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.
| Antonius Block, the knight | Max von Sydow |
| Karin, the knight's wife | Inga Landgré |
| 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 |
| Director | Ingmar Bergman |
| Cinematography | Gunnar Fischer |
| Screenplay | Ingmar Bergman |
| Music | Erik Nordgren |
| Editing | Lennart Wallén |
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
July 14, 2016
Today marks what would have been the ninety-eighth birthday of Ingmar Bergman, one of cinema’s most essential artists, who ushered in a golden age of world cinema. Celebrate the Swedish auteur . . . Read more »
By June 15, 2009
In recent years, The Seventh Seal has often been honored more for its historical stature than its prevailing vitality. Those who attended its first international rollout and were changed forever . . . Read more »
By June 08, 2009
As I write this, it has been a year and a half since Ingmar Bergman passed away—and I miss him daily. I miss his imagination and the comfort he gave, both personally and through his films. I got . . . Read more »
By October 12, 1987
For more than forty years, The Seventh Seal has been a benchmark by which all other great foreign films are judged. It launched the international career of its director, Ingmar Bergman, and made . . . Read more »
July 14, 2016
Today marks what would have been the ninety-eighth birthday of Ingmar Bergman, one of cinema’s most essential artists, who ushered in a golden age of world cinema. Celebrate the Swedish auteur . . . Read more »
By June 15, 2009
In recent years, The Seventh Seal has often been honored more for its historical stature than its prevailing vitality. Those who attended its first international rollout and were changed forever . . . Read more »
By June 08, 2009
As I write this, it has been a year and a half since Ingmar Bergman passed away—and I miss him daily. I miss his imagination and the comfort he gave, both personally and through his films. I got . . . Read more »
By October 12, 1987
For more than forty years, The Seventh Seal has been a benchmark by which all other great foreign films are judged. It launched the international career of its director, Ingmar Bergman, and made . . . Read more »
July 14, 2016
Today marks what would have been the ninety-eighth birthday of Ingmar Bergman, one of cinema’s most essential artists, who ushered in a golden age of world cinema. Celebrate the Swedish auteur . . . Read more »
November 17, 2015
Max von Sydow has spent the past six decades cultivating one of cinema’s most illustrious careers, and now, at eighty-seven, the Swedish actor “may be on the verge of becoming a pop-culture . . . Read more »
By November 04, 2015
Linklater circa 1990 In 1985, six years before the release of Slacker, Richard Linklater's iconic portrait of a generation, the Texan filmmaker founded the Austin Film Society. The group began . . . Read more »
October 23, 2015
Sweden's new two-hundred-krona bill features the country's most renowned filmmaker. Read more »
By June 11, 2015
The author recalls the two great cinematographers and their work. Read more »
By March 26, 2014
The author recalls his encounters with the great Swedish actress. Read more »
By June 18, 2013
The author recounts the story of his friendship with the great filmmaker. Read more »
July 14, 2011
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" media_id: media_type: Read more »February 22, 2011
This week, Time is all too happy to judge a movie by its cover. Gilbert Cruz, an editor at the magazine, has compiled a list called “Top 10 Cool Criterion Collection Covers.” Cruz’s taste in . . . Read more »
September 08, 2010
Soon, American Bergman-ophiles will be granted a special peek into the process of one of cinema’s great artists. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will host the Los Angeles world . . . Read more »
September 29, 2009
In Stockholm, an auction of personal belongings from the estate of the great director Ingmar Bergman has just ended. The items ranged from parts of his daily life—his writing desk and . . . Read more »
July 13, 2009
Like Gary Giddins in his recent Criterion essay, Andrew O’Hehir, in an engaging and sharp new DVD review for Salon, sets out to refute the long-held misconception that Ingmar Bergman’s The . . . Read more »
By June 15, 2009
In recent years, The Seventh Seal has often been honored more for its historical stature than its prevailing vitality. Those who attended its first international rollout and were changed forever . . . Read more »
By June 08, 2009
As I write this, it has been a year and a half since Ingmar Bergman passed away—and I miss him daily. I miss his imagination and the comfort he gave, both personally and through his films. I got . . . Read more »
By April 09, 2009
The first time I “met” Max was in May of 1959, when Bergman’s stunning production of Urfaust came to London for just one week in the World Theatre Season. Groupie of all things Swedish that I . . . Read more »
By October 12, 1987
For more than forty years, The Seventh Seal has been a benchmark by which all other great foreign films are judged. It launched the international career of its director, Ingmar Bergman, and made . . . Read more »
2 Discs
SRP: $29.95
Criterion Store price:$23.96
