The Seventh Seal [DVD] [1957]
 
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The Seventh Seal [DVD] [1957]

Max von Sydow (Actor), Gunnar Björnstrand (Actor), Ingmar Bergman (Director) | Rated: Parental Guidance | Format: DVD
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Actors: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe, Bibi Andersson
  • Directors: Ingmar Bergman
  • Writers: Ingmar Bergman
  • Producers: Allan Ekelund
  • Format: Black & White, PAL
  • Language Latin, Swedish
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: All Regions
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: Palisades Tartan
  • DVD Release Date: 24 Sep 2001
  • Run Time: 92 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005B5YF
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 8,206 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Ingmar Bergman's 1956 film, The Seventh Seal has been parodied by everyone from Woody Allen to Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, but it remains one of the strangest and richest classics of world cinema. Max Von Sydow plays a knight returning from the Crusades to encounter an apocalyptic scenario inspired by the Book of Genesis. He plays chess with Death (Bengt Ekerot), sees a manacled witch, watches a band of flagellants go by--all of it foretelling an inevitable end to life. Unabashedly allegorical and lyrical and existing in a world unto itself, the film is enormously mesmerising no matter what one thinks of the weighty meanings Bergman has attached to it all.--Tom Keogh

Amazon.co.uk Review

Ingmar Bergman's best-known film and deservedly so, 1957's The Seventh Seal is an allegorical study of death, God and the meaning, if any, of human existence. It is a film that every human being should see, addressing as it does our deepest hopes, anxieties, curiosities and fears. Yet it's also a magical and captivating experience, close to the state of a lucid dream. Max Von Sydow plays Antonius Block, the knight who has returned, gaunt, weathered and disillusioned, from the crusades, to find his home country in the grip of the plague. He is met by Death, in the pallid, hooded form of Bengt Ekerot, whom he challenges to a game of chess. The longer he can stave off defeat, the longer he can prolong the existence of himself and his own entourage, whom Block acquires in the form of his cynical squire a young family and a band of travelling players.

Block's oft-expressed doubts and fears about his mortality and what lies beyond (hence the biblical Seventh Seal, which reveals this final secret to mankind) were especially relevant in the late 1950s, when the threat of the Bomb hung over mankind as did the threat of the plague many centuries before. The concluding Dance of Death image is, like the movie as a whole, harrowing, yet strangely enchanting.

On the DVD: Presented in the original academy ratio, this is an excellent restoration, emphasising the cinematic use of light to contrast the carefree young players with the austere shades used to convey Block's anxiety-ridden ruminations. Notes from Bergman's memoirs discuss how the "Dance of Death" image came from wood carvings in a country church he frequented as a child, as well as the influence of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana on the film. Critic Ronald Bergan's additional notes largely echo Bergman's own. --David Stubbs

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Customer Reviews

23 Reviews
5 star:
 (17)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Bergman., 17 April 2006
By David Welsh (Oslo, Norway) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Seventh Seal [DVD] [1957] (DVD)
One of the classic films of all time, The Seventh Seal is set in plague-ravaged Sweden in the Middle Ages and follows the knight Antonius Block who has returned from 10 years fighting in the Crusades. In the famous opening scene, Block encounters Death on the beach and challenges him to a game of chess in which he is playing for his life. Block's heartfelt search for meaning in the face of death and his struggle with the question of God's existence helped to show that cinema was a genuine art form that could be used to tackle deep existential and philosophical questions. This is a profound, challenging and beautifully executed film.
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Movie, Terrible Features, 26 Feb 2003
This review is from: The Seventh Seal [DVD] [1957] (DVD)
From the very famous chess game between Antonius Block and Deathh on the beach to their skipping silhouettes on the hill the beauty and artistry of this masterpiece is maintained. Incoperating philosophy and the post-crucade life of Antonius Block as he battles (non-physically) with and runs from death the film embodies the greatness and individuality of Ingmar Bergman. The film, starring Max von Sydow (notorious Bergman collaborator; in films such as The Exorcist and Minority Report) recieves ten out of five stars from me.

However, due to the DVD I have to remove a star - not only are there hardly any features (apart from a photo gallery, text and some advertising) the presentation of the movie is highly injust - notably the poor state of the subtitles in comparison to Criterion Collection edition.

However, as this is the only version available in the UK at this current time I either recommend you buy this as an easy solution or track down a different edition (namely Criterion).

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece, 18 Nov 2001
By cushere49@hotmail.com (Scotland, Aberdeen) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Seventh Seal [VHS] [1957] (VHS Tape)
Bergman was-and will remain one of the best European film-makers ever, having influenced so many others (e.g. Woody Allen). About the film now, the opening scene is simply brilliant. Watching one's man desperation regarding the existence of God, moreover, his own personal beliefs. As the film goes, it is clear obvious that Bergman tries to make us doubt about our own existence, whether we do actually believe in God, our own personal issues, love affairs, friendship, and above all, the meaning of life.
Last, nut not least. What really strikes me is the fact that the photography is so good illustrated, and very much alive, even after almost 50 years of its original take.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars I didn't like it.
I thought I was going to enjoy this after reading all the other reviews but I didn't, I'm sorry to say that I found it very pretentious and some of the acting was not very good... Read more
Published 2 months ago by micro man

3.0 out of 5 stars a classic but a little dated...
Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal is seen as not only a classic piece of cinema but also a landmark in film history. Read more
Published 3 months ago by James McDermid

5.0 out of 5 stars Unsettling beauty
This unsettling movie is for me really about how people of different intelligence deal with life's big questions. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Jonathan Carr

5.0 out of 5 stars Summoned to the Dance
After 10 years fighting in the crusades Antonius Block and his squire return to a Europe ravaged by plague. Read more
Published 22 months ago by sft

5.0 out of 5 stars Bleak, dark but with a ray of hope
BEWARE SPOILERS and needless interpretations.

It really is impossible to consider an Ingmar Bergman movie without immediately running to an interpretation. Read more
Published on 25 May 2008 by Dennis Littrell

5.0 out of 5 stars Unsettling, humbling, and thought provoking
This unsettling, humbling, and thought-provoking film has made an enormous impression on me.

Bergman reminds us that even our greatest achievements in life will not... Read more
Published on 27 Nov 2007 by Alojz Kajinic

5.0 out of 5 stars AN AWE INSPIRING UNDISPUTED MASTERPIECE
The mysteries of religion and death have long been a popular focus among artists of all media, including film. Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2007 by stuart

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking and beautifully shot film
This movie starts with a war-weary knight who is returning home to Sweden from the Crusades in the 14th Centaury. Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2007 by M. A. Ramos

4.0 out of 5 stars An atheistic lecture in drama form
With all the reputation this film has, I was just a tad dissapointed with what I saw. In filmic terms I saw some good things, but I didn't see much magic, as I was expecting. Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2007 by Lou Knee

4.0 out of 5 stars SEVEN UP
I have seen, and thoroughly enjoyed, a large amount of Bergman films in the past but, rather inexplicably, I never got round to viewing his most seminal movie: THE SEVENTH SEAL,... Read more
Published on 5 Aug 2007 by Mr. B. A. D. Plowman

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