The Seventh Seal
| Det sjunde inseglet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Ingmar Bergman |
| Produced by | Allan Ekelund |
| Written by | Ingmar Bergman |
| Starring | Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe |
| Music by | {{{music}}} |
| Cinematography | {{{cinematography}}} |
| Editing by | {{{editing}}} |
| Distributed by | Svensk Filmindustri |
| Released | February 16, 1957 (Sweden) October 13 1958 (U.S) |
| First Screened | {{{screened}}} |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Language | Swedish |
| Budget | $150,000 |
| Preceded by | {{{preceded_by}}} |
| Followed by | {{{followed_by}}} |
| IMDb profile | |
Det sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal) is a 1957 film directed by Ingmar Bergman, most notable for the scene in which a medieval knight (played by Max von Sydow) plays chess with the personification of Death, with his life resting on the outcome of the game.
The title is a reference to the passage from the Book of Revelation used at the start of the film, beginning with the words "And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour."
Bergman stated in an interview that the film had helped him overcome his fear of death.
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Synopsis
A knight (von Sydow) returns from the Crusades and finds that his home country is ravaged by the plague. To his dismay, he discovers that Death (Bengt Ekerot) has come for him too. In order to buy time he challenges Death to a match of chess, which allows him to reach his home and be reunited with his wife. The knight's faith is broken, and this is stressed in one of the strongest scenes in the movie; when the knight gives confession to a priest about his doubts that God actually exists, he tells the priest how he plays chess with death and how he plans to win only to find that the "priest" is actually death. The movie has very Kierkegaardan themes on death and meaning (see Kierkegaard on despair) and thus it is quite existential. In another powerful scene of a witch burning, the knight is asked by his squire whether he sees God in the victim's eyes or whether he sees emptiness. The knight trembles and refuses to acknowledge emptiness despite his doubts in God. The knight realises that he would rather be broken in faith, suffering constantly of doubt, than to acknowledge a life without meaning.
Under the fateful journey they encounter several features of medieval society and the way it dealt with the fear of death: penitence of flagellators, the burning of a witch and the entertainment provided by travelling artists. Bergman is particularly scathing in his depiction of the clergy, who thrive on the atmosphere of terror engendered by the plague. They offer no comfort to their people, and are represented as little better than thieves. The despairing unbelief of the knight and the cynicism of his squire (Gunnar Björnstrand) are neatly contrasted to the innocent belief of the acrobat Joseph (Nils Poppe) and his young wife Mary (Bibi Andersson), who together with their child may perhaps be symbolic of the holy family.
Eventually, the knight achieves the significant act which gives his life meaning, by enabling the escape of the young couple and their child. While the knight and his followers are led away over the hills in a medieval dance of death, the young family continue their journey.
Relation to medieval Sweden
The medieval Sweden portrayed in this movie is not very accurate. For example, flagellators never existed in Sweden, and the theme of life and death probably is more typical to the existentialism of the 1950s than it is to the feelings and thoughts of medieval Swedes.
An image of a man playing chess with death in the form of a skeleton exists in a medieval church painting from the 1480s by Albertus Pictor which can be found in Täby kyrka, Täby, north of Stockholm. Bergman has referred to this painting as the inspirational source for this scene in the movie.
Parodies of The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal with its reflection upon death (and the meaning of life) became something of a figurehead for "serious" European films and has as such figured in several other films like the trailer for Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Death also makes an appearance in Woody Allen's film Love and Death. Woody Allen also makes direct fun of the film in his short story, "Death Knocks" in which a man plays Gin rummy for a chance to live another day. More recently the Death character from the film played a role in the Arnold Schwarzenegger extravaganza Last Action Hero, this time Death was played by Sir Ian McKellen.
The concept of playing games with Death has been used (and spoofed) many times since Bergman's movie. George Coe and Anthony Lover made a short film called De Duva: The Dove that deliberately spoofed this famous movie scene, in which a young couple challenge Death to a game of badminton.
The scene has also been spoofed in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, in which Bill and Ted beat Death at Battleship and Twister, among other games; and Death constantly changes the terms: best two out of three, best three out of five, etc.
The Animaniacs episode "Meatballs or Consequences" further spoofed the scene, featuring Wakko Warner as he finds himself dying as a result of eating too many Swedish meatballs. He encounters the Grim Reaper, but chooses to play a game of checkers for his life instead of chess.
Terry Pratchett's Death from the Discworld book series is also reputed to be based on the character from the film. The Discworld version of Death dreads playing symbolic last games of chess because "he could never remember how the little horse-shaped ones are supposed to move."
Flash cartoon Weebl and Bob parodied this concept in their episode "Art". Death is portrayed by Monkey, and the characters are sitting on a chessboard, while Weebl & Bob bemoan (naturally) their lack of pie.
In an episode of Seinfeld, Jerry characterizes his brain and his penis in a game of chess which will inevitably determine whether he ends his relations with an obnoxious girl or result in their intimacy. This comedic scene is an obvious parody of the chess game between the knight and Death.
The band DevilDriver has a song, "I Could Care Less", which was also a single, that centers around the idea of challenging Death to a game, with the lyrics "Don't you see our lives are on trial now? And if we lose, we're going straight to Hell". The music video for the song features a similar concept, with the band's singer, Dez Fafara, playing Death in a game of cards.
In British comedy Dead Ringers, English national football team manager Sven Goran Eriksson is shown playing chess in a spoof of The Seventh Seal.
In the cartoon The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Grim (the Grim Reaper, a scythe wielding skeleton who wears a black cloak.) challenges the young Billy and Mandy to a limbo contest for the soul of Billy's decrepit old hamster.
Grant Morrison's 2004 Vertigo mini-series Seaguy, contains the title character playing chess with a representation of death.
