The Seventh Seal (1957)

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

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writers:

Ingmar Bergman (play), Ingmar Bergman (screenplay)

Stars:

Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot

Top Rated Movies #154 | 7 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

A Knight and his squire are home from the crusades. Black Death is sweeping their country. As they approach home, Death appears to the knight and tells him it is his time. The knight challenges Death to a chess game for his life. The Knight and Death play as the cultural turmoil envelopes the people around them as they try, in different ways, to deal with the upheaval the plague has caused.

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Plot Keywords:

knight | medieval times | death personified | death | chess | 

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Taglines:

A film of visual scope, of imaginative concept, of powerful content, written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, twice honored by the Interational Jury at the Cannes Film Festival 1956,1957

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish Latin

Release Date:

13 October 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Seventh Seal

Filming Locations:

Gustavsberg, Värmdö, Stockholms län, Sweden

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$230,571

Company Credits

Production Co:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last two minutes of the film are pure improvisation. The actors have played the whole final scene, when Bergman saw in the sky a cloud of unusual shape. He told the troupe again wear costumes and directed a new version of the final scene in one take.

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Goofs

Jof's hand movements on the lyre do not match the audible notes.

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Quotes

Jöns: Our crusade was such madness that only a real idealist could have thought it up.

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Connections

Featured in 1,001 Movies You Must See (Before You Die) (2014)

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Soundtracks

Hästen Sitter i Trädet
Music by Erik Nordgren
Lyrics by Ingmar Bergman
Sung by Nils Poppe and Bibi Andersson

User Reviews

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.