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The Seventh Seal Movie Review

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Actors: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Bengt Ekerat, Nils Poppe, Bibi Andersson

Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Seventh Seal

A medieval Swedish knight and his earthy squire return home after twenty devastating years spent in a futile Crusade. They return to a land haunted by plague, social disintegration and the figure of Death. The Knight encounters a group of itinerant actors and offers to escort them through a frightening forest. Meanwhile, he plays an ongoing game of chess with Death itself, gaining a temporary reprieve for himself and his companions. The Knight battles his own doubts about the existence of God, while he protects a carefree young family of actors from the clutches of his otherworldly opponent.
--Jan Thompson, Resident Scholar

The knight Antonius Block returns to his homeland, medieval Sweden, with his squire Jons after 10 years of fighting in the Crusades. The Black Death is ravaging the land. When Death himself meets Block and tells him his time has come, the knight requests a game of chess with his life as the stake. Death agrees. While they play, Block also roams the countryside, looking for his castle and wife, and seeing how the populace is dealing (or failing to cope) with the plague. Among the people they meet are a troupe of travelling performers, including a young couple with a child, who are still optimistic and drunk on life. This stark 1957 film brought writer-director Ingmar Bergman international fame. British director Peter Greenaway has said that when he saw this movie, he knew he had to become a filmmaker.

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout.

--David Loftus, Resident Scholar

Analysis of The Seventh Seal

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie: - middle ages
Inner struggle or disability Yes
Struggle with - religious issues

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - Prince/Nobleman/King
Age: - 20's-30's - 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Hair color? - blonde - brunette (Black)
Hair type - (man) very short/crewcut - (man) short/standard straight
Body type - (man) very skinny - (man) muscular
Events of movie makes character more... - caring - sad
Ethnicity/Nationality - Scandinavian
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor? - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic - average physique

Secondary Main Character
Identity: - Male
Hair color - brunette (Brown)
Hair style - (man) very short/crewcut
Body type - (man) average build
How much in movie? - 60% - 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality - Scandinavian

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - killer - religious figure
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - mind reading - can see into the future - teleportation - Invisibility - can read emotions
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - 20% - 40%
Hair color - bald
Hair type - (man) bald
Body type - (man) average
Ethnicity/Nationality - Scandinavian
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - Scandinavia
Forest? Yes
Misc setting - castle

Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Movie makes you feel... - in awe - spiritual
Check here if B&W Yes
Non-American film? Yes
What language? - Scandinavian
Subtitles? - Yes
Any profanity? - None

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