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Seventh Seal (The) AKA Det Sjunde inseglet (1957)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - Palisades Tartan Review written by and copyright: Jari Kovalainen (20th January 2008). |
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The Film
 In one night during the Christmas time, I happened to catch the “Ingmar Bergman on Life and Work AKA Ingmar Bergman: Om liv och arbete” (1998) documentary from TV. In this candid and warm interview (conducted by his Finnish friend and colleague Jörn Donner), director/writer Ingmar Bergman talks about his long career in films (he directed over 60 films, receiving 9 Oscar nominations and three “Best Foreign Language Film” awards), TV and theatre (over 170 productions for stage, television and radio), but he also shares some of his personal views towards the subjects like religion, loneliness and death. To me it felt, that Bergman both enjoyed and suffered through his later years (perhaps all his life?) and it seems that he was in many ways ready to face the inevitable death (he still lived and worked almost 10 years after the documentary). All these universal themes are also present in “The Seventh Seal AKA Det Sjunde inseglet” (1957) (strangely, this transfer drops out “Det” from the on-screen title), which is probably the best-known film by the Swedish director and a bona fide classic. Since the master just passed away last year, the film feels more personal than ever. Knight Antonius Block (Max von Sydow - e.g. “The Exorcist” (1973) and the Oscar nomination for “Pelle the Conqueror AKA Pelle erobreren” (1987)) and his squire Jöns (Gunnar Björnstrand) return from the Crusades in the middle of the 12th Century. The country where they left several years ago is not the same anymore, since it’s now terrorized by the plague and the religious fanaticism (hunt for the “witches” is on and the “fear of God” is in everyone’s eyes). Death is also on the heels of Block, literally. On the lonely shore Block makes the deal with Death himself (Bengt Ekerot); They’ll have one game of chess and if Block conquers the grim reaper, he’ll go “free”. Death accepts the challenge, which at least gives Block time to find answers to the burning questions tormenting him; ‘Does God truly exist?’ ‘What lies beyond death?’ ‘What is fate?’ ‘What can fill the emptiness that the man often feels?’ Time is still limited, since Death won’t wait forever. Everyone meets him eventually. Block (similar to Bergman in his real life) has lost his faith and the long years in the bloody Crusades have made him numb towards death. He has to do at least one “meaningful” act before his time is up, to re-gain himself as a man and a human being, perhaps also finding those answers of God’s existence. The opportunity arrives, when the group of performing jesters crosses paths with Block and his squire; Jof (Nils Poppe) is the kind and optimistic juggler, with the loving wife Mia (Bibi Andersson) and the baby boy bringing him happiness. Block is fascinated how this family can keep their joy of life during these dark days, eventually taking the family under his wing. They start the journey together, along with one Blacksmith Plog Åke Fridell, his wife Lisa (Inga Gill), the mute girl (Gunnel Lindblom) and the third jester, Jonas Skat (Erik Strandmark). Death walks in their shadows every step of the way and for Block, the game is nearing its end…who’ll have the checkmate? “The Seventh Seal” (which was partly based on the earlier Bergman’s radio play “Wood Painting AKA Trämålning” from 1954) was the turning point in Bergman’s career, since along with “Smiles of a Summer Night AKA Sommarnattens leende” (1955) it had some success at the “Cannes Film Festival” and eventually made the director an international star. It’s impossible to ignore the values of the film, since “The Seventh Seal” is thought provoking, moving, engaging and a very intelligent effort. It introduces the whole spectrum of human emotions, from the doubt and suffering to optimism and happiness. Everything is in balance. It’s a movie about life, as much as it’s about death. It also raises many questions of faith, since most of us believe in something - whether it’s some higher power, love that you get from your closest ones or just that special strength that comes from inside of you, helping you through the bad times. Like the characters in the film, alone you’re pretty much lost and with an empty soul you certainly fade away sooner or later. Like Block, we all look for happiness and some meaning in our lives, so the basic idea of the film is quite relevant even to this day. Visually the B&W images of the film are quite stunning, done by the skilled cinematographer Gunnar Fischer (Bergman’s frequent collaborator before Sven Nykvist fully took over). Scenes like the opening at the shore (the scene of Block and Death at the chess board is one of the most memorable images in the history of film) or the group of “suffering believers” arriving to the village are images you won’t soon forget. I still have to admit that some of the scenes have a “studio feel” to them, and occasionally the acting can be a bit “theatrical” (at least with some of the supporting actors). Even with the serious approach, the film still has some humor (sometimes macabre) and the storytelling is not always strictly “larger than life”. The film was made on a relatively low budget (and shot in 36 days), so the scenes are often intimate and calm. There was no time nor money available to built huge Medieval sets. There are some strong, dramatic sequences throughout the film - cluing the film together (also giving some historical perspective to the story), but in the end the film is about Block and Death. Like Block in the film, the viewer also has to look for his own soul during the film. “The Seventh Seal” doesn’t give any definite answers of course (since the word “faith” is a personal thing to everyone and it varies), but it certainly gives some food for thought and for the soul too.
