The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde inseglet) (1957)
95%RT Audience Score: 93%
Awards & Nominations: 10 wins & 2 nominations
Narratively bold and visually striking, The Seventh Seal brought Ingmar Bergman to the world stage — and remains every bit as compelling today.
The Seventh Seal is a visually stunning and thought-provoking film that explores the big questions of life, death, and everything in between. Bergman’s use of symbols and parables creates a breathtakingly beautiful medieval morality play that still resonates with audiences today. And let’s not forget the hilariously bawdy squire, played by Gunnar Bjӧrnstrand, who adds a touch of humor to this otherwise serious film. Overall, The Seventh Seal is a must-see for anyone who wants to ponder the meaning of life while enjoying some stunning cinematography.
Production Company(ies)
Svensk Filmindustri
Distributor
Criterion Collection, Embassy Pictures, Janus Films
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Hovs Hallar – Naturreservat, Skåne län, Sweden
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1958
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
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Runtime:1h 36m
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Language(s):Swedish, Latin
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 13, 1956 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 4, 2007
Genre(s)
Drama/Fantasy
Keyword(s)
The Seventh Seal, Ingmar Bergman, Max von Sydow, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe, Bibi Andersson, Allan Ekelund, written by Ingmar Bergman, Drama, Fantasy, Criterion Collection, Embassy Pictures, Janus Films, Mono, reviewed by Jonas Mekas, Elliott Stein, Eric Henderson, John Monaghan, Dave Kehr, Brian Eggert, Kevin A Ranson, Max von Sydow as Antonius Block, Gunnar Björnstrand as Jöns, squire, Nils Poppe as Jof, Bibi Andersson as Mia, Jof’s wife, Bengt Ekerot as Death, Åke Fridell as Blacksmith Plog, 1957, 1h 36m, 94% Tomatometer, 93% Audience Score, box office performance, budget, MPAA rating, reviewed by Village Voice, Slant Magazine, Detroit Free Press, Chicago Reader, Deep Focus Review, MovieCrypt.com, Battleship Pretension, Letras Libres
Worldwide gross: $272,859
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,182,514
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,301
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 347,057
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Gunnar Björnstrand – Jöns, squire
Nils Poppe – Jof
Bibi Andersson – Mia, Jof’s wife
Bengt Ekerot – Death
Åke Fridell – Blacksmith Plog
Director(s)
Ingmar Bergman
Writer(s)
Ingmar Bergman
Producer(s)
Allan Ekelund
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
10 wins & 2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (65) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (4)
Obsessed with the ideas of love, life, death, good and evil, [Bergman] mediates as he goes, taking in symbols, in parables and images that are often of breathtaking beauty.
April 20, 2022
Jonas Mekas
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
Bergman’s visually striking medieval morality play [was] the work that gained him an international reputation.
July 23, 2013
Elliott Stein
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
Swedish cinema titan Ingmar Bergman’s mopey/earthy 1957 breakthrough The Seventh Seal may have done more than any other film to popularize and demonize the notion of world cinema as the boutique of the cultural intelligentsia.
June 15, 2009 | Rating: 2/4
Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Film has superior technical narrative, impressive lensing and thesping.
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Its view of a seemingly godless landscape in the grip of plague is still bold and frightening.
December 7, 2007 | Rating: 4/4
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
It survives today only as an unusually pure example of a typical 50s art-film strategy: the attempt to make the most modern and most popular of art forms acceptable to the intelligentsia by forcing it into an arcane, antique mold.
July 30, 2007
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The Seventh Seal possesses some of the world’s most recognizable filmic imagery, beginning with the knight’s fateful game of chess with Death, and continuing to the eerily joyful dance in the final frames.
March 20, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
… questions the silence of God and service unto Him… (life) choices are shown to be one’s own without passing judgment… this is the personification all other cinematic reapers are measured against.
January 22, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Kevin A. Ranson
MovieCrypt.com
The film proved revolutionary, telling a compelling story while seeking answers to life’s biggest questions.
August 11, 2021
Robin Holabird
Robin Holabird
The character that I enjoyed the most this time was the squire played by Gunnar Bjӧrnstrand. He is the most honest of all the characters but is also funny and bawdy.
March 24, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension
Although Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal is set in medieval Sweden, nothing could be more modern than its author’s conception of death as the crucial reality of man’s existence.
February 3, 2021
Andrew Sarris
Film Culture
“The plague advances, implacable, and confusion and despair begin to reign”. [Full review in Spanish]
December 31, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
Ernesto Diezmartinez
Letras Libres…
Plot
A Knight and his squire are home from the crusades. Black Death is sweeping their country. As they approach home, Death appears to the knight and tells him it is his time. The knight challenges Death to a chess game for his life. The Knight and Death play as the cultural turmoil envelopes the people around them as they try, in different ways, to deal with the upheaval the plague has caused.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Seventh Seal stars Max von Sydow as disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block.
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