The Seventh Seal (1957)

Original title: Det Sjunde inseglet

Antonius Block (Max von Sydow), a knight, returns disillusioned, with his squire Jöns (Gunnar Björnstrand), from a Crusade and finds that his home country of Sweden is being ravaged by the plague. To his dismay, Death (Bengt Ekerot) has come for him, as well. He challenges Death to a chess match. Death agrees to the terms: as long as Block resists, he lives. If he wins, he shall go free.

Cast:

Gunnar Björnstrand Jöns, squire
Bengt Ekerot Death
Nils Poppe Jof
Max von Sydow Antonius Block
Bibi Andersson Mia, Jof's wife
Inga Gill Lisa, blacksmith's wife
Maud Hansson Witch
Inga Landgré Karin, Block's Wife
Gunnel Lindblom Girl
Bertil Anderberg Raval
Anders Ek The Monk
Åke Fridell Blacksmith Plog
Gunnar Olsson Albertus Pictor, Church Painter
Erik Strandmark Jonas Skat
Siv Aleros Flagellant
Sten Ardenstam Knight
Harry Asklund The landlord
Benkt-Åke Benktsson Merchant at the inn
Catherine Berg Young woman kneeling for the flagellants
Lena Bergman Young woman kneeling for the flagellants
Tor Borong Farmer at the inn
Gudrun Brost Woman at inn
Bengt Gillberg Flagellant
Lars Granberg Flagellant
Gunlög Hagberg Flagellant
Gun Hammargren Flagellant
Tor Isedal Man
Ulf Johansson Knight commander
Tommy Karlsson Mikael, Jof and Maria's son
Uno Larsson Flagellant
Lennart Lilja Flagellant
Lars Lind The young monk
Monica Lindman Flagellant
Gordon Löwenadler Knight
Mona Malm Young pregnant woman
Josef Norman Old man at the inn
Gösta Prüzelius Man
Helge Sjökvist Flagellant
Georg Skarstedt Flagellant
Ragnar Sörman Flagellant
Fritjof Tall Man
Lennart Tollén Flagellant
Nils Whiten Old man addressed by the monk
Caya Wickström Flagellant
Karl Widh Man with crotches

Featured Reviews

The Seventh Seal (aka Det Sjunde Inseglet)

9 stars

"The Seventh Seal" is one of Ingmar Bergman's best-known films. It was released in 1957 and showcases the considerable talents of Max von Sydow as Antonius Block (the knight), Gunnar Bjornstrand as Jons (the squire), and Bengt Ekerot as death. I'm sure doctoral dissertations have been written about "The Seventh Seal," but I'll see it as a movie. The movie ...