Video
The film is presented in its OAR 4:3 (1080p 24fps) and uses AVC MPEG-4 compression. Both the SD DVD and Blu-ray “50th Anniversary Special Edition”-releases from “Tartan Video” use the same source, which is a very good one for a film of its age. There’s some visible grain (perhaps even some “noise”) more or less throughout the movie and minor “flickering” in some of the scenes (at least among the details), but the black levels looked very balanced and the detail level is high in the darker scenes also. Minor film artifacts and dust can be spotted, but generally the transfer is clean. There were scenes where the contrasts of the transfer didn’t look spot-on (e.g. some areas were very slightly overexposed), but nothing major. The Blu-ray-release might not be perfect, but most likely the best version of the film available. “BD-25”-disc is used and there are 16 chapters. The film runs 96:13 minutes and the disc is confirmed to be "Region All" (also back cover correctly states this). Review equipment: Sony Bravia KDL-40W2000 LCD (1080p) + Playstation 3, via HDMI cable.
Audio
Although “DTS-HD Master “-logo is printed on the cover, the film includes “only” the original Swedish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono-track (224 Kbps), together with dubbed English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (224 Kbps), just like the SD DVD. Optional English subtitles are included. Quite frankly the Mono-track is just fine for the film, even when it could be a bit better. There’s some hiss in the background and the dialogue sounds a bit “rough” in places. The scenes e.g. near the shore still sound quite powerful and the track is generally clear. I assume that the audio is taken from at least two sources, since during some scenes the audio sounded inferior to the rest of the film. English dub is not obviously recommended and that track is technically inferior anyway (more muffled and “old” sounding).
Extras
The both SD DVD and Blu-ray “50th Anniversary Special Edition”-releases have the same set of extras (Blu-ray-release is missing the booklet, though). Photo gallery and biographies from their earlier 2001-release (SD DVD) have been dropped. -“Karin's Face AKA Karins ansikte (1983)” -short film (in AVC MPEG-4) is also from director/writer Ingmar Bergman. It doesn’t have any dialogue (only music), but some of the Swedish text screens have optional English subtitles. Film runs 14:13 minutes (4:3, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono). The film focuses on the life of director’s own mother Karin Bergman (she died in 1964) via old photographs from the family album, but his father Erik (Lutheran pastor/chaplain) and some other members of the family also appear in the film. Erik Bergman married Karin in 1913. All is done in very beautiful and captivating way, with photographs and their details, only the haunting, quiet piano music in the background. Few text screens tell more about these people in the photographs and some history, but often there’s no need for real words. I’m personally very fond of photographic montages that are somehow “personal” and this really fits into that category. -“On-Set Footage (1956)” -featurette (in AVC MPEG-4) runs 14:49 minutes and includes English (no subtitles) Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie. Here we see old, silent 8mm footage tied in the production of “The Seventh Seal”. We see Bergman with his cast & crew scouting the locations, rehearsing or shooting in the studio and in location, or just relaxing in between scenes. At the same time the narrator tells of some bits and pieces about the production, cast & crew and the themes of the film. The featurette is very informative, but sadly is a bit too short. Full commentary for the film by Christie was a missed opportunity here. -Swedish Theatrical trailer (in AVC MPEG-4 - 2:44 minutes) have also optional English subtitles. NOTE, that this Blu-ray-release is actually a 2-disc set (called “Future Proof”-edition), with SD DVD-version on “Disc 2”. The SD DVD-disc is essentially the same, but doesn’t include the HD-transfer obviously. SD DVD-disc is “R0” and uses a “Dual layer”-disc, but everything is in PAL-format. Here’s the recap of the specs of the SD DVD-release: *The Film: 92:25 minutes (PAL) *4:3, Swedish and English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, optional English subtitles *Extras: -“Karin's Face AKA Karins ansikte (1983)” -short film (not time-coded) -“On-Set Footage (1956)” -featurette (14:12 minutes) -Theatrical trailer (2:37 minutes). Do note, that the individual SD DVD-release has also 12-page booklet (with liner notes by David Parkinson), which is not included in the 2-disc Blu-ray/SD DVD “Future Proof”-edition.
Overall
“Tartan Video” continues to present quality Blu-ray-releases (without the region coding, I might add) and does also full justice to one of the real classics of cinema; “The Seventh Seal”. The story of the film will always remain timeless and interesting, since religion, life and death have always surrounded us, one way or another. And always will be. “The Seventh Seal” might have lost some of its edge during the years for the younger generation, but for most movie buffs it lives on. Ingmar Bergman is gone, but his films are immortal. Enjoy. For more info, please visit the homepage of Tartan Video (UK).
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