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{{Infobox film
| name           = The Seventh Seal
| image          = Seventhsealposter.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Ingmar Bergman]]
| producer       = [[Allan Ekelund]]
| screenplay     = Ingmar Bergman
| based_on       = {{Based on|''Trämålning''|Ingmar Bergman}}
| starring       = {{Plain list|
* [[Gunnar Björnstrand]]
* [[Bengt Ekerot]]
* [[Nils Poppe]]
* [[Max von Sydow]]
* [[Bibi Andersson]]
* [[Inga Landgré]]
* [[Åke Fridell]]
}}
| music          = [[Erik Nordgren]]
| cinematography = [[Gunnar Fischer]]
| editing        = Lennart Wallén
| distributor    = [[AB Svensk Filmindustri]]
| released       = {{Film date|df=yes|1957|02|16}}
| runtime        = 96 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 96:09--><ref>{{cite web |title=THE SEVENTH SEAL |url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/seventh-seal-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722234518/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/seventh-seal-1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 July 2015 |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |access-date=29 June 2013}}</ref>
| country        = Sweden
| language       = {{Plain list|
* Swedish
* Latin
}}
| budget         = [[United States dollar|$]]150,000{{Sfn|Bragg|1998|p=49}}
}}
'''''The Seventh Seal''''' ({{langx|sv|Det sjunde inseglet}}) is a 1957 Swedish [[historical fantasy]] film written and directed by [[Ingmar Bergman]]. Set in Sweden<ref>{{cite book |last=Raw |first=Laurence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NG64WN7WruAC |title=The Ridley Scott Encyclopedia |publisher=The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. |year=2009 |page=284|isbn=9780810869523}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Litch |first=Mary M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bItUHBmB8YIC |title=Philosophy Through Film |publisher=Routledge |year=2010 |page=193 |isbn=9780203863329}}</ref> 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 [[Personifications of death|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 [[Lamb of God|the Lamb]] had opened the [[Seven seals|seventh seal]], there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour."<ref>{{bibleverse|Rev.|8:1|KJV}}</ref> Here, the motif of silence refers to the "silence of God," which is a major theme of the film.{{sfn|Bragg|1998|p=45}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1171-the-seventh-seal-there-go-the-clowns |title=''The Seventh Seal'': There Go the Clowns |last=Giddins |first=Gary |publisher=The Criterion Collection |date=15 June 2009 |access-date=7 April 2015}}</ref>

''The Seventh Seal'' is considered a classic in the [[History of film|history of cinema]], as well as one of the greatest films of all time. It established Bergman as a director, containing scenes which have become iconic through homages, critical analysis, and parodies.

==Plot==
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Disillusioned knight Antonius Block and his cynical [[squire]] Jöns return from the [[Crusades]] to find the country ravaged by [[Black Death|the plague]]. The knight encounters Death, whom he challenges to a [[chess]] match, believing he can survive as long as the game continues.

[[File:Ingmar Bergman-The Seventh Seal-01.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1|Death and Antonius Block choose sides for the chess game]]
The knight and his squire pass a caravan of actors: Jof and his wife Mia, with their infant son Mikael and actor-manager Jonas Skat. Waking early, Jof has [[Visions of Jesus and Mary|a vision of Mary leading the infant Jesus]], which he relates to a smilingly disbelieving Mia.

Block and Jöns visit a church where a fresco of the ''[[Danse Macabre]]'' is being painted. The squire chides the artist for colluding in the ideological fervor that led to the crusade. In the [[confessional]], Block tells the priest he wants to perform "one meaningful deed" after what he now sees as a pointless life. Upon revealing to him the [[chess tactic]] that will save his life, the knight discovers that it is actually Death with whom he has been speaking. Leaving the church, Block speaks to a young woman condemned to be [[burned at the stake]] for consorting with the [[Devil]]. He believes she will tell him about life beyond death, only to find that she is insane.

In a deserted village, Jöns saves a mute servant girl from being raped by Raval, a theologian who ten years earlier had persuaded the knight to join the Crusades and is now a thief. Jöns vows to destroy his face if they meet again. Jöns kisses the servant girl, who resists his advances. He then tells her to repay her debt by becoming his servant. She reluctantly agrees. The group goes into a town where the actors are performing. Skat is enticed away for a tryst by Lisa, wife of the blacksmith Plog. The stage show is interrupted by a procession of [[flagellants]] led by a preacher who harangues the townspeople.

At the town's inn, Raval manipulates Plog and other customers into intimidating Jof. The bullying is broken up by Jöns, who slashes Raval's face. The knight and squire are joined by Jof's family, and the mute servant girl. Block enjoys a picnic of milk and wild strawberries that Mia has gathered and promises to remember that evening for the rest of his life.

He then invites Plog and the actors to shelter from the plague in his castle. When they encounter Skat and Lisa in the forest, she returns to Plog, while Skat fakes a remorseful suicide. As the group moves on, Skat climbs a tree to spend the night, but Death appears beneath and cuts down the tree.

Meeting the condemned woman being led to execution, Block asks her to summon [[Satan]] so he can question him about God. The girl claims she has done so, but the knight only sees her terror and gives her herbs to take away her pain as she is placed on the pyre.

