Rating: 
Summary: Bergmans' Dark Masterpiece
Review: I came into this film with possibly unrealistic expectations. I had heard so much about it, that I thought there was no way it could live up to the hype.It did. The Seventh Seal is an amazing movie. It concerns a disillusioned Swedish knight (von Sydow) who returns from the Crusades to find his home being ravaged by the plague. On the shore, he meets a masked robed figure who claims to be Death. Rather than running in terror, the world-weary knight challenges him to a game of chess. The game is played over several days, during which Bloc gets a look at how the townspeople are reacting in religious terror to the plague. There are two parts of the film to be addressed. Bergman's writing is anything but subtle. It is the writing of a young artist just finding his voice. He is trying to answer question life, God and morality. The film asks how one can maintain faith when God is silent. In this respect, the film is powerful in its bluntness. Consider the masterful scene in which von Sydow confesses his questioning of faith to a man he thinks is a priest. How he manages to find life, hope and possibly meaning amidst the rubble of his home in the family of entertainers. The movie becomes a dark comedy in the late stages, including one of my favorite all-time movie lines as an actor begs for his life.
Bergman's directing is also excellent. The aforementioned confession scence is remarkable. The closing scene justifiably famous. This is one of those films where the black and white medium is perfect. This movie is well worth your time, even with he hefty price tag.
Rating:
Summary: Christian catharsis
Review: Ingmar Bergman's own self-confessed religious catharsis is a powerful piece. In Bergman's own words, "This movie is about fear of death." A knight from the Christian crusades begins to question whether or not killing people for Christ is such a great idea. He is faced with his own death and plays a game of chess with Death to buy himself enough to time to find out if there is a God. In an astonishingly insightful and moving scene, the "white knight" played by Max von Sydow kneels in the Confessional begging the priest to tell him why God won't show himself. Why must he wonder that God exists. "We make an image out of our fear and call that image, 'God.'" Most movies, particularly in the modern era, have limited depth. But, Ingmar Berman's masterpiece goes straight to the heart of human fear. "What man can stand on the edge of oblivion (that is death) and believe that nothing lies on the other side." Spiritually, emotionally, humanly moving. This movie is a wonderful experience.
Rating: 
Summary: an excellent film.
Review: This review is for the criterion collection edition. This film is probably the most famous Swedish film to be released in the US. It helped launch Ingmar Bergman's career in the US and launched Max Von Sydow to international stardom. In this film, a soldier coming home from the crusades is approached by Death and challenges him to a game of chess. The film is set against a time when the bubonic plague was raviging Europe. It has great cinematography and the acting is also quite well done. This film is a masterpiece and sure to remain a classic. The criterion edition includes some great bonus features including clips of some of Bergman's other films and an audio commentary of the film. It also has an English dubbed soundtrack.
Rating: 
Summary: A simply PERFECT movie...as opposed to its presentation
Review: This movie is a milestone in cinema history - no need to question its directing, cinematography, or content - it's genius. Criterion's restoration of the picture is stunning. There's a restoration presentation feature which proves that they've certainly done a great job. A LOT of work has been put into the Bergman filmography as well - excerpts from other movies are included - it took me close to an hour to watch and read through it ...HOWEVER: these things seem quite indifferent when one actually tries to enjoy the main feature, the movie, where the audio and the picture constantly are out of sync. There are a few minutes at 45 minutes into the movie, and at 75 minutes into the movie where it looks OK, but for the most part there is, at least, a 0.25-0.5 second delay on either the audio or the film (it varies - in the first half of the film the audio is late). It's really irritating to see someone speak a word or two (in silence) before the line in audio enters - especially for me, since my first language is Swedish. I'm highly disappointed in this - 11th - DVD production of Criterion. On some of Tartan's presentations of Bergman's films there are out-of-sync dilemmas, too, but not through whole movies.
Another star is lost by Criterion's subtitles; they're very inaccurate when it comes to swearing and sarcasm. If a Swede says "jävla(r)", "helvete", "satan", or "fan" (which are the strongest curse-words), SOME of them HAVE to mean either "f--k", "devil", "damn", "bloody" or even "AWFUL", but nope...the subtitles here are as clean as the language in the bible.
If you want to see an incredibly PERFECT presentation of a Bergman film on Criterion, I suggest buying "Wild Strawberries", where the restoration, sound, SYNCHRONIZATION, subtitles, commentary, and 90-minute documentary are perfectly displayed. I'm not a very proud owner of this edition of "The Seventh Seal".
Rating:
Summary: A CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE OF THE HIGHEST RANK AND QUALITY!
Review: The film is a cinematic masterwork about God's silence. The story is about a knight, Antonius Block, who challenges Death to a fateful game of chess after a decade of battling in the Crusades. It is set in the Middles Ages at a time when the plague was ravaging Europe. Along the knight's journey home, with his squire, across a European country, several interesting characters are introduced to the story such as a group of performing artist and a dull-witted blacksmith and his wife. The main action revolves around these characters and how they react to religion and culture in these times, all seen through the eyes of Bergman who creates a unique atmosphere; it is not just a by-the-book period film. The elements of the film are all quite morbid, but with Bergman's masterful touch the film attains peerless aesthetic beauty. The film's technical aspect is very innovative and impressive to any standards. The camera shots are sharp, direct, and bold. The film's editing is a pivotal model on how to put a film together. The framing is well thought out, and at moments, the characters move around in a technical waltz that is both eerie and elegant: wonderful choreography! The musical score, full of groans and climaxes, is very unique and matches the action greatly. Technically, it might be the most quality filled film ever made, along with such films as Godard's Vivre sa Vie and Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. This film is a textbook on the art of filmmaking.
