The Seventh Seal

[Tristan H]

Okay, I bought the Criterion disc recently and managed to sit down and watch this a day ago and was expecting something very special. I'd never seen the film before, nor for that matter had I seen anything by Bergman, but I gave it a shot. Now, I have a number of problems with the film. Firstly, I thought it was rather boring. There are some genuinely stunning moments, but it felt too drawn out and rather glum looking. The characters were very strange and they seemed to simply amble about with the threat of Death striking them down. The chess scene was movie magic at its best, but I couldn't help but feel slightly underwhelmed by it.

I was surprised by my reaction as I've thoroughly enjoyed a great deal of older foreign films recently, eg 8 1/2, Rififi, Grand Illusion, The Discreet Charm of the Beourgeoisie, That Obscure Object of Desire etc. I find it very frustrating when I fail to connect with a film that is so well known and well appreciated by film fans. So, what I'm getting at, is how did other people react to this when they first saw it and does it require a number of viewings to establish a true understanding of the film?

[Foxy Slamdangle]

You may get slated for your blasphemy, but I felt (almost) exactly the same after my first viewing of the film. I've seen it around 8 times now and it gets better with every viewing. Keep trying :)

I suggest you also search around the net as there are a few sites/essays devoted to the film which may help your 'understanding' of it.

I still prefer <I>Wild Strawberries</I> tho' (hurry up Criterion)

[davey1970]

can't remember a hell of a lot about it, but I did like it a lot.

i suppose it is quite a subtle (only in some ways though!) film, and I also remember quite a bit of humour in it.

I suppose as well that some of the iconic images in it just seem so well known to us now,when i'm sure they would have had more impact when it came out.

i gota say though in my book it's nowhere near being in my top 10 or even 100 thinking about it.

but good!

d

[BiscLimpkit]

I agree with the OP - I reckon others see more in this film than I do. However, it is a very subtle film and one that warrants multiple viewings I reckon. I much prefer the only other Bergman title I've seen - The Hour of the Wolf.

[oblig]

Well this is one of my favourite films ever and really does improve with repeated viewings. Yet I know those who don't get through it or are bored by it.

I think you need to understand some of the philosophical background that inspired this film. Bergman is wrestling with the idea of the existence of God and the point of life, he is exploring existentialism post Nietzsche and Sartre, but also trying to hang onto a glimmer of faith in something 'other', he doesn't want to settle for nihilism. It is also interesting that it is not only what the characters believe about life and death but what difference those beliefs make to their existence. Those without faith are cynical, those with are more hopeful, of course it is Bergman's point that death gets them all in the end. Yet their journeys are different because of their beliefs.

I love your point about them 'ambling around in the face of death', you have hit the nail on the head, most people do this too, even in our (post)modern society. The film points this out but also invites the watcher to start to explore some of the existential questions of life and death

[Wendell Armbruster]

The chess scene was movie magic at its best, but I couldn't help but feel slightly underwhelmed by it.

Then how do you feel when you see movie magic at its worst? You sound like Bergman's target audience, so you should give the film another go. It was the personification of European art cinema of the 1950s, a huge hit with the intelligentsia and thought to have deep religious significance. For instance, in 1968 the great American critic Andrew Sarris described the ending of 2001 as "instant Ingmar," alluding to the deliberate obfuscation and iconic enigma that Bergman had created. It has been the subject of send-up and satire - there was a brilliant 15-minute short called The Dove, there was Monty Python and of course Woody Allen. Personally I prefer other Bergman movies to this one (Wild Strawberries and Persona) but The Seventh Seal is part of a group of movies that sum up an entire era of movie-making - Rashomon, La Strada, Rocco and his Brothers, A Bout de Souffle, Jules et Jim, Viridiana, Ashes and Diamonds, Last Year in Marienbad, L'Avventura, Pather Panchali, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning . . .

[JoelCairo]

It was the personification of European art cinema of the 1950s, a huge hit with the intelligentsia . . .
It certainly was!