[[File:Det-sjunde-inseglet-The-Seventh-Seal-Bergman-1957-dance-of-death.png|thumb|upright=1.05|The final scene depicting the ''[[Danse Macabre]].'']]
They encounter Raval, stricken by the plague. Jöns stops the servant girl from uselessly bringing him water, and Raval dies alone. Jof then sees the knight playing chess with Death and decides to flee with his family, while Block knowingly keeps Death occupied.

As Death states, "No one escapes me," Block knocks the chess pieces over, but Death restores them to their places. On the next move, Death wins the game and announces that when they meet again, it will be the last time for all. Death then asks Block if he achieved the "meaningful deed" he wished to accomplish. The knight replies that he has.

Block is reunited with his wife and the party shares a final supper, interrupted by Death's arrival. The other members of the party then introduce themselves, and the formerly mute servant girl greets him with "[[Sayings of Jesus on the cross|It is finished.]]"

Jof and his family have sheltered in their caravan from a storm, which he interprets as the Angel of Death passing by. In the morning, Jof [[vision (religion)|sees a vision of]] the knight and his companions being led away over the hillside in a Dance of Death.

==Cast==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Gunnar Björnstrand]] – Jöns, squire
* [[Bengt Ekerot]] – Death
* [[Nils Poppe]] – Jof
* [[Max von Sydow]] – Antonius Block, knight
* [[Bibi Andersson]] – Mia
* [[Inga Landgré]] – Karin
* [[Åke Fridell]] – Blacksmith Plog
* [[Inga Gill]] – Lisa
* [[Erik Strandmark]] – Jonas Skat
* [[Bertil Anderberg]] – Raval, the thief
* [[Gunnel Lindblom]] – Mute girl
* [[Maud Hansson]] – Witch
* [[Gunnar Olsson (actor)|Gunnar Olsson]] – church painter
* [[Anders Ek]] – The Monk
* [[Benkt-Åke Benktsson]] – Merchant
* [[Gudrun Brost]] – Maid
* Lars Lind – Young monk
* Tor Borong – Farmer
* Harry Asklund – Inn keeper
* [[Ulf Johanson]] – Jack's leader (uncredited)
{{div col end|3}}

==Themes==
===Christianity and faith===
The title refers to a passage about the end of the world 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 [[seven seals|seventh seal]], there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour" ([[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] 8:1). Thus, in the confessional scene the knight states: "Is it so cruelly inconceivable to grasp God with the senses? Why should He hide himself in a mist of half-spoken promises and unseen miracles?...What is going to happen to those of us who want to believe but aren't able to?"{{sfn|Bergman|1960|pp=145–146}} Death, impersonating the confessional priest, refuses to reply. Similarly, later, as he eats the strawberries with the family of actors, Antonius Block states: "[[Faith]] is a torment – did you know that? It is like loving someone who is out there in the darkness but never appears, no matter how loudly you call."{{sfn|Bergman|1960|p=172}} [[Melvyn Bragg]] notes that the concept of the "Silence of God" in the face of evil, or the pleas of believers or would-be-believers, may be influenced by the punishments of silence meted out by Bergman's father, a chaplain in the State [[Lutheran]] Church.{{sfn|Bragg|1998|pp=40, 45}} In Bergman's original radio play sometimes translated as ''A Painting on Wood'', the figure of Death in a [[Dance of Death]] is represented not by an actor, but by [[silence]], "mere nothingness, mere absence...terrifying...the void."<ref>Martin Esslin. ''Mediations: Essays on Brecht, Beckett and the Media''. Abacus. London. 1980. p. 181.</ref>

Some of the powerful influences on the film were [[Picasso]]'s picture of the two acrobats, [[Carl Orff]]'s ''[[Carmina Burana (Orff)|Carmina Burana]]'', [[Strindberg]]'s dramas ''Folkungasagan'' ("The Saga of the Folkung Kings") and ''[[To Damascus|The Road to Damascus]]'',<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5xYa6Q9VPfoC |author=Egil Törnqvist |title=Bergman's Muses: Æsthetic Versatility in Film, Theatre, Television and Radio |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |year=2003 |page=218 |isbn=9780786482023}}</ref> the frescoes at Härkeberga church, and a painting by [[Albertus Pictor]] in Täby church.{{sfn|Bragg|1998|p=49}} Just prior to shooting, Bergman directed for radio the play ''Everyman'' by [[Hugo von Hofmannsthal]].{{sfn|Bragg|1998|p=49}} By this time he had also directed plays by [[Shakespeare]], [[Strindberg]], [[Albert Camus|Camus]], [[G. K. Chesterton|Chesterton]], [[Anouilh]], [[Tennessee Williams]], [[Luigi Pirandello|Pirandello]], [[Lehár]], [[Molière]] and [[Alexander Ostrovsky|Ostrovsky]].{{sfn|Bragg|1998|p=29}} The actors [[Bibi Andersson]] (with whom Bergman was in a relationship from 1955 to 1959) who played the juggler's wife Mia, and [[Max von Sydow]], whose role as the knight was the first of many star parts he would bring to Bergman's films and whose rugged Nordic dignity became a vital resource within Bergman's "troupe" of key actors,<ref>Höök, Marianne, ''Ingmar Bergman'', Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1962 p.115f</ref> both made a strong impact on the mood and style of the film.