Rating:
Summary: Existential cinematic masterpiece
Review: After ten year in the Holy Land, during the Crusades, a knight with his squire arrive home to Sweden. When they get there the land and the residents are tormented by the black plague. They all say they are being punished by God. Soon the knight has an encounter with Death, who he challenges to a game of chess, saying if he wins, he will be let go. He travels with his squire to his castle along with a group of actors and a black smith. As they travel and the chess game nears the end, what will the fate be of these troubled souls? The film is a masterpiece, with philosophical issues in every scene. The film deals with meaninglessness, death, God, love, knowledge and more. Every character represents a unique way of life. If you like intelligent films this is a must see. The acting is good, and direction is great. This is Ingmar Bergman's most popular film, probably because along with being intelligent it is also very enjoyable as entertainment. This DVD has a commentary track, as well as an illustrated filmography of the director Ingmar Bergmen. I highly, highly recommend this film. In both Swedish and English. 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: When in doubt, play chess with Death...
Review: The film was produced in a world recovering from the devastation of WWII, and living in fear of the mushrom cloud.
A knight and his squire are returning home from the crusades. Disgusted and desillusionised by what he has experienced, the knight just longs to die. He has just one last wish: to find out why he has lived. Death does not care, but agrees to let him live for as long as they continue their chess game.
They travel through a land ravaged by plague, fear, and banditry. Helpless the knight sees the world falling apart around him. Everything he believed in as a young man has been tainted or proved false.
Death cheats in the chess game. In the end the knight loses, but he gains some solace when he saves a young family from Death. Still, he leaves this world as unknowing as he entered as a child.
This film has a tremendous impact on the mind. It deals with the big questions: Why am I here? Why does evil exist, and why is it so powerful? What can one human do to affect the world? The last question is the only one that is answered: small things, but small things are also important.
The acting is briljant, with Max von Sydow as the knight. The personification of Death has inspired writers as different as Woody Allen and Terry Pratchett.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking, suprising in its bluntness
Review: I approached this movie with few preconceived notions; I had heard of it but knew little in the way of reviews. I started it at 2 a.m. and it managed to hold my attention and keep me interested for the length of the film. It begins with Death approaching a knight (Max von Sydow) on his way home after 10 years warring in the distant Crusades. He strikes a bargain with Death, offering a game of chess. If the knight wins, he lives, loses and he dies. The movie is basically a vehicle for director Bergman's musings on the existence of God, wondering if there is only a great emptiness. Bergman does not mince around the philosophical points; he takes it straight to the viewer with frank dialogue. I was surprised by this boldness; I guess I am too used to the timid, politically correct inanities of current filmmakers. My favorite scene takes place in the confessional of a church the knight and his squire (played by Gunnar Bjornstrand who does a great job) stumble across. The knight wonders aloud to the priest on the emptiness of his faith and his wish to be rid of God. He states that God is simply a construct of man, who craves a way to deal with his fear of the void. The priest turns out to be Death, who has been stalking the Knight on his travels. This movie is not as morose as its plot suggests, there are plenty of scenes where laughter is the response. I think the movie has weathered time pretty well, even with its sometimes cheap looking costumes and set pieces (the walls of the knight's castle move in the wind and are clearly canvas). It was refreshing to watch a movie that actually had a deeper meaning other than being pretext for fart jokes or gratuitous violence. Incidentally, I was not surprised to see that those who panned this movie recommended "Go", "Last Action Hero" and "Raw Deal" instead...all pillars of modern cinematic excellence.
Rating:
Summary: Best and darkest movie I have ever seen . . . no contest!
Review: Just now, I have finished watching "The Seventh Seal" by Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Without doubt, this is the most moving film I have ever seen. The ending is false according to God's Word, but from a human viewpoint, there is little lacking. Everything is here . . . life, sex, greed, fear of death, murder, vengeance, . . . whatever is seriously considered by any man. . . nothing seems to be lacking. There are no surprises. Bergman outdid Hitchcock. Bergman is no theologian, but demonstrates the human viewpoints of man towards God. Unfortunately, but accurately, Bergman shows the attitude of man towards God and death and eternity through the eyes of a person living in the thirteenth century of northern Europe and under the complete domination of the Roman Catholic Church. As I did a term paper in high school on the Black Death, back in 1954, I relived some of the terror of that period in human history. This DVD is highly recommended to anyone who can stand to watch the darkest of all of Bergman's movies and can truly see the story through the eyes of a Swede living in the depths of the Black Death. Fantastic. Rates 5 stars, without question.
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs up for restoration
Review: Anyone considering buying, or not buying, this DVD should realize what a magnificent job the film restorers did. This is my favorite film. The last time I saw it was seven or eight years ago, on a videotape rental. The picture quality was terrible; the sub-titles were almost impossible to read. There were scratches and specks throughout the movie. This DVD is incredibly clean; not perfect (there is the occasional speck here and there) but it's like watching it new. It's well worth the somewhat gaudy price.
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