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The Seventh
Seal is perhaps the greatest of all Swedish films. This legendary
film from director Ingmar Bergman made a star of leading man,
Max von Sydow and brought the director to worldwide attention.
Bergman has given a very personal film and done though Bergman
considered a "small film made with friends one summer," The
Seventh Seal went on to win the Special Jury Prize at Cannes
in 1957 and has placed itself as one of the classics in motion
pictures. Bergman's small film shows wonderful style in filmmaking,
from the smooth dissolves used for scene transition to near
perfect placement of lighting to show the mood and feelings
of individual scenes.
This powerful
story is a very personal look at life and its many mysteries.
Sydow portrays Antonius Block, a knight who has returned from
the Crusades and upon returning met up with Death. He has
challenged Death to a game of chess in hopes of prolonging
his quest for answers and perhaps to even win back his own
life. The time of the story is around 1349, during the Black
Plague, and many are dying by the minute. Holy men believe
that God is angry at the human race and are punishing them
because of sins. There is a great question of God in the air
and Block is one of those that greatly question whether there
is a god and why men live. Block feels life has no meaning
and during his chess game, he decides to help a young family
and protect them from the Plague and from Death.
Before The
Seventh Seal, not many films looked into the questions of
life and death. This was a very touchy subject in cinema and
Bergman put forth a well-crafted film to look into these questions.
The Seventh Seal is full of great performances and showcases
the brilliant filmmaking of Bergman. The film looks at a grim
subject and does so with moments of wonderful wit, scenes
of horror and despair due to the Black Plague, and other moments
that touchingly look at love, loneliness and other aspects
of life. The film is truly a classic and well worth a look.
This "small film" looks marvelous and Bergman's "gloom and
doom" picture is as powerful today as it was over forty years
ago.
Packaging:
Does It Dress Well?
The Criterion
Collection has a way of making classic films look, well, classic.
They are always very basic and simple. The Seventh Seal shows
a menacing shot of Death in as little color as possible. The
standard Criterion Collection banner graces the top and fits
in well with the black and white cover artwork. The Amaray
case contains a fold out booklet and a classic looking DVD
disc. The rear of the case displays most pertinent information
that is done in the standard Criterion manner. The packaging
may not look expensive and it may have a difficult time attracting
buyers by look alone, however, those of us familiar with Criterion
and the film will be satisfied by its classy appearance.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Criterion
was given a lot of credit years ago when they released their
LaserDisc edition of The Seventh Seal. For DVD, Criterion
has again remastered the film. The 1.33:1 picture was developed
from a new 35mm print that was derived from a restored camera
negative. With the same process that gave the breathtaking
Criterion edition of The Seven Samurai, The Seventh Seal has
been restored by hand to remove dirt, tears, scratches and
other imperfections. The result is stunning. The forty-year
old picture is almost perfect. There are still a few scratches
and bits of dirt to be found here and there, but with the
exception of perhaps two scenes, no more than what can be
found in today's films. The black and white picture looks
wonderful, with truly deep blacks and many levels of gray.
To gain a true appreciation for the quality of this film,
one should watch the restoration demonstration included on
the disc.
The film
itself contains wonderful visuals. Never once does the viewer
feel as if they are not watching a movie about the medieval
ages. The sets and costumes are first rate. Some sequences
are still visually stunning by today's standards. For instance,
chapter seven includes a scene where men are being beaten
and whipped and others drag crosses on their backs. Gloom
and doom is very prominent hear and well done. You get a genuine
feeling of the mood during the Black Plague. Other visuals,
such as oceans and rocky cliffs look marvelous. The black
and whites used in the picture reinforce the gloomy tone.
Bergman uses dissolves to show scene transition and these
are well done. No quick scene cuts, just smooth dissolves
from one visual to another. The Seventh Seal looks great and
Criterion has made it look better than it has ever looked.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
Criterion
has provided two original soundtracks for The Seventh Seal.