===Death===
Bergman grew up in a home infused with an intense Christianity, his father being a charismatic [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] (this may have explained Bergman's adolescent infatuation with [[Hitler]], which later deeply tormented him).{{sfn|Bragg|1998|p=44}} As a six-year-old child, Bergman used to help the gardener carry corpses from the Royal Hospital Sophiahemmet (where his father was chaplain) to the mortuary.{{sfn|Bragg|1998|p=43}} When as a boy he saw the film ''[[Black Beauty (1921 film)|Black Beauty]]'', the fire scene excited him so much he stayed in bed for three days with a temperature. {{sfn|Bragg|1998|p=43}} ''The Seventh Seal'' explores the knight's search for meaning and purpose in creating meaningful acts in his life before his death.<ref>Holland, Norman N. “‘The Seventh Seal’: The Film as Iconography.” The Hudson Review, vol. 12, no. 2, 1959, pp. 266–70. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3848112. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.</ref> Despite living a [[Bohemianism|Bohemian]] lifestyle in partial rebellion against his upbringing, Bergman often signed his scripts with the initials "S.D.G" (''Soli Deo Gloria'') — "To God Alone the Glory" — just as [[Johann Sebastian Bach|J.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;Bach]] did at the end of every musical composition.{{sfn|Bragg|1998|p=28}}

[[Gerald Mast]] writes:
<blockquote>"Like [[The Gravediggers|the gravedigger]] in ''[[Hamlet]]'', the Squire [...] treats death as a bitter and hopeless joke. Since we all play chess with death, and since we all must suffer through that hopeless joke, the only question about the game is how long it will last and how well we will play it. To play it well, to live, is to love and not to hate the body and the mortal as the [[Roman Catholic Church|Church]] urges in Bergman's metaphor."<ref>Gerald Mast ''A Short History of the Movies.'' p. 405.</ref></blockquote>

[[Melvyn Bragg]] writes:
<blockquote>"[I]t is constructed like an argument. It is a story told as a sermon might be delivered: an allegory...each scene is at once so simple and so charged and layered that it catches us again and again...Somehow all of Bergman's own past, that of his father, that of his reading and doing and seeing, that of his Swedish culture, of his political burning and religious melancholy, poured into a series of pictures which carry that swell of contributions and contradictions so effortlessly that you could tell the story to a child, publish it as a storybook of photographs and yet know that the deepest questions of religion and the most mysterious revelation of simply being alive are both addressed."{{sfn|Bragg|1998|pp=64–65}}</blockquote>

The Jesuit publication ''America'' identifies it as having begun "a series of seven films that explored the possibility of faith in a post-Holocaust, nuclear age".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10155 |title=Ingmar Bergman, Theologian? |author=Richard A. Blake |date=27 August 2007 |publisher=America magazine |access-date=14 December 2010 |archive-date=16 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116202557/http://americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10155 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Likewise, film historians Thomas W. Bohn and Richard L. Stromgren identify this film as beginning "his cycle of films dealing with the conundrum of religious faith".<ref>{{cite book |title=Light and shadows: a history of motion pictures |last=Bohn |first=Thomas |author2=Richard L. Stromgren |year=1987 |publisher=Mayfield Pub. Co |isbn=978-0-87484-702-4|page=269 }}</ref>

===Portrait of the Middle Ages===
Medieval Sweden as portrayed in this movie includes creative anachronisms. The [[flagellant]] movement was foreign to Sweden, and large-scale [[Witch-hunt|witch persecutions]] only began in the 15th century.<ref>Said by Swedish historian [[Dick Harrison]] in an introduction to the movie on [[Sveriges Television]], 2005. Reiterated in his book ''Gud vill det!'' {{ISBN|91-7037-119-9}}</ref> In addition, the main period of the [[Crusades]] is well before this era; they took place in a more optimistic period.<ref name="Tuchman"/>

With regard to the relevancy of historical accuracy to a film that is heavily metaphorical and allegorical, John Aberth, writing in ''A Knight at the Movies'', holds
<blockquote>
the film only partially succeeds in conveying the period atmosphere and thought world of the fourteenth century. Bergman would probably counter that it was never his intention to make an historical or period film. As it was written in a program note that accompanied the movie's premier "It is a modern poem presented with medieval material that has been very freely handled... The script in particular—embodies a mid-twentieth century existentialist angst... Still, to be fair to Bergman, one must allow him his artistic license, and the script's modernisms may be justified as giving the movie's medieval theme a compelling and urgent contemporary relevance... Yet the film succeeds to a large degree because it is set in the Middle Ages, a time that can seem both very remote and very immediate to us living in the modern world... Ultimately ''The Seventh Seal'' should be judged as a historical film by how well it combines the medieval and the modern."<ref>John Aberth (2003). ''A Knight at the Movies''. Routledge. pp. 217–218.</ref>
</blockquote>
[[Image:Taby kyrka Death playing chess.jpg|thumb|upright|Death playing chess, from [[Täby Church]], fresco by [[Albertus Pictor]]]]

