Original title: Det sjunde inseglet
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Cast: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Bibi Andersson
Sweden 1957 | Black & white | 96min | Drama
Avaliable on: DCP
Vividly recreating a medieval world tormented by plague and superstition, Bergman’s allegorical drama – centred on a knight (von Sydow), returned from the Crusades, who challenges Death to a game of chess in order to postpone his demise – remains fascinating (and finally rather touching) as a study of faith in crisis. Packed with powerful images, it punctuates its bleakness with moments of pleasingly pawky humour. (Geoff Andrew)
As part of the global celebrations of the centenary of Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007), the BFI will be making many of his films available on DCP for theatrical bookings in 2018. See full list of films here.