Seventh Seal, The, ranks among the motion-picture masterpieces directed by the Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. Bergman also wrote the screenplay. The deeply symbolic fantasy was released in 1957. The film explores the relationship between the individual and God.
The Seventh Seal takes place in medieval Sweden during a deadly plague. A knight returns from the Crusades, a series of military expeditions to the Holy Land, and encounters Death, who wants to take him away. The knight persuades Death to play a game of chess. If the knight wins, Death will spare him and his wife. During the chess game, the two discuss religion and the existence of God. The knight manages to save two traveling actors and their child from Death but loses himself. The film ends with a famous “dance of death,” in which a number of the characters dance silhouetted against the horizon.
The film’s obscure philosophical and theological meanings puzzled many viewers. Critics praised The Seventh Seal, however, for its striking black-and-white photography and its ambitious examination of serious themes. The movie was one of several increasingly pessimistic Bergman films that questioned religious belief. Others included The Virgin Spring (1960), Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Winter Light (1963), and The Silence (1963).
The Seventh Seal starred several actors who were regulars in Bergman films. Max von Sydow played the knight, and Bengt Ekerot was Death. Supporting performers included Bibi Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Gunnel Lindblom, and Nils Poppe. Gunnar Fischer supervised the widely praised photography.