Similarly defending it as an allegory, Aleksander Kwiatkowski in the book ''Swedish Film Classics'', writes
<blockquote>
The international response to the film which among other awards won the jury's special prize at Cannes in 1957 reconfirmed the author's high rank and proved that ''The Seventh Seal'' regardless of its degree of accuracy in reproducing medieval scenery may be considered as a universal, timeless allegory.<ref>''Swedish Film Classics by Aleksander Kwiatkowski'', Svenska filminstitutet p. 93</ref>
</blockquote>

Much of the film's imagery is derived from medieval art. For example, Bergman has stated that the image of a man playing chess with a skeletal Death was inspired by a medieval church painting from the 1480s in [[Täby kyrka]], [[Täby]], north of [[Stockholm]], painted by [[Albertus Pictor]].<ref>Stated in Marie Nyreröd's interview series (the first part named ''Bergman och filmen'') aired on [[Sveriges Television]] Easter 2004.</ref>

Generally speaking, historians [[Johan Huizinga]], [[Friedrich Heer]] and [[Barbara Tuchman]] have all argued that the [[Late Middle Ages]] of the 14th century was a period of "doom and gloom" similar to what is reflected in this film, characterized by a feeling of pessimism, an increase in a penitential style of piety that was slightly masochistic, all aggravated by various disasters such as the Black Death, famine, the [[Hundred Years' War]] between France and England, and the [[Papal schism of 1378|Papal schism]].<ref name="Tuchman">Barbara Tuchman (1978). ''[https://archive.org/details/distantmirror00barb A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century]''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. {{ISBN|0-394-40026-7}}</ref> This is sometimes called the [[crisis of the Late Middle Ages]], and Tuchman regards the 14th century as "[[A Distant Mirror|a distant mirror]]" of the 20th century in a way that echoes Bergman's sensibilities.

==Production==
===Development===
[[File:Sjunde inseglet 1957.jpg|thumbnail|Filming of ''The Seventh Seal'' at [[Filmstaden]]]]
[[Ingmar Bergman]] originally wrote the play ''Trämålning'' (''Wood Painting'') in 1953 / 1954 for the acting students of [[Malmö City Theatre]]. Its first public performance, which he directed, was on radio in 1954. He also directed it on stage in Malmö the next spring, and in the autumn it was staged in Stockholm, directed by [[Bengt Ekerot]], who would later play the character Death in the film version.<ref name=svenskfilmografi>[http://www.sfi.se/sv/svensk-film/Filmdatabasen/?itemid=4522&type=MOVIE&iv=Comments Det sjunde inseglet – Pressreaktion & Kommentar Svensk Filmografi] (in Swedish). [[Swedish Film Institute]]. Retrieved on 17 August 2009.</ref>

In his autobiography, ''The Magic Lantern'', Bergman wrote that "''Wood Painting'' gradually became ''The Seventh Seal'', an uneven film which lies close to my heart, because it was made under difficult circumstances in a surge of vitality and delight."<ref>Ingmar Bergman (1988). ''The Magic Lantern''. Penguin Books. London. p. 274.</ref> The script for ''The Seventh Seal'' was commenced while Bergman was in the [[Karolinska Hospital]] in Stockholm recovering from a stomach complaint.{{sfn|Bragg|1998|p=27}} It was at first rejected<ref>Ingmar Bergman (1990). ''Images: My Life in Film''. Arcade Publishing, Inc. New-York. p. 234.</ref> by [[Carl-Anders Dymling]], head of [[Svensk Filmindustri]], and Dymling only gave Bergman the go-ahead for the project after the success at Cannes of ''[[Smiles of a Summer Night]]''.{{sfn|Bragg|1998|p=48}} Bergman rewrote the script five times and was given a schedule of only thirty-five days and a budget of $150,000.{{sfn|Bragg|1998|p=49}} It was to be the seventeenth film he had directed.{{sfn|Bragg|1998|p=46}}

===Filming===
All scenes except two were shot in or around the [[Filmstaden]] studios in Solna. The exceptions were the famous opening scene with Death and the Knight playing chess by the sea, and the ending with the [[Danse Macabre|dance of death]], which were both shot at [[Hovs Hallar]], a rocky, precipitous beach area in north-western Scania.<ref name=f2f>[http://www.ingmarbergman.se/page.asp?guid=0A7C85BA-E1D8-410F-B9E0-95A5DC3CC844 Ingmar Bergman Face to Face – Shooting the film The Seventh Seal] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823185840/http://www.ingmarbergman.se/page.asp?guid=0A7C85BA-E1D8-410F-B9E0-95A5DC3CC844 |date=23 August 2010}}</ref>

In the ''Magic Lantern'' autobiography Bergman writes of the film's iconic penultimate shot: "The image of the Dance of Death beneath the dark cloud was achieved at hectic speed because most of the actors had finished for the day. Assistants, electricians, and a make-up man and about two summer visitors, who never knew what it was all about, had to dress up in the costumes of those condemned to death. A camera with no sound was set up and the picture shot before the cloud dissolved."<ref>Ingmar Bergman (1988). ''The Magic Lantern''. Penguin Books. London. pp. 274–275.</ref>

