The Seventh Seal (1957) Det sjunde inseglet (original title)

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writers:

Ingmar Bergman (play)
Ingmar Bergman (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 October 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Death | Knight | Chess | Plague | Grim Reaper

Awards:

7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Gunnar Björnstrand	...	Jöns, squire
Bengt Ekerot	...	Death
Nils Poppe	...	Jof / Joseph
Max von Sydow	...	Antonius Block
Bibi Andersson	...	Mia / Mary - Jof's wife
Inga Gill	...	Lisa, blacksmith's wife
Maud Hansson	...	Witch
Inga Landgré	...	Karin, Block's Wife
Gunnel Lindblom	...	Girl
Bertil Anderberg	...	Raval
Anders Ek	...	The Monk
Åke Fridell	...	Blacksmith Plog
Gunnar Olsson	...	Albertus Pictor, Church Painter
Erik Strandmark	...	Jonas Skat
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Siv Aleros	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Sten Ardenstam	...	Knight (uncredited)
Harry Asklund	...	The landlord (uncredited)
Benkt-Åke Benktsson	...	Merchant at the inn (uncredited)
Catherine Berg	...	Young woman kneeling for the flagellants (uncredited)
Lena Bergman	...	Young woman kneeling for the flagellants (uncredited)
Tor Borong	...	Farmer at the inn (uncredited)
Gudrun Brost	...	Woman at inn (uncredited)
Bengt Gillberg	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Lars Granberg	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Gunlög Hagberg	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Gun Hammargren	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Tor Isedal	...	Man (uncredited)
Ulf Johansson	...	Knight Commander (uncredited)
Tommy Karlsson	...	Mikael, Jof and Maria's son (uncredited)
Uno Larsson	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Lennart Lilja	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Lars Lind	...	The young monk (uncredited)
Monica Lindman	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Gordon Löwenadler	...	Knight (uncredited)
Mona Malm	...	Young pregnant woman (uncredited)
Josef Norman	...	Old man at the inn (uncredited)
Gösta Prüzelius	...	Man (uncredited)
Helge Sjökvist	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Georg Skarstedt	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Ragnar Sörman	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Fritjof Tall	...	Man (uncredited)
Lennart Tollén	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Nils Whiten	...	Old man addressed by the monk (uncredited)
Caya Wickström	...	Flagellant (uncredited)
Karl Widh	...	Man with crutches (uncredited)

Directed by
Ingmar Bergman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ingmar Bergman		play "Trämålning"
Ingmar Bergman		screenplay

Produced by
Allan Ekelund	....	producer

Original Music by
Erik Nordgren

Cinematography by
Gunnar Fischer

Film Editing by
Lennart Wallén

Production Design by
P.A. Lundgren

Costume Design by
Manne Lindholm

Makeup Department
Nils Nittel	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lennart Olsson	....	assistant director (as Lennart Ohlsson)

Art Department
Carl-Henry Cagarp	....	props

Sound Department
Evald Andersson	....	sound effects
Lennart Wallin	....	sound
Aaby Wedin	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Åke Nilsson	....	assistant camera (as Åke G. Nilsson)

Music Department
Sixten Ehrling	....	conductor
Erik Nordgren	....	music arranger

Other crew
Katinka Faragó	....	script girl (as Katarina Faragó)
Else Fisher	....	choreographer (as Else Fischer)

Production Companies

• Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Distributors

• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (1957) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Janus Films (1958) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1976) (USA) (TV)
• Tartan Video (1993) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1994) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1997) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Manga Films (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Gutek Film (2007) (Poland) (all media)
• Tartan (2007) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Arthaus Filmverleih (????) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Cinetel (????) (Hungary) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (VHS) (laserdisc)
• Cult Filmes (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Emerald (2007) (Argentina) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Det sjunde inseglet" - Sweden (original title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish | Latin

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | West Germany:16 | Spain:13 | UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:12 | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | South Korea:15 | Italy:T (re-rated) | Italy:VM14 (original rating) | South Africa:PG | USA:TV-PG (cable rating) | South Korea:12 (2012) | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Gustavsberg, Värmdö, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Trivia:

Of the 50+ films he has done, this is one of Ingmar Bergman's own rare favorites.

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the game of chess played against Death, the table appears incorrectly rotated. According to the rules of chess, the upper right square of a chessboard shall always be black (and not white as seen in the movie). Death and Antonius should know better than to make this mistake.

Quotes:

Girl:It is finished.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Woton's Wake (1962)

Soundtrack:

HÄSTEN SITTER I TRÄDET

Filled With Memorable Images

This classic is filled with a lot of memorable images - from the opening scenes on the seashore to the effective concluding shots, creative thoughts are combined with some fine camera work. There are several significant or interesting questions raised by the characters - from the imagery of the "Seventh Seal" in Revelation, to their simple but important concerns about eternity - but it is the way that the visuals play off of the ideas that make the movie so worthwhile.

The recreation of the medieval world is convincing and effective, with a lot of detail to set off a varied assortment of characters with different personalities and perspectives. The characters are not necessarily very deep, but most are interesting, and are worth caring about. The ways that they deal with their discouraging situation make you wonder what it would have been like to live in their world. It's also a movie that in some respects is even better to watch over again, after you already know what has happened and can then pick up even more of the detail and imagery.

No doubt the somber tone and slow pace will always keep it from being widely popular, and it's not perfect, but it's satisfying in a different way, and deserves its reputation as a classic.