Past Film/Video | Series & Festivals

The Seventh Seal

(Det sjunde inseglet, Ingmar Bergman, 1957)

A black and white image of a man in a mask standing across from another man.

BERGMAN'S 100TH BIRTHDAY!

It made me realize that films can be art. It inspired me to become a film director. This is one of the most powerful and significant films ever made. --Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct)

The Seventh Seal is a cultural touchstone with images so imitated (and sometimes parodied) that its timeless power and stark visual poetry can’t be forgotten. Returning exhausted from the Crusades to find medieval Sweden gripped by the Plague, a knight (the great Max von Sydow in a career-defining role) suddenly finds himself face-to-face with the hooded figure of Death—and then challenges him in a game of chess. It’s one of world cinema’s finest allegories of humankind’s search for meaning, in a work that director Éric Rohmer called “one of the most beautiful films ever.” With Gunnar Björnstrand, Bibi Andersson, and Bengt Ekerot as the definitive on-screen vision of the Grim Reaper. (96 mins., 35mm)

A black and white image of a man in a mask standing across from another man.

The Seventh Seal, image courtesy of Janus Films

SEASON SUPPORT FOR FILM/VIDEO

Rohauer Collection Foundation

 

SUPPORT FOR THE FILM/VIDEO STUDIO PROGRAM

Institute of Museum and Library Services

National Endowment for the Arts

 

GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT FOR THE WEXNER CENTER

Greater Columbus Arts Council

Ohio Arts Council

The Columbus Foundation

Nationwide Foundation

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Past Film/Video

The Seventh Seal