==Reception==

=== Swedish release and reception ===
Upon its original Swedish release, ''The Seventh Seal'' was met with a somewhat divided critical response; its cinematography was widely praised, while "Bergman the scriptwriter [was] lambasted."<ref name="BergmanReferenceGuide">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eJCGNAlqB0gC&pg=PA224 |title=Ingmar Bergman: A Reference Guide |page=224 |last=Steene |first=Birgitta |publisher=[[Amsterdam University Press]] |date=2005 |isbn=978-9053564066}}</ref> Swedish journalist and critic Nils Beyer, writing for ''[[Social-Demokraten|Morgon-tidningen]]'', compared it to [[Carl Theodor Dreyer]]'s ''[[The Passion of Joan of Arc]]'' and ''[[Day of Wrath]]''. While finding Dreyer's films to be superior, he still noted that "it isn't just any director that you feel like comparing to the old Danish master." He also praised the usage of the cast, in particular Max von Sydow, whose character he described as "a pale, serious [[Don Quixote]] character with a face as if sculpted in wood", and "Bibi Andersson, who appears as if painted in faded watercolours but still can emit small delicious glimpses of female warmth." Hanserik Hjertén for ''[[Arbetaren]]'' started his review by praising the cinematography, but soon went on to describe the film as "a horror film for children" and said that beyond the superficial, it is mostly reminiscent of Bergman's "sophomoric films from the 40s."<ref name=svenskfilmografi />

=== International reception ===
Bergman's international reputation, on the other hand, was largely cemented by ''The Seventh Seal''.<ref name="BergmanReferenceGuide"/> The film ranked 2nd on [[Cahiers du Cinéma]]'s [[Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists|Top 10 Films of the Year List]] in 1958.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/critics/cahiers.html|title=Cahiers du Cinema: Top Ten Lists 1951–2009|last=Johnson|first=Eric C.|website=alumnus.caltech.edu|language=en-US|access-date=17 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327102838/http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/critics/cahiers.html|archive-date=27 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Bosley Crowther]] had only positive things to say in his 1958 review for ''The New York Times'', and praised how the themes were elevated by the cinematography and performances: "the profundities of the ideas are lightened and made flexible by glowing pictorial presentation of action that is interesting and strong. Mr. Bergman uses his camera and actors for sharp, realistic effects."<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Bosley Crowther |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |date=14 October 1954 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/10/14/archives/seventh-seal-swedish-allegory-has-premiere-at-paris.html |title=Seventh Seal; Swedish Allegory Has Premiere at Paris |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref> In 1961, Bergman won the [[Nastro d'Argento]] for Director of the Best Foreign Film (Regista del miglior film straniero).<ref>{{Cite web |title=1961 |url=https://www.nastridargento.it/1961-2/ |access-date=2025-11-06 |website=Nastri d'Argento |language=it-IT}}</ref> Film critic [[Pauline Kael]] called it "A magically powerful film."<ref>{{cite web|title=Pauline Kael Review: The Seventh Seal|url=http://www.uu.edu/org/lyceum/filmfest/hkael.htm|website=Heavy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Seventh Seal|url=https://bampfa.org/event/seventh-seal-3|website=BAMPFA|date=25 November 2015 }}</ref>

