A knight returning from the Crusades finds a rude church still open in the midst of the Black Death, and goes to confession there. Speaking to a hooded figure half-seen through an iron grill, he pours out his heart: 'My indifference has shut me out. I live in a world of ghosts, a prisoner of dreams. I want God to put out his hand, show his face, speak to me. I cry out to him in the dark but there is no one there.' The hooded figure turns, and is revealed as Death, who has been following the knight on his homeward journey.Images like that have no place in the modern cinema, which is committed to facile psychology and realistic behavior. In many ways, Ingmar Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal' has more in common with the silent film than with the modern films that followed it. It is considered to be one of the masterpieces of cinema with its stark imagery and its uncompromising subject, which is no less than the absence of God.Films are no longer concerned with the silence of God but with the chattering of men. We are uneasy to find Bergman asking existential questions in an age of irony, and Bergman himself, starting with 'Persona', found more subtle ways to ask the same questions. But the directness of 'The Seventh Seal' is its strength: This is an uncompromising film, regarding good and evil with the same simplicity and faith as its hero.All of Bergman's mature films, except the comedies, are about his discontent with the ways that God has chosen to reveal himself. But when he made 'The Seventh Seal' he was bold enough to approach his subject in a literal manner; to actually show the knight playing chess with Death, which is a brilliant metaphor for man's attempt to defy mortality's gravity through his accomplishments, perhaps most vividly in the idea of artistic genius, the need to create a vital work which will survive the author's death. And he had the confidence to end his film, not with a statement or a climax, but with an image. "The strict lord Death bids them dance," says the young actor, directing the attention of his wife to the horizon, against which Death leads his latest victims in a macabre parade. Ingmar Bergman's dark masterpiece effortlessly sees off the revisionists and the satirists; it is a radical work of art that reaches back to scripture, to Cervantes and to Shakespeare to create a new dramatic idiom of its own.10 out of 10.

Positive things: Well acted, nice beginning, great performance by ''Death'', interesting plot, good initial idea, good medieval atmosphere.Negative things: Boring as hell, not well executed idea, almost like random scenes that are not connected. Chess game seems like central theme, but it gets distracted during the film with other events, so you can see maybe 3 min of total game and dialogue during the game. I expected that to be the main thing, the main philosophical talking about all the things that movie suppose to be about. You can call it art, whatever.. Maybe I am too dumb to understand. But in my humble opinion this is just an attempt to make an art. Nice attempt to make Death figure in a man-like form, I get that part, personification of death is a good idea.. But nothing more that that here to see.

this film challenges the viewer to question their own faith and ideas that they may join the knight on his quest for answers as he plays a game of chess with death to buy time. the companions he finds as he travels all have troubles in life and play a role in the knights return to faith.This film is dark by nature (war beaten soldiers, plague, murder,witch burning, death all around) however no gross gore but mild violence. there are the comical relief moments though(surprisingly by death him self) good watch a film that hasn't lost its affect despite decades and language barrier.

Ingmar Bergman is one of the favorite directors of serious movie lovers. All his films have been discussed over years by the film students. Analyzing his films will open up a new world of imagination and cinematic freedom.The Seventh Seal, is an intellectual film. But, unlike other serious films, this movie is coated with slight humor. This provides more relaxation to the non-competitive audience. The story is about life and death. The movie makes fun of the humanity, religion etc. There are not of things to be thought in depth. Thought provoking films are hard to write about. You need to watch them over and over again, think about it and get the inner meanings and find a conclusion yourself.A highly recommend for serious film lovers. A Must watch.#KiduMovie