The Seventh Seal

Personal Response

     When I watched The Seventh Seal (1957), I was extremely confused.  That's actually an understatement.  I was so lost that I found myself just watching the words pop up on the screen, and not reading them.  I found it very hard to focus on anything that was happening in the scene because of this reason: it was not in English.  I know a lot of great films are not always in the same language that we all speak, but it made it hard to understand when you had to multitask between reading the words before the scene transitioned to another.  It was also very jam-packed full of biblical references, which, the majority, went way above my head.  I'm not very religious, but when they were talking about religion, I could understand a little bit of what they were saying, but when it came to symbolism, I was at a loss.
     I'd already pushed aside my judgements for the film being in black and white, but that still made it a little difficult to watch.  I did like how it was gloomy and fit the tone of the whole entire film, but like I've already made known, I enjoy symbolism in the form of vivid color.  When something is in black and white, the symbolism is constricted to references and other things that don't deal with colors.
     Overall, the film was creepy.  It was dark, gloomy, and full of "terror," which I enjoyed.  I like darker films and this one was just that.  It didn't make a whole lot of sense, but Death in the film was very prominent.  I loved the actors portrayals and the man who played Death was very good in his role.  So, all in all, this may have not been one of my favorite movies, but it still gave me a chill and definitely intrigued my "creepy" side.

Summary of Critical Article

     The article that I chose to read was "The Seventh Seal" by Peter Palmer.  He mostly explained that, "the significance of Ingmar Bergman's 'Seventh Seal' lies not in the speeches nor in the actions of the central characters but rather in the films form...the entirety of it" (Palmer 6).  Instead of focusing on the smaller details of the film, he focused on the entire work, the "big picture" (Palmer 6).  He used heavy biblical symbolism throughout, which is seen in every single character, from the Knight to the Girl at the end.  Everything he put into the film was essential to the overall picture, which was inspired/named after "The Book of Revelations" (Palmer 2).  The whole idea of cheating Death was very prominent, and even though the Knight did not, it still made the story end up where he was inspired: with the people dancing to their deaths.  When the Knight played chess with Death, it was a huge piece of symbolism, one that can be seen throughout the film, even without the board.  It's like in every scene, the Knight is making a move against Death, and his strategies are either working or being defeated (Palmer 7).

Response to Critical Article

     The author was very considerate in mentioning how the director wanted his film to be seen: in its entirety.  He wanted people to see the "big picture" and not focus solely on the minute details.  Throughout the article he addressed how each character fit into the whole story, but also their symbolism.  I loved how Palmer addressed each reference to something biblical because, since I'm not very religious, I was able to understand more clearly how things fit into the whole story and how each scene related to one another.  Palmer talked about how a couple of scenes were just dripping with symbolism and how they were used to steer the story in a particular direction, even hinting at events happening in the near future of the film.

Consideration of Critic’s Use of Critical frameworks/concepts:

     I liked how the author used history in order to explain the biblical significance of the film.  He was able to explain the crusades and how those went on back then.  He compared the crusades to the film and about how they must've felt fighting against the plague.  He used history to bring reality to the film, giving the reader a sense of "wow, this really happened."  He explained the events that went on in the film, relating them back to how it must've been in the past with the plague, death, and how it must feel waiting to die.  Seeing as this movie is very heavy with religion, I love how the author explained the symbolism a lot and how it all fit in to the story overall.

Film Analysis

     The scene that I chose to analyze was the one where Death first shows up.  Antonius Block is shown walking around the beach, seemingly preparing or busying himself to keep his mind off of the inevitable.  He knows the game will be difficult and he knows Death is coming, but he doesn't know exactly when, so it seems as though he's calming himself and steeling his nerves.  He needs to be confident in himself so that he's able to challenge Death to chess, hopefully in order to save his own life.  

     I love how playful this scene is.  You know he's scared of Death, like everyone is, yet he finds the confidence to "talk back" and be downright sassy to him.  He's so confident that he'll live, but you can still tell that he's petrified that he's going to die.  

     Usually when you're on a beach, with the waves rolling up, the cool breeze against your face, it's calm and relaxing, but with Death, it's almost the opposite.  I love how this scene contrasts itself.  You'd think a beach would be a relaxing place, but with Death there, it becomes anything but.

Works Cited


Palmer, Peter M. "The Seventh Seal." English Exchange 11.3 (1969): 2-8. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

The Seventh Seal. Dir. Ingmar Bergman. Perf. Max Von Sydow. 1957. In Class.