The Seventh Seal (1957)

[bigburner]

This Ingmar Bergman film stars Max von Sydow as a Swedish 14th century knight called Antonius Block who is returning home after ten years of fighting in the Crusades. He finds that his homeland has been decimated by the Black Death (plague).

There are many themes in this film but for me a key one is whether there can be a God when all you see around you makes you think that there cannot be a God. Antonius is visited by the Grim Reaper and they play chess to determine whether he should live or die.

I think that this is a wonderful film, packed with imagery and symbolism. It is so different to a Hollywood film that it might as well be a different art form.

Nigel.

[George Bellefontaine]

Bergman was a very prolific filmmaker. I was only ever fortunate enough to see a few, but two always outstood amongst those I've seen and these were Wild Strawberries, an emotional and sometimes amusing tale of an old man looking back at his life; and Virgin Spring, where Max von Sydow takes revenge on men who raped and murdered his daughter. The latter is probably the most powerful of all the Bergman films I have been fortunate enough to view. I also liked The Seventh Seal.

[Chris D]

Antonius is visited by the Grim Reaper and they play chess to determine whether he should live or die.

So basically it's Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, right?

Kidding. Haven't seen this one, but it's on my biiiiiiiig list.

[Burke Strickland]

The Seventh Seal is one of the great movies of all time. It is visually rich (memorable images abound), philosophically profound (without deadly dull expounding -- the writing was first rate), and well acted (may be Max Von Sydow's best performance, although there are many other memorable ones). If you are looking for a happy, happy, upbeat "feel good" flick, bubble gum matinee action or horny teenager humor, "this ain't it". However, it is a satisfying cinematic experience on many levels.

My first exposure to it was in a course I took for college credit on the films of Ingmar Bergman, and I've found each time in rewatching it over the years that I see new and interesting things we didn't cover in class. It is best viewed in its native language with subtitles, but if that turns you off, by all means watch a dubbed version if only for the visual imagery (the Criterion BluRay reportedly offers both English subtitles with Swedish and dubbed English). I guess this is a title I should include on my BluRay-replace-DVD list.

[bigburner]

I'll hunt those two films down George.

Nigel.

Bergman was a very prolific filmmaker. I was only ever fortunate enough to see a few, but two always outstood amongst those I've seen and these were Wild Strawberries, an emotional and sometimes amusing tale of an old man looking back at his life; and Virgin Spring, where Max von Sydow takes revenge on men who raped and murdered his daughter. The latter is probably the most powerful of all the Bergman films I have been fortunate enough to view. I also liked The Seventh Seal.

[Burke Strickland]

In addition to Wild Strawberries and The Virgin Spring, both of which I agree with George are outstanding, a couple of other Bergman flicks definitely worth a look are:

• The Magician, in which the character played by Max Von Sydow leads a travelling troupe of theatrical players whose performances are reputed to be interrupted by supernatural occurrences with both comic and horrifying effects, and

• Smiles of a Summer Night, about three couples who change partners on the shortest night of the year, which is essentially the same story as (but predates) Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music". Two things "Smiles" does not have are Max Von Sydow (cast is terrific anyway), or Elizabeth Taylor singing "Send in the Clowns" (she isn't in the film and it isn't a musical).

[George Bellefontaine]

I've seen The Magician, Burke, and agree it was worth seeing. I'll see if I can find Smiles.

[Chris D]

I don't know if this is a fair genre comparison, but did you guys like "M"? It's supposed to be a classic, and I bought it during a recent Criterion Collection sale, but it just didn't do it for me. I often have a hard time getting into foreign films.

[Burke Strickland]

I don't know if this is a fair genre comparison, but did you guys like "M"? It's supposed to be a classic...

I'd say I appreciated the film-making skill that went into "M" rather than liking it. "M" was skillfully put together, but it is not a film I have had a desire to watch repeated times (in fact, only twice, separated by decades). If you dislike it, you've just written off pre-World War II German films with anti-Nazi undertones, not Ingmar Bergman.

[George Bellefontaine]

I haven't seen "M" so I can't comment on it. But I am curious as to whether or not I would like it so I'll try to rent it.