the film and upsets the general angst and "normalized" horror the rest of the film presents); and, more importantly, the scene where the crusader confesses himself to Death, exposing in a very well-organised monologue the pain and insecurity humans feel towards nothingness and their man-made need to believe in a God that gives sense to our trajectory in earth and our possible entrance to the Next World.

    I won't go into analyzing the characters the crusader meets. Even though they're crucial to a thorough examination of how the moral dilemma is augmented and supported, I'd have to discuss a large list of spoilers that would do nothing to the reader's understanding and enjoyment of the film. Let's just say that, without even seeming to try, these characters move precariously through these dark and dangerous times, sometimes understanding the supernatural world they live in, sometimes overwhelmed by it's implications and finally being able to do nothing about it.

    The screenplay is an obvious masterpiece, but so is the photography (which is all-inclusive and treats the scenes with a special ominous foreboding that keeps us on the edge of our seat every single minute), and so is the acting (which, even though is melodramatic to a large extent, always remains balanced and adequate).

    This is a difficult film to try and explain. It was treated with an exhorbitant amount of acuteness and love, and the topics were so well-presented and developed, that I could write page after page about what I learned, what I think, and how each minute of the film could only advance my wonderment. But, thankfully, it is not my job to detail my analysis, but to review the film...and, in conclusion, I find it to be a perfectly made movie that will always be embedded into my memory. See it at all costs!

    Rating: 4 stars out of 4!!
  • ceWEBrity
    September 18, 2009
    ceWEBrity
    A lovely, thought-provoking film that avoids easy answers. Perhaps the most colorful and complex depiction of religion in film, The Seventh Seal casts Christianity as a scapegoat, a warmonger, a lightning rod, a pillar of unwavering support, and an utterly irrelevant trifle with ...( read more)a collection of elegantly assembled vignettes. As Ebert said, its stance on good and evil makes no exceptions, clearly asserting the division between the two. Many educated people would argue against this notion, but it's the film's simple view of morality and complex arguments against the manifestations thereof that make it so affecting. If the movie is a little over the top in ways that movies of the 50s usually were (monologues, bombastic musical scores, and the like), it compensates with a stirring cinematographic presentation and surprisingly elegant performances.

