This is one of the most pure of cinema's masterpieces and certainly Bergman's best cine. Plague ravages the land as a knight on a spiritual quest plays chess with death. I can't reveal what the bottom line point is (many newcomers to Bergman's work won't either, especially if you're not in the mood for soul searching), but one thing is for certain, an allegory on life and death is shown perfectly in the second to last shot of the reaper and his minions following in a dance across the field. Max Von Sydow gives an excellent showing as the opponent of Death (in a clever and meticulous chess game), yet the character of Death, played by Bengt Ekerot with chilling conviction, steals the show, if only for the alluring quality of the character.Įven if the story veers it veers in good and interesting territory, focusing on people who convey Bergman's point and or style. The result is beautiful cinema, capturing the always foreboding fear and allure of the almighty and for the waiting death, appropriately staged in post-crusades, mid dark age Europe. He uses subliminal and not so subliminal techniques to convey a dying, frightened world, where making a living is almost impossible and the debate of god's control over life is discussed like un-rhyming yet fascinating poetry. One can see the film's continuing influence in recent works like ' The Green Knight' and ' The Tragedy of Macbeth.One thing that can be certain after watching the Seventh Seal, outside of being thankful for living in this century, is that Bergman knows his film-making- and imagery. The movie's simple sets and costumes speak to the plight of its characters, many of whom spend scene after scene reflecting on their dire circumstances and suffering in the face of God's silence.

'The Seventh Seal' takes place in a medieval setting that's been ravaged by The Plague, its citizens either living in the shadow of death or, in the case of knight Antonius Block (Max von Sydow), locked in a literal chess match with the Grim Reaper (Bengt Ekerot). To shoot a film is to organize an entire universe Ingmar Bergman After more than a decade of making fine films in his home country, and with a solid. With Vicky Krieps, Tim Roth, Grace Delrue, Mia Wasikowska. Those constraints ultimately served the 1957 drama well. Bergman Island: Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve. For example, the scene with the flagellants was shot from eight A.M. We were happy even to be able to produce some images each day. It was all done in a hurry, but with enormous enthusiasm. For the beach scenes, we had only three days on location! The actors carried the cameras. When we were making it, each morning brought a new catastrophe because we had to make it cheap and quick. Ingmar Bergman’s masterpiece about a doomed medieval knight who plays chess with Death is one of the great classics of world cinema.

Bergman film the seal