The Seventh Seal - Criterion Collection (1958)

Max von Sydow, in the role that made him famous, stars as a disillusioned knight returning from the crusades in the 14th century. He is travelling with his squire, and they meet a number of people along the way, including an acting troop and a blacksmith and his wife. One of these visitors is Death, and the Knight tries to bargain for his life. Death accepts the knight's offer of a game of chess. As long as the game continues, the knight can live.

The movie is laden with symbolism, often of a religious nature, and filmed in stark black and white. Although the movie is serious and cerebral in tone, there is also a surprising element of humor and lightness. If you approach this film with an open mind, you will probably end up enjoying it, although it isn't for all audiences. Highly recommended for discerning film fans.

EXTRAS: The DVD includes such extras as the original trailer and a written narrative of Bergman's career. The best feature is the audiotrack recorded by film historian, Peter Cowie. He walks the viewer through the film, pointing out relevant symbolism as well as Bergman's directorial touches. Fascinating!

The action takes place in Europe after the crusades. A knight, Antonius Bloch, is returning to his home in Denmark. He is accompanied by his squire. Block is an idealist who joined the crusades because he wanted to do something significant in his life. However the crusades turned out to be completely disillusioning. On his journey he notes that the plague is sweeping across the land. Superstition reigns, along with a severe version of religion. His squire is not as bothered by what he has seen, having been much more cynical all along. Still, the squire has a strong sense of justice that is demonstrated when he saves a girl from an attack.

Along the way a number of people join with the knight for protection. These include a troupe of actors, a blacksmith and his faithless wife, and the woman the squire rescued. Death is lurking, and confronts the knight, informing him that his time has expired. The knight protests that he cannot die before having accomplished something significant. Death says, "They all say that," but the knight insists, and successfully challenges Death to a chess match. This gives the knight additional time to make his life worthwhile.

The knight has tried to accomplish the BIG act based on a profound sense of life and of God. The juggler and his wife have a much simpler idea of life, God, and goodness. As Death is on the verge of winning the chess match and taking everyone in the knight's party, the juggler wakes his wife and child to flee. The knight recognizes that the juggler has seen Death, and upsets the chessboard to distract his opponent. This gives the juggler just enough time to escape. Death asks the knight whether the delay was worth it, and the knight gives an enigmatic smile. He has accomplished his worthy act, not by saving the world, but by saving just one family.

Everything about this fine film is outstanding, from the acting to the cinematography to the direction. The Criterion transfer restores the film to the best possible condition. The commentary tracks are very informative. Many movies have parodied The Seventh Seal, including Woody Allen and Bill and Ted's Adventure series. None of that has taken away from its greatness. I give this film the highest recommendation.

THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957) remains to this day one of the most profound and enigmatic explorations through man's eternal yearning for the meaning of life. Directed by acclaimed Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, THE SEVENTH SEAL tells the story of Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) a knight on his way back to Sweden after having spent 10 years fighting in the crusades.

I should make clear that this is only the initial setting of the story, and that in fact the film is populated by a flurry of wonderful characters. Indeed it seems that throughout the film we meet all sorts of beings: Jöns (Gunnar Björnstrand) the just and valiant squire, Jof (Nils Poppe) and Mia (Bibi Andersson) who perfectly capture the innocence and purity of love, a dying young witch (Maud Hansson) who kept remainding me of Joan of Arc, a young girl who follows the squire (Gunnel Lindblom) and who barely says a word throughout the movie, but whose eyes are so alive and expressive; and perhaps the most daunting and chilling performance of all, Death itself (Bengt Ekerot).

It is said that war can break a man and drive him into madness and solitude. In the SEVENTH SEAL Antonius seems to have lost all his faith and desperately seeks to find the answer to the one question that haunts him the most: does God exist? Death meets Antonious at the start, Antonious realizes that perhaps the end is near and in an effort to redeem himself he challenges Death to a game of chess. The end result is one the most fulfilling (and awkwardly bizarre) conclusions I have seen in a movie.

The Criterion Collection DVD is simply by far the best option for anyone interested in the movie. With a wonderful and insightful commentary by film historian Peter Cowie and a well presented filmography on Bergman, the DVD edition can satisfy even the most rabid Bergman fan, or prove an excellent starting point for those who are not familiar with Bergman's work (like myself). The movie is presented in it's original 1.33:1 (full frame) aspect ratio in black and white, in Swedish (option English) language track and English subtitles. I highly recommend this film.