    Deserving of its classic status.
  • AbsoluteEquinox
    September 5, 2009
    AbsoluteEquinox
    No other movie has spiritually moved me as much as this one.
  • RThornhill
    August 28, 2009
    RThornhill
    This Bergman classic is a new favorite of mine. I especially enjoyed the knight's confession scene. Highly recommended.
  • kanokaan
    August 28, 2009
    kanokaan
    I was waiting a more complicated movie from Ingmar Bergman like "Persona".But this is better for this script.And Ingmar Bergman's directing is really a master's work.His using of light,black/white was great.Hasnt got very different camera using but as i say light and shadow using...( read more) is great.And i like stories which judges life,religion and death.
    Max von Sydow's performance as the knight who judges life was one of the most successful acting of his life.And i wouldnt say that but "death" character impressed me.Because he was really simple.He wears only a plain black rag and white make-up.And he really impressed me.Because some movies grim reaper always has high make-up or horms.But this one was really simple as life and death.Yes,i think life and death is simple:You live,you die.That's all.And "Seventh Seal" assist this theory .You will see it.
  • ristrawn
    August 27, 2009
    ristrawn
    very slow paced... you can't cheat Death... nice nature scenes including the rough seas... Max von Sydow is very young...
  • bazooked
    August 9, 2009
    bazooked
    A film that is comfortable in raising doubts. Goes where other movies are afraid to venture.
  • brocksssssnyder
    August 7, 2009
    brocksssssnyder
    Bergman uses a camera the way a porn star uses their vulva.
  • catalpa61
    July 27, 2009
    catalpa61
    A beautiful film. Bergman reallys is a genius with the camera.
  • ohagankieran
    July 26, 2009
    ohagankieran
    Ingmar Bergman's dark masterpiece effortlessly sees off the revisionists and the satirists; it is a radical work of art that reaches back to scripture, to Cervantes and to Shakespeare to create a new dramatic idiom of its own. It was released 50 years ago, but it's as fresh as a ...( read more)glass of ice-cold water. Max von Sydow and Gunnar Björnstrand are the ascetic Crusader knight and his cynical squire who return from the wars after 10 years to find their country ravaged with plague and the population panicking about the coming apocalypse. The movie fiercely addresses itself to the agony of belief, the need to believe in a God who remains silent, mysterious, absent. It is a work of art that grabs the audience by the lapels, believers and unbelievers alike, and demands not answers, exactly, but an acknowledgement that this is the most important question, the only question: why does anything exist at all? Even after half a century, The Seventh Seal is an untarnished gold-standard of artistic and moral seriousness.
  • michaelcorleone
    July 23, 2009
    michaelcorleone
    Despite the fact that it encompasses so many heavy themes through allegory and visual metaphor, Bergman's classic is a lot more light-spirited than one would expect. It is a visually striking film featuring a sensitive, nuanced performance by Max von Sydow and an iconic depiction...( read more) of Death as a physical manifestation. Psychologically stimulating, fast-moving and beautifully directed, this is a true cinema classic.
  • R0L0D3X
    July 22, 2009
    R0L0D3X
    This movie is so good :D
  • closedmouth
    July 17, 2009
    closedmouth
    A beautiful film and a surprisingly cogent invective against Christianity.
  • paultheitie
    July 10, 2009
    paultheitie
    a tremendous allegory built upon philosophical foundations that radiate consistently throughout the film, thoughtful and reflective on many planes of the human experience, a poignant and deeply moving work of art
  • tsigur
    June 28, 2009
    tsigur
    I don't know why I haven't seen this earlier. The way that I knew it before was through Last Action Hero (which is pathetic). It really is one of the best films ever made and it deals with a subject that I think about all the time (death....I know, that's depressing). Max Von Syd...( read more)ow is genius in this film and I also really enjoyed the Gunnar Bjornstrand (the actor who played his sidekick). The cinematography and camera movement are absolutely gorgeous and I can't say that I had a problem with a single frame. Also, it looks absolutely beautiful in blu-ray God bless technology..
  • her69eyes
    June 27, 2009
    her69eyes
    "The Seventh Seal" is one of those special movies that seems completely familiar to people all across the world, whether they've seen it or not. It's been completely embedded into our collective conscience through decades of praise, imitation, and parody. Released in 1957, this i...( read more)s perhaps the most beloved film of prolific Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, a man who made deeply personal films about his insecurities, fears, and horrific memories. It stood alone in it's time as an unflinching philosophical debate on the existence of God and what waits for us after death. For material so grim, however, Bergman was also capable of making the film endlessly fascinating and entertaining.

    After fighting for ten years in the Crusades, Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) and his squire, Jons (Gunnar Bjornstrand), return home to Sweden and find their country ridden with the plague. On the seashore, Antonius is confronted by Death (Bengt Ekerot), a figure with a bald pale face and long black robes. Before Death takes him away, Antonius proposes a challenge: a game of chess. Death accepts, and the terms are set - should Antonius win, he gets to keep his life. This, however, isn't so much a method of survival as it is a stall for time, a much needed reprieve which will allow Antonius to overcome his insecurities about faith and destiny.

    Meanwhile, we meet a troupe of traveling entertainers - the impish musician, Jof (Nils Poppe); his devoted wife, Mia (Bibi Andersson); and the repulsive Skat (Erik Strandmark). Skat runs off with a blacksmith's wife (Inga Gill), leaving Jof to be humiliated and threatened at the hands of her insecure husband, Plog (Ake Fridell). Antonius and Jons meet up with the entertainers and travel to Antonius' castle as the game between he and death approaches it's end.

    Because "The Seventh Seal" has it's reputation as an endlessly bleak film, it's easy to overlook the amount of wit and humor in the dialogue. To contrast the beautiful yet grim poetry of Antonius' monologues, squire Jons acts as a clown. He teases his companions, and forms a relationship with Plog through his pessimistic insights on women ("Best to kill them all while the fun lasts!").