The original Swedish soundtrack was newly recreated for the
DVD from a 35mm magnetic audio track. Though the film is only
in one-channel mono sound, it audibly pleases. The strength
of the soundtrack can be found by comparing it to the original
English dub contained on audio track 2. The Swedish track
sounds so full of life, with clear and intelligible dialogue
and crisp sound effects. The gentle swirling of the ocean
and crashing of the waves sound very close to natural. When
hearing the same sequence in the English dubbed track, it
sounds flat and extremely muffled and distant. The English
track provides dialogue that is hardly intelligible and without
the familiar sound of Max von Sydow. To watch this film and
truly enjoy it, the Swedish soundtrack with English subtitles
is extremely recommended. If one wants to hear the English
dub, they should keep the subtitles on and see the vast differences
in what is spoken and what is translated. The Seventh Seal
sounds best in the tongue it was intended to be in.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? The supplements
provided with The Seventh Seal are fairly plentiful and well
done. There certainly are DVD titles that include a wealth
more of supplements, but this disc is nicely done. To start
off, Criterion has done good by including the soundtrack in
its native Swedish tongue and dubbed English tongue. The Swedish
track is preferred and English subtitles are included to allow
for the best soundtrack to be enjoyed by English speaking
viewers. Additionally, a third audio track contains a running
commentary by Peter Cowie, a noted film historian. The Cowie
commentary is very professionally done and sounds as so. A
lot of insight is given from what the historian has learned
on both Bergman and his masterpiece. Cowie is not the most
entertaining speaker, but he does good and provides a listening
experience similar to a nature show on the Discovery Channel.
In addition
to the fine commentary and dual language tracks, Criterion
has thrown in a few other supplements. They have provided
a nice booklet that outlines some facts of the picture. The
original theatrical trailer is provided and also allows for
English subtitles so you can understand what the trailer is
telling you. A lengthy filmography is provided that gives
history on Bergman and includes over seventy-five still frames.
The filmography also includes excerpts from two other Bergman
films, Wild Strawberries and The Magician. These excerpts
feature more commentary as well.
The final
supplement is very similar to the supplement that was removed
from the second pressing of Criterion's Seven Samurai. I personally
found this to be the best supplement of the disc. This supplement
is a restoration demonstration that shows before and after
sequences of the film involving Criterion's restoration process.
One can see how a picture that looked so bad can look so great.
This final supplement gives a genuine appreciation for the
painstaking work involved in bringing the disc to DVD and
for the picture shown on the screen. It is shameful that Criterion
was forced to remove this from their previous product, but
on The Seventh Seal, you can see what Criterion does for these
antique classics of cinema.
Parting Thoughts
There are
many viewers that have not heard of The Seventh Seal or believe
the picture stars Demi Moore. Sadly, this classic is a film
that really should be watched by anyone who considers themselves
a fan of motion pictures. Perhaps the greatest fact to appeal
to American viewers is that this picture is the debut of Max
von Sydow, a great character actor that has portrayed the
Exorcist and Strange Brew's Brewmeister Smith. The performances
are strong and the filmmaking style of Ingar Bergman is overpowering.
The Seventh Seal can be both humorous and full of gloom. Many
moods and attitudes are on display in this classic that asks
the questions of death, life and God. The Seventh Seal is
filmmaking at its best.
The Criterion
Collection provides a great DVD to showcase this classic.
They have given to us a beautiful full-frame image that allows
myself a rare moment when my Trinitron can entertain me with
a full picture and I do not feel bad because I am watching
a butchered picture. The Seventh Seal is presented in its
original aspect ratio and for a truly wonderful movie watching
experience, it should also be listened to in its original
tongue. The Swedish track is so superior to the English dubbed
track, that it is hard to believe one could enjoy the dubbed
track over the original. There are enough supplements to entertain
for hours, as the commentary is worth a listen and the interactive
filmography is a delight as well. The Seventh Seal has been
given the royal treatment by Criterion and it is a film that
is truly worth consideration.
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