The Seventh Seal (1957)

Directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Gunnar Björnstrand, Max von Sydow, Nils Poppe, Bibi Andersson, Bengt Ekerot, Åke Fridell, Bertil Anderberg, Inga Gill, Erik Strandmark, Inga Landgré, Gunnel Lindblom, Maud Hansson, Gunnar Olsson.

Bergman’s allegorical meditation on the headiest existential themes available—no less than life, love, faith, and (especially) death—is a visually striking masterwork, profound yet accessible. Returning from the Crusades where he witnessed death all around him, knight von Sydow finds the country devastated by the plague; while pondering the meaning of it all, he encounters Death itself (Ekerot) and bargains for survival through a chess match. Sounds bleak on the surface, and its famous closing scene depicting the Danse Macabre is gorgeously haunting, but Bergman knows that a medieval morality play is useless without humanity (and all facets within). Squire Björnstrand’s cynical attitudes are a reassuring counterpoint to the knight’s somber piety, and there’s genuine warmth and humor in traveling actor Jof (Poppe) and his loving wife Mia (Andersson). Though not Bergman’s first great film, this was the one that finally brought him international acclaim.

97/100