The Seventh Seal

1958 "The story of a challenge to death"
8.1| 1h36m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 13 October 1958 Released
Producted By: SF Studios
Country: Sweden
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the belief that God does not exist, Block sets off on a journey, meeting up with traveling players Jof and his wife, Mia, and becoming determined to evade Death long enough to commit one redemptive act while he still lives.

Genre

Fantasy, Drama

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Director

Ingmar Bergman

Production Companies

SF Studios

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The Seventh Seal Audience Reviews

Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!
TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
zianimustafa The film begins, and the sky rises on us, and two people fall near the beach, and while in this silent silence there is a terrifying guest coming to them soon, comes the guest quickly and suddenly, ask the hero of the film Antonius Black who are you? I answer death! This is how the film starts with a shocking and breathtaking scene, a scene that critics have rated as the best opening in the history of cinema. Not surprisingly, they brought together people and death together. The film revolves around the return of the crusader Antonius Block to his country, Which leads people to believe that the resurrection has approached and became imminent, and then goes to Antonius great battle with the self in an attempt to search for answers about life and man, and the Great God! My story with this film is long, and it started two years ago. At that time I was bored to the limit of those classic and traditional Hollywood and European films. I was looking for films about life, dramatic human and philosophical films. , I saw the film for the first time and did not like it, I grew up in Bergman Cinema and watched its greatest movies and then became very familiar with the ideas and films of this man, I saw the film again, and it became the second best film I have ever seen! , This is the Bergman Cinema, the films of this man are different from all the films, and my words are only evidence that Bergman Cinema and others contain a great deal of ideas and novels deep, and certainly will not appreciate his work in just one view. I love Bergman,
Ali Davari Did you ever questioned the beyond? How about existence? What death would be like and how to face the end? ..or the beginning?! The Seventh Seal is about Bergman's inner personal questions and thoughts that he was wondering about during his lifetime. We see as his perspective through the movie seeking for a meaning for everything that been told to us since we were too young to question them. It's not attend to be critical at anything at all, Just the things that a kid or a simple human being would ask to himself about all the meaning and beyond and death subjects. Would it be challenging? Definitely. But who else could have done it in a better way. Characters are so symbolic and all each represent to a form of human way of thinking and perspective. From a knight crusade to a circus clown they got much different ways of seeing and understand things from whatsoever happen around them to the all philosophical questions in life that would cross our minds. But Bergman is the director that could fit them so perfectly in a frame all together that not only it's so meaningful but still enjoyable to watch every minute of it. you can still watch the movie and enjoy it even if you don't seek a meaning or never questioned things or simply you don't care about these stuff. The plot narrate during medieval period that religions were reigning not only the lands but to more efficiently the thoughts and minds. Where every word of the bishop was absolute and the only salvation were in the hands of church, was there any room to question those things?! Well, You better watch this movie to find out whole.
Hereticked I like The Seventh Seal more every time I see it. This is a movie that had the balls to flip religion the bird in 1957. It's a perfect tale of revelation and redemption, thrusting a mirror in front of the human condition.A knight has returned from the Crusades, but his faith is shaken and the Bubonic plague spreads across the land. If that weren't crisis enough, death itself stalks him on the shores of his homeland and he finds himself playing chess with the reaper to buy himself a little time. But time for what? Time to do something, ANYTHING, to atone for the chaos and misery he wrought in the middle east; a campaign he now knows to have been arrogant, foolish and utterly without merit.As the knight, his squire and the rest of our characters tour medieval Sweden, we see them confront every horror that the Dark Ages brought to bear. We see opportunistic theft, attempted rape, mockery and scapegoating out of total ignorance, and a mentally ill woman burned as a witch. Everyone is terrified of the black plague, and their inability to cope with it brings out the worst in humanity. As a troupe of bards attempt to alleviate a small town with songs and dance, a Christian passion play comes crashing through the streets, whipping themselves bloody, wailing and begging the sky for relief and forgiveness that will not come. No doubt they will spread the plague further before they drop their heavy wooden crosses and die in agony. Our main characters look on, wondering where the human race went wrong.The knight endures all this while delaying his inevitable loss on the chess board and seeking answers to the questions that tear at his faith. In the end, none are satisfactory, and yet he remains stalwart in his quest for redemption. When death comes for him and his companions, the knight's good deeds have been accomplished and the cynical squire stares his mortality down, demonstrating that humanity can still perform at its best in the absolute worst circumstances.There is virtually no fat in this film. It is clean in its beautiful black and white frames, crisp editing and purposeful dialogue. Although mostly bleak in their humor, there are a few laughs to be had among the 96 minutes of existential dread. We're even given a clarifying moment of hope and joy before the credits appear. This timeless piece is Ingmar Bergman's master work and it's as good as films get.
elvircorhodzic THE SEVENTH SEAL is a film that presents a dramatic fantasy game between meaning of life and fear of death. A knight and his squire have returned to their country after a ten-year crusade. Deadly disease ravaged country. Knight faces Death. He calls Death on the multi-day game of chess...The story has touched serious philosophical and religious topics. However, the story is full of intrigue, dark humor and hope. The protagonists are distracted between the vicious disease, self-pity and torture. It is interesting to see a deeply disillusioned knight, a cynical squire who hates women, a cheating wife, evil priests, a mute girl and seemingly healthy and happy family on the same road. The truth is all around them. The main protagonist used to persistently ask questions to which only he has a valid response. This film reveals some controversial issues. Is deadly disease greater threat to man or the man is the greatest enemy to himself? Mr. Bergman has painted realistic effects of fear, horror, cynicism, surprises, love and health on human faces.Max von Sydow as Antonius Block, the knight is a more serious version of Don Quixote. Gunnar Björnstrand Jöns, the squire is a character who never changes his mood. He always has some sort of cynical jokes or words of contempt for each occurrence. Bengt Ekerot is Death in the true sense of that word. Nils Poppe as Jof is a juggler who has strange predictions. Fortunately, no one believes him. Bibi Andersson as Mia, Jof's wife is a beautiful and cheerful woman who does not fit into the landscape.Life is a hard journey. The rare moments of happiness are a sort of salvation. The end of the film emphasizes the transience of life and the power of death which no one can escape. Of course, only in the eyes of one of the protagonists.