The Seventh Seal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Seventh Seal is a 1957 drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe. It drew a wide audience and shaped its genre.
Plot
The Seventh Seal (Swedish: Det sjunde inseglet) is a 1957 Swedish historical fantasy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set in Sweden during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death (Bengt Ekerot), who has come to take his life. Bergman developed the film from his own play Wood Painting. The title refers to a passage from the Book of Revelation, used both at the very start of the film and again towards the end, beginning with the words "And when the Lamb had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." Here, the motif of silence refers to the "silence of God," which is a major theme of the film.
Production
Written by Ingmar Bergman, the film was produced by SF Studios. Erik Nordgren composed the score. Gunnar Fischer handled the cinematography. The film runs 96 minutes. The crew and editing refined every shot.
Reception
On a budget of $150,000, The Seventh Seal grossed $311,212 worldwide at the box office. A critic consensus praised its screenplay and score.
Legacy
Its legacy endures through a remake, a sequel and a lasting franchise; later cinema cites its influence and symbolism.
See also
References
- "The 100 Greatest Films of All Time". topfilms100. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
- Ebert, Roger. The Great Movies. Broadway Books.
This article incorporates text from Wikipedia, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.