Media gallery for
The Seventh Seal

Swedish poster. 

Bergman mentioned Albert Dürer’s chalcography Knight, Death and the Devil from the early 16th century as one of the sources of artistic inspiration for The Seventh Seal.

In the book Pictures Bergman wrote: "Out at Solna we had youngest fire captain in Sweden – generally known as Squirt-Olle. He was given orders to prepare the bonfire. Squirt-Olle turned out to be an inverted pyromaniac of the first order."

One of the most well known scenes of film history was filmed in Hovs hallar.

When Bergman set up his one-act play Wood Painting, which has many similarities with The Seventh Seal, on the stage of the Malmö Municipal Theatre 1954, Bengt Ekerot (Death) played the knight. While Gunnar Björnstrand played his later film role as the squire.

The knight (Max von Sydow) tells the priest how he’s going to play chess with death (Bengt Ekerot) and unveils his strategy, only to find out his been tricked by Death, disguised as priest.

German leaflet for The Seventh Seal.

Bergman, Bibi Andersson (Mia), Gunnar Björnstrand (Jöns, the knight’s squire) and Gunnar Fischer during the filming of The Seventh Seal.

A point worthy of note – and which perhaps confirms that it was with this film that Bergman followed Bibi Andersson’s advice to move away from comedy – is that the finished screenplay bears a dedication to her.

Inga Gill (Lisa) and Bergman during the filming of The Seventh Seal.

About his long-lasting collaboration with Bergman, Max von Sydow wrote in the book Flea Circus from the 1970s: "I have never consciously studied how Ingmar does it as a director – but some parts have gotten to me anyway. I think I’ve learned a lot about dramatic rhythm from him, and about the interaction between aggression and attraction between characters. As well as general work discipline."

Antonius (Max von Sydow), again, meets Death (Bengt Ekerot) at the chessboard. The game is yet to be concluded.

Jof (Nils Poppe) and his wife Mia (Bibi Andersson). A few years later Nils Poppe would play the role of Bibi Andersson’s father in The Devil’s Eye.

Cinematographer Gunnar Fischer recalls the shooting as adventurous. On the subject of the lightning for the most famous of all scenes in the film, in which the knight plays chess with Death, Fischer remarked: "You can see that each of them has a 2 kW lamp behind him, illuminating his profile. People said to me that that has to mean there are two suns. ’Yes that is quite right,’ I said. But if you can accept Death sitting playing a game of chess, then you can also accept two suns […]".

Maud Hansson was supposed to participate in two other of Bergman productions. First in Wild Strawberries the same year and the year after in The Venetian. She is however most known, at least to a Swedish audience, for her role as Lina in the TV series Emil of Lönneberga.

Antonius Block (Max von Sydow): "Why can’t I kill God within me? Why does he live on in this painful and humiliating way, even though I curse him and want to tear him out of my heart? Why, in spite of everything, is he a baffling reality that I can’t shake off?"

Antonius Block (Max von Sydow), Jöns the knight’s squire (Gunnar Björnstrand) and the witch (Maud Hansson).

The squire Jöns (Gunnar Björnstrand) and jester Jof (Nils Poppe).

Bengt Ekerot (Death) and Bergman during the filming of The Seventh Seal.

Antonius Block (Max von Sydow), Jof (Nils Poppe), Mia (Bibi Andersson) and the squire Jöns (Gunnar Björnstrand).

Bergman was inspired by a medieval painting in the ceiling of the church of Täby, painted by Albertus Pictor. The painting depicts a knight playing chess with Death. The working title for the film was Knight and Death.

Page from the shooting script.

Page from the shooting script.

A draft for Knight and Death, the original to The Seventh Seal.

The knight: "My body is afraid, but I am not."

Handwritten unorganized script notes to The Seventh Seal.

Death (Bengt Ekerot): "Have you lost interest?”