=== Critical legacy ===
The film is now regarded as a masterpiece of cinema.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=The Seventh Seal |work=RogerEbert.com |publisher=Ebert Digital LLC |date=16 April 2000 |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-seventh-seal-1957 |access-date=18 August 2007}}</ref> ''[[The Village Voice]]'' ranked ''The Seventh Seal'' at number 33 in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10 |title=Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll |access-date=27 July 2006 |year=1999 |work=The Village Voice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826201343/http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10 |archive-date=26 August 2007}}</ref> The film was included in "''The New York Times'' Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made" in 2002.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html |title=The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made |newspaper=The New York Times |year=2002| access-date=7 December 2013 | archive-date=11 December 2013 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131211043539/http://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html}}</ref> ''Empire'' magazine, in 2010, ranked it the eighth-greatest film of world cinema.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 100 Best Films of World Cinema – 8. The Seventh Seal |url=http://www.empireonline.com/features/100-greatest-world-cinema-films/default.asp?film=8 |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |date=11 June 2010}}</ref> In a poll held by the same magazine, it was voted 335th 'Greatest Movie of All Time' from a list of 500.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.empireonline.com/500/31.asp |title=Empire's 500 greatest movies of all time |work=Empire |access-date=2 September 2017 |archive-date=19 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019214507/http://www.empireonline.com/500/31.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> In addition, on the 100th anniversary of cinema in 1995, the [[Holy See|Vatican]] included ''The Seventh Seal'' in its list of its [[Vatican's list 45 films|45 "great films"]] for its thematic values.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vatican Best Films List |url=http://old.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml |publisher=Catholic News Service Media Review Office |access-date=18 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422064928/http://old.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml |archive-date=22 April 2012 }}</ref> The film was included in film critic [[Roger Ebert]]'s list of "[[The Great Movies]]" in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Seventh Seal movie review (1957)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-seventh-seal-1957|website=rogerebert.com|date=16 April 2000}}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' voted it at No. 45 on their list of ''100 Greatest Movies of All Time''.<ref>{{cite web|title = Entertainment Weekly's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time|url = http://www.filmsite.org/ew100.html|publisher = [[Filmsite.org]]|access-date = 19 January 2009|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140331185517/http://www.filmsite.org/ew100.html|archive-date = 31 March 2014|df = dmy-all}}</ref> In 2007, the film was ranked at No. 13 by [[The Guardian]]'s readers poll on the list of "40 greatest foreign films of all time".<ref>{{cite web|title=As chosen by you...the greatest foreign films of all time|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/may/11/1|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=11 May 2007}}</ref> Indian film maker [[Adoor Gopalakrishnan]] praised the film saying "One can watch 'Seventh Seal' even without subtitles as it is most appealing to the eye."<ref>{{cite web|title=Kerala grieves for Ingmar Bergman|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-kerala-grieves-for-ingmar-bergman-1113248|website=DNA India|date=2 August 2007}}</ref> In January 2002, the film was included on the list of the "Top 100 Essential Films of All Time" by the [[National Society of Film Critics]].<ref name=Carr81>{{Cite book |last=Carr|first=Jay |title=The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films |year=2002 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-81096-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/alistnationalsoc00jayc/page/81 81] |url=https://archive.org/details/alistnationalsoc00jayc |url-access=registration|access-date=27 July 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=100 Essential Films by The National Society of Film Critics|url=https://www.filmsite.org/alist.html|website=filmsite.org}}</ref> In 2012, the film ranked 93rd on critic's poll and 75th on director's poll in [[Sight & Sound]] magazine's [[The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012|100 greatest films of all time]] list. In the earlier 2002 version of the list the film ranked 35th in critic's poll<ref>{{cite web|title=The Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll 2002 The Rest of Critic's List|url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/polls/topten/poll/critics-long.html|website=old.bfi.org.uk|access-date=28 April 2021|archive-date=13 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813112813/http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/polls/topten/poll/critics-long.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and 31st in director's poll.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll 2002 The Rest of Director's List|url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/polls/topten/poll/directors-long.html|website=old.bfi.org.uk|access-date=28 April 2021|archive-date=1 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201155933/http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/polls/topten/poll/directors-long.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2022 edition of Sight & Sound's ''Greatest films of all time'' list the film ranked 72nd in the director's poll.<ref>{{cite web|title=Directors' 100 Greatest Films of All Time|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/directors-100-greatest-films-all-time|website=bfi.org}}</ref> In 2012 it was voted one of the 25 best Swedish films of all time by a poll of 50 film critics and academics conducted by film magazine FLM.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flm.nu/2012/08/de-25-basta-svenska-filmerna-genom-tiderna/ |title=De 25 bästa svenska filmerna genom tiderna |date=30 August 2012 |work=Flm |language=Swedish |accessdate=30 August 2012}}</ref> In 2018 the film was ranked 30th in BBC's list of The 100 greatest foreign language films.<ref>{{cite web|title=The 100 Greatest Foreign Language Films|url= https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20181029-the-100-greatest-foreign-language-films|website=bbc|date=29 October 2018|access-date=10 January 2021}}</ref> In 2021 the film was ranked at No. 43 on [[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]] magazine's list of ''The 100 best movies of all time''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The 100 best movies of all time|work=Time Out New York |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/movies/best-movies-of-all-time|date=8 April 2021}}</ref>

The film was selected as the Swedish entry for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] at the [[30th Academy Awards]], but was not nominated.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/list/ls026790611/ |title=Sweden submissions to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film |website=[[IMDb]] |date=22 April 2018 |access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.sfi.se/sfi/smpage.fwx?page=20268 | title=Swedish Film and the Oscars | work=[[Swedish Film Institute]] |language=sv | access-date=9 November 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070223042152/http://www.sfi.se/sfi/smpage.fwx?page=20268 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 23 February 2007}}</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 72 reviews, with an average rating of 9.20/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Narratively bold and visually striking, ''The Seventh Seal'' brought Ingmar Bergman to the world stage – and remains every bit as compelling today".<ref name=rotten>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/seventh_seal/ |title=The Seventh Seal (1957) |publisher=[[Fandango Media]] |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=18 August 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725024520/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/seventh_seal/ |archive-date=25 July 2017 }}</ref>  On [[Metacritic]], the film has a rating of 88/100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web|title=The Seventh Seal|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-seventh-seal|website=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref>

