The Seventh Seal

Interesting and iconic movie about faith and the meaning of life. A must seen.

Filipe Manuel Neto

July 5, 2023

8/10

**The universality and invincibility of Death, the fear of dying, the importance of faith and its use by the Church in a timeless film, but not suitable for everyone.** The film, set in the late Middle Ages, begins with a knight returning to his homeland in Sweden after participating in the crusades. When he spots the figure of Death, who has come to get him, he decides to try to gain time by inviting her to play chess: if he wins the game, Death will not take him. What follows is a huge f…

CinemaSerf

August 10, 2025

7/10

Now of course everyone’s favourite Max von Sydow film is “Flash Gordon” (1980) but I reckon this performance for Ingmar Bergman might be almost as good! With the dreaded Black Death sweeping his homeland, “Block” (MvS) returns from the Crusades with his squire “Jöns” (Gunnar Björnstrand) only to find himself barely off the boat before he encounters the apparently quite reasonable grim reaper himself. “Block” invites him (Bengt Ekerot) to play a game of chess, on condition that he is left to live…