    Only certain films contain sequences it's audience will never forget, and "The Seventh Seal" has atleast half a dozen of them. I was underwhelmed when I first saw it, but revisiting it after familiarizing myself with more of Bergman's library was beneficial to my understanding and appreciation of the film. Although I still have reservations regarding the highly contrasting tones (the scenes with Jons and Plog in particular), it's impossible to overlook the pitch-perfect acting, dialogue, and cinematography. It's not my favorite of Bergman's works, but it grows on me more by the day - it's a film without boundaries, one that broadens on each revisit.
  • allefra25
    June 7, 2009
    allefra25
    Sometimes funny, most of the time sad, this film is an interesting piece of cinematic history. At some parts it became confusing, but the narrative was coherent enough for me to be able to follow it through. Very well-crafted, it is no surprise that this movie has proven itself t...( read more)o be one of the greats of all time. I only question its replay value...I'll have to judge that for myself some time soon.
  • Keydjes
    June 5, 2009
    Keydjes
    In my opinion the best movie Ingmar Bergman made. And death finally got a face.
    This movie is not only deep and has something to say, it is actually funny from time to time.
    If you haven't seen it, come on... do it...
  • sportsphenom1
    June 3, 2009
    sportsphenom1
    Maybe I'm just not a Bergman fan. I get the whole attempt at symbolism, good and evil, faith, and such, but the execution is just lacking. There are so many opportunities to draw parallels between chess and life, for characters to grow and show sacrifice, and for the ends to just...( read more)ify the means. But Bergman doesn't exploit any of these opportunities. Does this movie really have a message, a "life lesson" if you will, or is this just equivalent to a spectrum of paint randomly thrown onto a canvas?
  • ahhh1989
    May 28, 2009
    ahhh1989
    Definitely one of Bergman's most beautiful and best looking films.
  • xXxXHorrorFanxXxX
    May 24, 2009
    xXxXHorrorFanxXxX
    Antonius Block (von Sydow), a knight, returns with his squire Jöns (Gunnar Björnstrand) from the Crusades and finds that his home country is ravaged by the plague. To his dismay, he discovers that Death (Bengt Ekerot) has come for him too. In order to buy time he challenges Death...( read more) to a chess match, which allows him to reach his home and be reunited with his wife after ten years away. According to film historian Gerald Mast, Blok challenges Death to a game of chess, knowing the inevitable result but obviously playing for time. The knight's faith is war-weathered, and this theme is stressed in one of the scenes in the movie: the knight gives confession to a priest about his doubts whether God actually exists, he tells the priest how he challenged death to a game of chess and reveals his strategy, only to find that the "priest" is actually Death. The movie has very Kierkegaardian themes on death and meaning (see Kierkegaard on despair) and thus it is quite existential. In another powerful scene of a witch burning, the knight is asked by his squire whether he sees in the victim's eyes God or a vacancy. The disquieted knight refuses to acknowledge the victim's and, in a way, his own emptiness despite his doubts about God. The knight realises that he would rather be broken in faith, constantly suffering doubt, than recognise a life without meaning.

    Like the gravedigger in Hamlet, the Squire (...) treats death as a bitter and hopeless joke. Since we all play chess with death, and since we all must suffer through that hopeless joke, the only question about the game is how long it will last and how well we will play it. To play it well, to live, is to love and not to hate the body and the mortal as the Church urges in Bergman's metaphor. - Gerald Mast A Short History of the Movies. p.405

    During the fateful journey they encounter several features of medieval society and the way it dealt with the fear of death: penitence of flagellators, the burning of a witch and travelling actors. Bergman is particularly critical in his depiction of the clergymen, who profit from the atmosphere of terror engendered by the plague. They offer no spiritual comfort to their people, and are represented as little better than thieves. The 'witch' is burnt at the stake for 'having caused' the plague, in community's grotesque effort to put an end to the contagion (Livingston 1982: 61). The witch burning and the painful ritual that Jof is subjected to at the inn, can be viewed as archaic rituals which aim at the purification of the community through sacrifice; violence is used to stabilise the order.(op cit, 62)

