A knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.A knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.A knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.
- Awards
- 9 wins & 2 nominations
Siv Aleros
- Flagellant
- (uncredited)
Sten Ardenstam
- Knight
- (uncredited)
Harry Asklund
- The Landlord
- (uncredited)
Benkt-Åke Benktsson
- Merchant at the Inn
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIngmar Bergman credited the film with helping him overcome his crippling fear of death. Because the film dealt so overtly with the subject, he found it a highly cathartic experience.
- GoofsThe chess players focus on capturing the Queen. The Queen was not a super-powerful piece until centuries later when a recent chess-variant initially called "chess of the mad queen" became more popular than the classic game.
- Quotes
Antonius Block: We must make an idol of our fear, and call it god.
- ConnectionsEdited into Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America (2007)
Featured review
First of all, I have taken the time to read some posts on this movie before writing my review because I was searching for lots of answers. Didn't get many though, the popular thing fans like to say (and please, no pun intended) is that it just takes time to understand and appreciate this movie. To this I quickly reply that my perception of "Det Sjunde Inseglet" was that it is a rather dull, if not eventless, movie. It has some really nice moments (and for some reason I really liked the concept of a man playing chess with death itself) but in the end almost nothing is resolved except from the main protagonist who, at the brink of his death, discovers that it's love that makes people want to live ,very roughly put, I apologize, but even this revelation was hidden from the writer of this comment. And this is what bothered me the most, I couldn't read (for the lack of a better word) any of these important details, the movie very coldly rolled in front of my eyes and I just didn't get it! Now the easiest and dumbest thing to say is that this is all the fault of the director for not having a more universal way of film-making, rather the viewer has to decipher such information if he wants to fully appreciate his movies. I've just realized that I could say the same for Kubrick's visionary movies, I didn't like most, scratch that, none of them the first time around, they grew on me after a second viewing. And I dig Kubrick, a lot!!!
I was also surprised with the admiration the cinematography received, it did not impact me whatsoever (and I am more so a visual that a sensual movie buff and love this kind of stuff). All in all, as Antonius Block, I am searching for answers, important ones. It bothers me a lot that I don't appreciate this movie, and I ask anyone to help me resolve my problem.
What am I missing? What don't I get? What should I know about "The Seventh Seal", its meaning, its importance, its making, its director...?
Thank you for your time
I was also surprised with the admiration the cinematography received, it did not impact me whatsoever (and I am more so a visual that a sensual movie buff and love this kind of stuff). All in all, as Antonius Block, I am searching for answers, important ones. It bothers me a lot that I don't appreciate this movie, and I ask anyone to help me resolve my problem.
What am I missing? What don't I get? What should I know about "The Seventh Seal", its meaning, its importance, its making, its director...?
Thank you for your time
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Sedmi pečat
- Filming locations
- Hovs Hallar - Naturreservat, Skåne län, Sweden(Opening beach scene and ending scene)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $150,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $311,212
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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