Few films have had as large a cultural impact as Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal (Det sjunde inseglet). Disillusioned and exhausted after a decade of battling in the Crusades, a knight (Max von Sydow) encounters Death on a desolate beach and challenges him to a fateful game of chess. Much studied, imitated, even parodied, but never outdone, Bergman’s stunning allegory of man’s search for meaning was one of the benchmark foreign imports of America’s 1950s art house heyday, pushing cinema’s boundaries and ushering in a new era of moviegoing.
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
• New, restored high-definition digital transfer
• Introduction by Ingmar Bergman, recorded in 2003
• Audio commentary by Bergman expert Peter Cowie
• A new afterword to the commentary by Cowie
• Bergman Island (2006), an 83-minute documentary on Bergman by Marie Nyreröd, featuring in-depth and revealing interviews with the director
• Archival audio interview with Max von Sydow
• A 1998 tribute to Bergman by filmmaker Woody Allen
• Theatrical trailer
• Bergman 101, a selected video filmography tracing Bergman’s career, narrated by Cowie
• Optional English-dubbed soundtrack
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Gary Giddins

Stills from The Seventh Seal (Click for larger image)