The Seventh Seal [1957] [Criterion] (BLU)
Ingmar Bergman
Synopsis
Returning exhausted from the Crusades to find medieval Sweden gripped by the Plague, a knight (Max von Sydow) suddenly comes face-to-face with the hooded figure of Death, and challenges him to a game of chess. As the fateful game progresses, and the knight and his squire encounter a gallery of outcasts from a society in despair, Bergman mounts a profound inquiry into the nature of faith and the torment of mortality. One of the most influential films of its time, The Seventh Seal is a stunning allegory of man’s search for meaning and a work of stark visual poetry.
Special Features:
- Introduction by Ingmar Bergman, recorded in 2003
- Audio commentary by Bergman expert Peter Cowie
- A new afterword to the commentary by Cowie
- 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 1998 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
- A booklet featuring an essay by critic Gary Giddins
Product Details
- Language: Swedish
- Subtitles: English
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Number of Discs: 1
- Rating: Not Rated
- Label: Criterion Collection
- Release Date: 06/16/2009
- Run Time: 97 minutes
- Catalogue #: 11
- Region: A