    Bergman contrasts the despairing unbelief of the knight and the bitterness of his squire with the simple spiritual faith of the acrobat player Jof (Nils Poppe) and his young wife Mia (Bibi Andersson), who, together with their infant son Mikael, may be symbolic of the Holy family. The squire (Gunnar Björnstrand), while forcefully atheistic and cynical, displays a sensitivity which drives him to protect and aid those he can, and sympathize with those (like the witch) he cannot. Bergman has been suggested to identify most closely with this character.

    Although the knight tells his squire that he is going to defeat the Death by a combination of the knight and the bishop, he will eventually still lose. But the knight achieves the significant act which gives his life meaning, by enabling the escape of the young couple and their child. While the knight and his followers are led away over the hills in a medieval dance of death, the young family live to continue their journey.
  • bigpedro
    April 20, 2009
    bigpedro
    It's a little slow, but it's a nice movie!
  • Alejoss
    April 13, 2009
    Alejoss
    It is a good movie but I spected more.
  • NickCoalNoir
    April 3, 2009
    NickCoalNoir
    Wow, this was such a great movie.
  • 339z
    April 1, 2009
    339z
    wow what a movie 2 watch..its got a good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie..i think that max von sydow, nils poppe, bibi anderson, bengt ekerot play good parts throughout this movie..i think that its clever as its filmed in black and white...i think that the directo...( read more)r of this Drama, Classics movie had done a great job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie its a good movie 2 watch
  • mrfontano71
    March 24, 2009
    mrfontano71
    A game of chess anyone?Classic Bergman.
  • Hellshocked
    March 24, 2009
    Hellshocked
    Bergman's timeless masterpiece is a brutal, harrowing, beautiful work of art that is as fresh and relevant today as it ever was and forever will be.

    Painting a world where death is very real but god may not be, the film serves as an exploration of how people deal with the abse...( read more)nce of the one and the inescapable presence of the other. The Knight in question is an agnostic and his squire an atheist, but the film goes deeper to explore differences even amongst believers. The differences between Jof, the pure and simple theist, and the flagellants are as marked as those between Jof and the Knight, or the Knight and the Squire. In the face of death and in the absence of certainty, we all manifest and assuage our fears differently.

    If the march of the flagellants is one of the great scenes in film, the burning of the witch is seared permanently into my brain. Never have I seen the terror and anguish of the existential dilema expressed as uncompromisingly as in the face of Max Von Sydow here, desperately trying to cling to a shred of hope that is not avaliable to him. The shot itself lasts mere seconds, if that, but its effect is permanent.

    That the film does not present as many advocates for the existence of god as it does against is debatable, but ultimately irrelevant, since it is about the pain and anguish caused by the lack of certainty, and about how we human beings react when faced with the inevitable. As the Knight eventually realizes, the lack of a god does not mean that nihilism triumphs and values are baseless. One altruistic act, at the right time, for the right reason, is enough to redeem the human race, confirming our potential for divinity.
  • bluehazelnut
    March 13, 2009
    bluehazelnut
    didnt see nothing so interesting. Just a b&w old film from a guy that I cant pronunciate the name.
  • 76Majikat
    March 12, 2009
    76Majikat
    Although I can partly see the appeal to this popular film, I have to admit (I know I won?t be popular for this) I found a fair bit of this film quite boring. Having heard this film, so many times talked of with high regard ? I feel I?ve missed something!
  • jclark751
    March 12, 2009
    jclark751
    The first and best Ingmar Bergman film I've seen. A knight from the crusades challenges Death to a game of chess for his life when approached and told that it is his time to die.
  • carterhottovy17
    March 11, 2009
    carterhottovy17
    This is definitely in my top 10 of all time. Bergman was a cinema virtuoso and this is his magnum opus. The film makes the daring attempt to confront every viewer with that inevitable fear: death. However, with the beauty in The Seventh Seal, the confrontation is anything but har...( read more)sh.

