Ready for His Close-up
December 07, 2012
Film Info
- Sweden
- 1957
- 96 minutes
- 1.33:1
- Swedish
- Spine #11
Disillusioned and exhausted after a decade of battling in the Crusades, a knight (Max von Sydow) encounters Death on a desolate beach and challenges him to a fateful game of chess. Much studied, imitated, even parodied, but never outdone, Bergman’s stunning allegory of man’s search for meaning, The Seventh Seal (Det sjunde inseglet), was one of the benchmark foreign imports of America’s 1950s art-house heyday, pushing cinema’s boundaries and ushering in a new era of moviegoing.
Cast
| Antonius Block, the knight | Max von Sydow |
| Karin, the knight's wife | Inga Landgre |
| Jöns, the squire | Gunnar Björnstrand |
| Jof (Joseph) | Nils Poppe |
| Mia (Mary) | Bibi Andersson |
| Death | Bengt Ekerot |
| Plog, the smith | Åke Fridell |
| Lisa, Plog's wife | Inga Gill |
Credits
| Director | Ingmar Bergman |
| Cinematography | Gunnar Fischer |
| Screenplay | Ingmar Bergman |
| Music | Erik Nordgren |
| Editing | Lennart Wallén |
Disc Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Introduction by Ingmar Bergman, recorded in 2003
- Audio commentary by Bergman expert Peter Cowie, with a new afterword
- Bergman Island (2006), an 83-minute documentary on Bergman by Marie Nyreröd, featuring in-depth and revealing interviews with the director
- Archival audio interview with Max von Sydow
- A 1989 tribute to Bergman by filmmaker Woody Allen
- Theatrical trailer
- Bergman 101, a selected video filmography tracing Bergman’s career, narrated by Cowie
- Optional English-dubbed soundtrack
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Gary Giddins
Current Posts
Photo Galleries
Film Essays
The Seventh Seal: There Go the Clowns
By June 15, 2009
In recent years, The Seventh Seal has often been honored more for its historical stature than . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Bergman and I
By June 08, 2009
As I write this, it has been a year and a half since Ingmar Bergman passed away—and I miss . . . Read more »
Film Essays
The Seventh Seal
By October 12, 1987
For more than forty years, The Seventh Seal has been a benchmark by which all other great . . . Read more »
Film Essays
The Seventh Seal: There Go the Clowns
By June 15, 2009
In recent years, The Seventh Seal has often been honored more for its historical stature than . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Bergman and I
By June 08, 2009
As I write this, it has been a year and a half since Ingmar Bergman passed away—and I miss . . . Read more »
Film Essays
The Seventh Seal
By October 12, 1987
For more than forty years, The Seventh Seal has been a benchmark by which all other great . . . Read more »
Photo Galleries
Posters
News
Bergman Goes Hollywood
September 08, 2010
Soon, American Bergman-ophiles will be granted a special peek into the process of one of . . . Read more »
News
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Clippings
CHECKMATE
July 13, 2009
Like Gary Giddins in his recent Criterion essay, Andrew O’Hehir, in an engaging and sharp new . . . Read more »
Film Essays
The Seventh Seal: There Go the Clowns
By June 15, 2009
In recent years, The Seventh Seal has often been honored more for its historical stature than . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Bergman and I
By June 08, 2009
As I write this, it has been a year and a half since Ingmar Bergman passed away—and I miss . . . Read more »
Dispatches
Salute to Max von Sydow at Eighty
By April 09, 2009
The first time I “met” Max was in May of 1959, when Bergman’s stunning production of Urfaust . . . Read more »
Film Essays
The Seventh Seal
By October 12, 1987
For more than forty years, The Seventh Seal has been a benchmark by which all other great . . . Read more »
