The Seventh Seal
The story of a challenge to death.
1957 • 96 min • Fantasy · Drama
Synopsis
When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the belief that God does not exist, Block sets off on a journey, meeting up with traveling players Jof and his wife, Mia, and becoming determined to evade Death long enough to commit one redemptive act while he still lives.
Our family guide
Best from age 14- 100 Reviewers · 2 · 51%
- 81 Audience · 3399 · 49%
A disillusioned knight returning from the Crusades challenges Death to a chess match during the Black Death, hoping to find meaning and perform one good deed. He journeys with traveling players, grappling with faith, despair, and the inevitability of mortality.
- Violence & peril
- 3/10
- Language
- 1/10
- Drinking, drugs & smoking
- 2/10
- Romance & sensuality
- 1/10
- Scary moments
- 4/10
Heads up
- Discussions of plague and death
- Brief scenes of a witch burning
- Moments of intense despair and fear
- Some unsettling imagery
What it models well
- Seeking meaning and purpose
- Love and family bonds
- Courage in the face of despair
- Protecting innocence
Talk about it after
- The meaning of life and death
- Questions of faith and doubt
- How people cope with fear
- The importance of kindness
Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for The Seventh Seal. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.
Where to watch
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Top billed cast
Director: Ingmar Bergman • Crew: Ingmar Bergman
Trailers & clips
The Seventh Seal (1957) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]
Mark Kermode reviews The Seventh Seal | BFI Player
Reviewer notes
RecommendedTrusted family reviewersNow of course everyone’s favourite Max von Sydow film is “Flash Gordon” (1980) but I reckon this performance for Ingmar Bergman might be almost as good! With the dreaded Black Death sweeping his homeland, “Block” (MvS) returns from the Crusades with his squire “Jöns” (Gunnar Björnstrand) only to find himself barely off the boat before he encounters the apparently quite reasonable grim reaper himself.…
RecommendedTrusted family reviewers**The universality and invincibility of Death, the fear of dying, the importance of faith and its use by the Church in a timeless film, but not suitable for everyone.** The film, set in the late Middle Ages, begins with a knight returning to his homeland in Sweden after participating in the crusades.…
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Details
- TMDB audience
- 8.1/10 (3,399)
- Age rating
- NR
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $150,000
- Box office
- $311,212
- IMDb
- tt0050976