    This film is a masterpiece and any person who considers himself/herself a cinephile needs to see this.
  • bryancastille
    March 9, 2009
    bryancastille
    I love old films, even foreign films, but this one is dull.
  • ZombiDrome
    February 26, 2009
    ZombiDrome
    After the success of Smiles of a Summer Night Bergman went on to make his masterpiece, The Seventh Seal. This is the film that put Bergman, and the excellent actor Max von Sydow, on the map and launched them to critical success.

    After ten long and tiresome years, a knight and hi...( read more)s squire come home from the Crusades, only to find their homeland ravished by the deadly Black Plague. Our knight begins to question himself and his surroundings, and the relevance (if any) that God plays in his life. To bide his time he plays a metaphorical game of chess with Death, and with this time he travels across the land in search for an answer, or any sort of meaning in general.

    The film starts and closes with a quote from the Book of Revelations about the seventh seal, which is essentially the end of the world. During his travels he comes across depraved religious fanatics and a witch burning, which only makes him wonder how God, who is kind-hearted and loving, can let this happen to his creation. It's only when he stumbles upon a traveling troupe that he starts to fully realize the meaning of life: that of wild strawberries and milk, of spending every day with a loved one, and caring for your young. It's only when this happens that he truly does smile and laugh during his chess game, which only confuses Death to no end.

    The Seventh Seal is one of my favorite films of all time for many reasons. This film also contains some of the most iconic imagery in the history of cinema: A bird soaring through the clouds, Death standing before our knight with his arm outstretched, and even the infamous, "dance of the dead," a long line lead by death which features our characters, all joined by the hand, dancing their way to the afterlife, or whatever may lay out there. Iconic and Intelligent.
  • resonatingbiodroid
    February 19, 2009
    resonatingbiodroid
    There isn't anything I can really say about this movie that hasn't been said already. So I won't even try.
  • kpac
    February 11, 2009
    kpac
    A good film with nice filming, framin, adis greatat howing us wha life is about and a unique perspciveabout death itself. all of this combined with good erformances and good humor at times makesffor a pretygo film.
  • spaulsson
    February 11, 2009
    spaulsson
    I do appreciate the fine acting, the beautiful photography and Bergmans way of dealing with controversial subjects like death and God. I wouldn't, however, call it one of the greatest movies of all time. Maybe it was one of the best films when released, but since then many master...( read more)pieces have been created that I can better relate to and therefore value higher. My grade, 4/5, represents the amazing achievement for it's time, 5/5, and the entertainment-value for a guy that can't fully relate to it, 3/5.
  • mansonreverendo
    February 8, 2009
    mansonreverendo
    Alguien quiere jugar ajedez con la muerte mas genial en la historia del cine. Tengan paciencia es una gran historia
  • malacaynomuerto
    January 28, 2009
    malacaynomuerto
    visualmente me encanta y la idea es muy buena pero demasiado profunda para una mente superflua como la mía ahahahaha
  • raptors81
    January 26, 2009
    raptors81
    It´s not that good as they say, the movie sometimes turns boring but also it's not that bad...
  • DoctorXQuinzel
    January 12, 2009
    DoctorXQuinzel
    Playing chess with death. Interesting film, I think I need a re-watch to fully understand the symbolism.
  • crutter1
    January 5, 2009
    crutter1
    i love this film, its one of my favourites and i have to buy it soon
  • kcddck
    December 30, 2008
    kcddck
    Even though it is not the most entertaining movie in the world, it is a piece of cinema that you can really sink your teeth into and is very thought provoking. Excellent acting with an excellent storyline and just a twist of humor thrown in for good measure.
  • willsilke
    December 29, 2008
    willsilke
    This resonates over and over and over. It's brilliance is not so much the chess games with Death, rather the juxtapositioning of these quiet-calm interior scenes against the exterior horror and misery of plague and poverty..

Summary

The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde inseglet) Summary