==Influence==
''The Seventh Seal'' significantly helped Bergman in gaining his position as a world-class director. When the film won the [[Jury Prize (Cannes Festival)|Special Jury Prize]] at the [[1957 Cannes Film Festival]],<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3563/year/1957.html |title=Festival de Cannes: The Seventh Seal |access-date=8 February 2009 |work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref> the attention generated by it (along with the previous year's ''[[Smiles of a Summer Night]]'') made Bergman and his stars Max von Sydow and Bibi Andersson well known to the European film community, and the critics and readers of ''[[Cahiers du Cinéma]]'', among others, discovered him with this movie.  Within five years of this, he had established himself as the first real [[auteur]] of Swedish cinema.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Monaco |first=James |title=How to read a film: movies, media, and beyond: art, technology, language, history, theory |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-532105-0 |edition=4th ed., completely rev. and expanded |location=Oxford ; New York}}</ref> With its images and reflections upon death and the meaning of life, ''The Seventh Seal'' had a symbolism according to critic James Monaco that was "immediately apprehensible to people trained in literary culture who were just beginning to discover the 'art' of film, and it quickly became a staple of high school and college literature courses... Unlike Hollywood 'movies,' ''The Seventh Seal'' clearly was aware of elite artistic culture and thus was readily appreciated by intellectual audiences."<ref>{{cite book |last=Monaco |first=James |title=How To Read a Film |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2000 |pages=311–312 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TSSfJb011QgC |isbn=978-0-19-513981-5}}</ref>

=== Film and television ===
[[File:DeathSeventhSeal.png|thumb|[[Bengt Ekerot]] as [[Personifications of death|Death]]]]
The derivative representation of Death as a white-faced man who wears a dark cape<ref>https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/faces-death</ref> and plays chess with mortals has been a popular object of parody in other films and television.

Several films and comedy sketches portray Death as playing games other than or in addition to chess. In the final scene of the 1968 film ''[[The Dove (1968 film)|De Düva]]'' (mock Swedish for "The Dove"), a 15-minute [[pastiche]] of Bergman's work generally and his ''[[Wild Strawberries (film)|Wild Strawberries]]'' in particular, the protagonist plays badminton against Death, and wins when the droppings of a passing dove strike Death in the eye. The photography imitates throughout the style of Bergman's cinematographers [[Sven Nykvist]] and [[Gunnar Fischer]].<ref>[http://www.slate.com/id/2171423/ Remembering De Düva (The Dove)], a 30 July 2007 ''Slate'' article</ref> The film is also parodied in ''[[Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey]]'' (1991), with the titular characters meeting Death and challenging him to several contemporary games.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-best-bill-ted-movie-is-the-one-that-took-them-on-1846416931 |last=Hassenger |first=Jesse |title=The best Bill & Ted movie is the one that took them on a Bogus Journey to hell and back |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=10 March 2021 |access-date=10 November 2023}}</ref> The 1993 ''[[Animaniacs (1993 TV series)|Animaniacs]]'' episode "Meatballs or Consequences" pays homage to ''The Seventh Seal'' as the Warners come face to face with Death himself, and Yakko and Dot play a game of [[checkers]] against him in order to win back their brother Wakko from Death's possession.

=== Popular music ===
The film is referred to in several songs.

The plot is recapitulated in [[Scott Walker (singer)|Scott Walker]]'s "The Seventh Seal" from his album ''[[Scott 4]]''.<ref>[https://genius.com/Scott-walker-the-seventh-seal-lyrics Genius.com]</ref>

There is a passing reference in [[Bruce Cockburn]]'s song "How I Spent My Fall Vacation", from his album ''[[Humans (Bruce Cockburn album)|Humans]]'', in which the song's narrative is bracketed by two young men watching the film in a cinema.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cockburnproject.net/songs&music/hismfv.html |website=The Cockburn Project |access-date=16 September 2018 |title=Bruce Cockburn – Songs – How I Spent My Fall Vacation}}</ref>

An audio clip from the film, from the scene where Antonius Block first meets Death, is featured in the track "The Hawthorn Passage," from [[Agalloch]]'s album [[The Mantle]] (2002).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Hawthorne Passage (2016 - Remaster) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLs9zwqXsceUh1_3UZt2XwHFTn7NuormyC&t=466&v=6n0va4524fI&feature=youtu.be |access-date=6 September 2025}}</ref>

On [[Iron Maiden]]'s album ''[[Dance of Death (album)|Dance of Death]]'' (2003), the title track was inspired by the final scene of ''The Seventh Seal'' where, according to guitarist [[Janick Gers]], "these figures on the horizon start doing a little jig, which is the dance of death."<ref name="Wall373">{{cite book |author=Wall, Mick |title=Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography |edition=3rd |publisher=Sanctuary Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-86074-542-3 |page=373 |author-link=Mick Wall}}</ref>

