The Seventh Seal (1957)
(Det sjunde inseglet, Ingmar Bergman, Sweden 1957, 96 min., 35mm, Swedish w/subtitles)
Bergman Centennial. The most recognizable of Bergman’s films, thanks to the iconic personalization of death as a hooded, robed, pale, and intimidating figure, The Seventh Seal is also the first to receive wide international acclaim, capturing the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Frequent Bergman collaborator Max von Sydow plays Antonius Block, a disillusioned knight returning from the Crusades only to find Denmark ravaged by the bubonic plague. Block meets the figure of death upon returning and, concerned about his own mortality, challenges Death to a chess match, believing that he can forestall his own demise as long as Death is distracted by the game.