Seventh Seal: Amazon.ca: Gunnar Bjrnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe, Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Inga Gill, Maud Hansson, Inga Landgr, Gunnel Lindblom, Bertil Anderberg, Anders Ek, ke Fridell, Gunnar Olsson, Erik Strandmark, Fritjof Tall, Siv Aleros, Harry Asklund, Helge Sjkvist, Josef Norman, Mona Malm: DVD

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Ingmar Bergman's 1956 film, The Seventh Seal has been parodied by everyone from Woody Allen to Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, but it remains one of the strangest and richest classics of world cinema. Max Von Sydow plays a knight returning from the Crusades to encounter an apocalyptic scenario inspired by the Book of Genesis. He plays chess with Death (Bengt Ekerot), sees a manacled witch, watches a band of flagellants go by--all of it foretelling an inevitable end to life. Unabashedly allegorical and lyrical and existing in a world unto itself, the film is enormously mesmerising no matter what one thinks of the weighty meanings Bergman has attached to it all.--Tom Keogh

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Ingmar Bergman's 1956 film has been parodied by everyone from Woody Allen to Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, but it remains one of the strangest and richest classics of world cinema. Max Von Sydow plays a knight returning from the Crusades to encounter an apocalyptic scenario inspired by the Book of Genesis. He plays chess with Death (Bengt Ekerot), sees a manacled witch, watches a band of flagellants go by--all of it foretelling an inevitable end to life. Unabashedly allegorical and lyrical and existing in a world unto itself, the film is enormously mesmerizing no matter what one thinks of the weighty meanings Bergman has attached to it all. The DVD release has English subtitles, audio commentary by critic Peter Cowie, theatrical trailer, and Bergman's filmography. --Tom Keogh

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Customer Reviews

110 Reviews

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
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4.5 out of 5 stars (110 customer reviews)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing and thought provoking movie., July 10 2004

By

M. Mitchell (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Seventh Seal (DVD)

This film is absolutely amazing. It is one of the few movies I watch more than once or twice.
It is an achievment in style. The film manages to look amazing by virtue of Bergman's skill with lighting and cinematography alone. Especially compared to the big budget, color Hollywood titles of the time (such as The Ten Commandments) which look plastic despite their "special effects" and use of color (this film is black & white).
The subject of the movie is man's search for the meaning of life and the question of whether or not God exists. The film is both thought-provoking and blunt in its presentation of this subject and the answers which Bergman provides are suprisingly blunt.
The DVD quality is great, as it always is with Criterion Collection DVDs, and Peter Cowie's commentary is particularly good.

However, I will admit that this film is not for everyone. It also seems to require (for me anyway) one to be in a certain "mood" to view it. If you want to simply be entertained then this is not a film for you, but if you want to view a skillfully directed and wonderfully thought-provoking (if a bit dated) film then go for it.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The silence of God!, July 6 2004

By

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Seventh Seal (DVD)

Ingmar Berman(1918) established a challenging premise a chess mate between a knight from the Crusaders and the Death (Bengt Ekrot). If he wins, he'll live ; otherwise the Death will claim him . And this original duel happens after Sydow has left behind the misery, the plague and an unending war. He's deeply dissapointed with God and certainly he concludes that it doesn't exist.
This game will let exchange , scrutinize several ideas concerned with the faith , the silence of God and its own existence. God is a comfortable idea for the mankind ; it keeps them warmth , besides the man can dream with the hope of a celestial Paradise after this journey through this awful and miserable world. The ending sequence with the Dance of the Death is one of the most captivating and fascinating images in all the cinema story.
Many people state this is the Masterpiece : and obviously to me it's one of the three major achievements ; Persona and Cries and Whispers would be the rest .
But I've watched almost forty films of this brilliant swedish film maker and in his particular case ; a minor film from Bergman is above the average . So my advise is try to find out and watch all you can from this outstanding director.
This film won the Special Jury Prize 1957.
A timeless cult movie.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When in doubt, play chess with Death..., May 6 2004

By

isala "Isabel and Lars" (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seventh Seal (DVD)

The film was produced in a world recovering from the devastation of WWII, and living in fear of the mushrom cloud.
A knight and his squire are returning home from the crusades. Disgusted and desillusionised by what he has experienced, the knight just longs to die. He has just one last wish: to find out why he has lived. Death does not care, but agrees to let him live for as long as they continue their chess game.
They travel through a land ravaged by plague, fear, and banditry. Helpless the knight sees the world falling apart around him. Everything he believed in as a young man has been tainted or proved false.
Death cheats in the chess game. In the end the knight loses, but he gains some solace when he saves a young family from Death. Still, he leaves this world as unknowing as he entered as a child.
This film has a tremendous impact on the mind. It deals with the big questions: Why am I here? Why does evil exist, and why is it so powerful? What can one human do to affect the world? The last question is the only one that is answered: small things, but small things are also important.
The acting is briljant, with Max von Sydow as the knight. The personification of Death has inspired writers as different as Woody Allen and Terry Pratchett.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Release of Bergman's Masterpiece
Crusader, Antonious Block (Max Von Sydow) and his squire Jöns (Gunnar Björnstrand) have returned home after ten years. Read more

Published on April 4 2008 by K. Driscoll

4.0 out of 5 stars Knight challenges "Death" to chess match for his life
this is the first Ingmar Bergman i have seen.Bergman is a very revered
Swedish director.i wasn't sure what to expect with this film,but i had
wanted to see it for some... Read more

Published on Oct 1 2007 by falcon

2.0 out of 5 stars Overrated
The Seventh Seal put me to sleep. I guess Woody Allen saw this one fifty times and the critics thought it was deep man, but I had a hard time keeping my lids from falling. Read more

Published on Jun 16 2004 by R. A Rubin

3.0 out of 5 stars A simply PERFECT movie...unlike its presentation
This movie is a milestone in cinema history - no need to question its directing, cinematography, or content - it's genius. Read more

Published on April 8 2004 by Patrik Lemberg

4.0 out of 5 stars an excellent film.
This review is for the criterion collection edition.

This film is probably the most famous Swedish film to be released in the US. Read more

Published on Mar 9 2004 by Ted

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking, suprising in its bluntness
I approached this movie with few preconceived notions; I had heard of it but knew little in the way of reviews. I started it at 2 a.m. Read more

Published on Mar 7 2004 by abones80

5.0 out of 5 stars Death, Life, and God
One of my all time favourite movies. Bergman is perhaps the only director that could pull off having Death as a character playing chess with our mortal hero. Read more

Published on Jan 26 2004 by jordan

5.0 out of 5 stars Profound, Memorable, & Challenging
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS NO SPOILERS-

For those who've never seen this film: It's always best to see a film yourself before investing in its purchase, and that may go doubly so for... Read more

Published on Jan 21 2004 by Michael Meunier

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a masterpiece
"The seventh seal" can be a good introduction to Kierkegaard's themes for those who never read a Danish philosopher's books : for the others this movie can be superflous.

Published on Jan 20 2004 by Tuxtucis

2.0 out of 5 stars Not really for grown ups
Time is not kind to this work. It is probably best enjoyed during your college years, when sophomoric profundity is most potent. Read more

Published on Jan 7 2004 by vincegerman