===Opera===
In 2016, composer [[João MacDowell]] premiered in New York City at [[Scandinavia House]] the music for the first act of ''The Seventh Seal'', a work in progress under contract with the Ingmar Bergman Foundation, sung in Swedish. The work was under production by the [[International Brazilian Opera (IBOC)]] as part of the celebrations for the Ingmar Bergman centenary in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cultura.estadao.com.br/noticias/musica,brasileiro-transforma-o-setimo-selo-em-opera,10000087384 |title=Brasileiro transforma 'O Sétimo Selo' em ópera |author=Thiago Mattos e Danielle Villela |publisher=Estadao |date=10 November 2016 |access-date=2 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://radarvip.com/maestro-brasileiro-apresenta-opera-em-new-york/ |title=Maestro brasileiro apresenta opera em New York |publisher=Radar VIP |date=10 November 2016 |access-date=2 September 2017}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://tutticlassicos.com.br/compositor-brasileiro-joao-macdowell-apresenta-em-nova-york-sua-opera-o-setimo-selo/ |title=Brasileiro João MacDowell monta em Nova York sua ópera 'O Sétimo Selo' |author=Por Debora Ghivelder |publisher=Tuttie |date=7 November 2016 |access-date=2 September 2017 |archive-date=22 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122153628/http://tutticlassicos.com.br/compositor-brasileiro-joao-macdowell-apresenta-em-nova-york-sua-opera-o-setimo-selo/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/sayao-saudade-brazils-contributions-opera/ |title=From Sayão to Saudade: Brazil's Contributions to Opera |first=Fred |last=Plotkin |publisher=WQXR |date=17 August 2016 |access-date=2 September 2017}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[A Matter of Life and Death (1946 film)#Chess|''A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946 film) § Chess]]
* [[Knight of faith]]
* [[Middle Ages in film]]
* [[Personifications of death|Death (personification)]]
* [[List of historical drama films]]
* [[List of submissions to the 30th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]]
* [[List of Swedish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=The Seventh Seal |first=Ingmar |last=Bergman |publisher=Touchstone |year=1960}}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oahZAAAAMAAJ&q=Melvyn+Bragg+(Det+Sjunde+Inseglet) |author-link=Melvyn Bragg |last=Bragg |first=Melvyn |title=The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet) |publisher=BFI Publishing |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-85170-391-6 }}
* {{cite book |title=Philosophy Through Film |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bItUHBmB8YIC |chapter=8. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL – ''The Seventh Seal'' (1957) and ''The Rapture'' (1991) <nowiki>[</nowiki>pp. 188-208<nowiki>]</nowiki> |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bItUHBmB8YIC&q=%228.+THE+PROBLEM+OF+EVIL+–+The+Seventh+Seal+(1957)+and+The+Rapture+(1991)&pg=188|first=Mary M. |last=Litch |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=London |year=2010 |orig-date=1st ed. 2002 |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0415938754}}
* {{cite book |chapter=9. EXISTENTIALISM - ''The Seventh Seal'' (1957), ''Crimes and Misdemeanors'' (1988), and ''Leaving Las Vegas'' (1995) <nowiki>[</nowiki>pp. 209-226<nowiki>]</nowiki> |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bItUHBmB8YIC&q=%229.+EXISTENTIALISM+–+The+Seventh+Seal+(1957),+Crimes+and+Misdemeanors+(1988),+and+Leaving+Las+Vegas+(1995)&pg=209 |title=Philosophy Through Film (2nd ed.) |first=Mary M. |last=Litch |year=2010 | publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn = 9780203863329|orig-year=1st ed. 2002}}
* Livingston, Paisley (1982). ''Ingmar Bergman and the Rituals of Art''. [[Cornell University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-8014-1452-0}}

==External links==

* {{IMDb title|0050976}}
* {{Sfdb title|4522}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=43870}}
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/21-the-seventh-seal ''The Seventh Seal''] an essay by [[Peter Cowie]] at [[The Criterion Collection]] 
* [https://archive.org/download/TheSeventhSealAFilm/The%20seventh%20seal%20%20a%20film.pdf ''The Seventh Seal''] PDF
* [https://archive.org/details/the-seventh-seal-det-sjunde-inseglet.-1957.-brrip.-xvi-d.-ac-3-vli-s ''The Seventh Seal''] at [[Internet Archive]]

{{Ingmar Bergman}}
{{Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize}}
{{Swedish submission for Academy Awards}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Seventh Seal}}
[[Category:1957 films]]
[[Category:1957 drama films]]
[[Category:1950s fantasy drama films]]
[[Category:Swedish fantasy drama films]]
[[Category:1950s Swedish-language films]]
[[Category:Latin-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ingmar Bergman]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Ingmar Bergman]]
[[Category:Swedish black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films about the Black Death]]
[[Category:Chess in Sweden]]
[[Category:Existentialist films]]
[[Category:Films about chess]]
[[Category:Swedish films based on plays]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Ingmar Bergman]]
[[Category:Films set in the 14th century]]
[[Category:Films set in medieval Scandinavia]]
[[Category:Films set in Sweden]]
[[Category:Films shot in Sweden]]
[[Category:Films set on beaches]]
[[Category:Metaphysical fiction films]]
[[Category:Films about personifications of death]]
[[Category:Films about witchcraft]]
[[Category:Films about adultery]]
[[Category:Films about Christianity]]
[[Category:Films about death]]
[[Category:Films scored by Erik Nordgren]]
[[Category:Swedish independent films]]
[[Category:1950s historical fantasy films]]
[[Category:1957 Swedish films]]
[[Category:Works based on the Book of Revelation]]
[[Category:Jury Prize (Cannes Film Festival) winners]]
[[Category:Swedish Culture Canon]]
[[Category:1957 fantasy films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=The Seventh Seal|access_date=2026-03-07}}