The Seventh Seal (1957)

During the plague-ravaged middle ages, a knight buys time for himself by playing chess with Death in Ingmar Bergman’s much-imitated arthouse classic.

Ingmar Bergman’s allegory about a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) who plays chess with Death (a white-faced, shrouded figure played by Bengt Ekerot) was a landmark of arthouse cinema in the late 1950s. Taking its title from the Book of Revelation, the film examines the knight’s crisis of faith during a dark period of human history, tackling issues of existential doubt and despair that touched a nerve with audiences living in the aftermath of the horror of war.

Filmed in sombre black and white by Bergman’s then-regular cinematographer, Gunnar Fischer, The Seventh Seal convincingly evokes a 14th-century of dread and superstition and abounds with startling apocalyptic imagery, from a black bird on the wing against stormy skies to the final, silhouetted danse macabre on a hilltop.

1957 Sweden
Directed by
Ingmar Bergman
Written by
Ingmar Bergman
Featuring
Max von Sydow, Inga Landgré, Gunnar Björnstrand
Running time
95 minutes

Ranked in The Greatest Films of All Time poll

Sight and Sound

Who voted for The Seventh Seal

Critics

Tarek Ben Chabaane
Tunisia
Eddie Bertozzi
Italy
Marten Blomkvist
Sweden
Nae Caranfil
Romania
Bryony Dixon
UK
Jason Dorwart
USA/Hong Kong
Loreta Gandolfi
UK
Dimitris Kerkinos
Greece
Nino Kovačić
Croatia
Hans Langsteiner
Austria
Patrick McGilligan
USA
Tom McSorley
Canada
Amitava Nag
India
Nicolas Raffin
UK
Pablo O. Scholz
Argentina
Oron Shamir
Israel
Michael Sragow
USA
Richard Taylor
UK
Maria Ulfsak-Šeripova
Estonia
Suncica Unevska
North Macedonia
Mike Williams
UK

Directors

Roger Corman
Ivan Gaal
Australia/Hungary
Peter Greenaway
UK
Jack Hazan
UK
C.J. "Fiery" Obasi
Nigeria
Sumitra Peries
Sri Lanka
Michael Schultz
Aparna Sen
India
Goran Stolevski
Australia
Fatma Zohra Zamoum
Algeria/France

Articles related to The Seventh Seal

Load more

Subscribe to BFI Player to access more films like this

Start with a 14-day free trial then only £6.99 a month - cancel any time.

Explore subscription on BFI Player