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
New cover by Neil Kellerhouse
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As I write this, it has been a year and a half since Ingmar Bergman passed away—and I miss . . . Read more »
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