Many American movie goers do not realize the true range of work that Max Von Sydow has done in his career. In American movies he has done the full range from classics like The Exorcist to not such classics like Judge Dredd and a whole host of movies in between where some were hits and some were misses. Many Americans do not know the long and successful career Von Sydow had making movies for Ingmar Bergman. It is also a shame that many people do not know that Ingmar Bergman movies have more to do with American movies that the American audiences realize. One of those jewels you can uncover when you look back at the work of Ingmar Bergman is the 1957 movie The Seventh Seal. It is a dark portrayal of life in the middle ages and an almost frustrating look at the futility of life from Ingmar Bergman’s point of view. The Seventh Seal features a knight’s page who is a cynical man that holds no hope for mankind and no hope for any religious salvation or future. In many ways Ingmar Bergman identified with this page from The Seventh Seal and wrote many of his stories from that point of view. The Seventh Seal is a dark and brooding picture that seems to lament the living of life as much as it celebrates the end of it. The plot line is only a vehicle for Ingmar Bergman’s personal point of view and it is presented very well both the way it was written and the acting as well.

The Seventh Seal is a story about a knight named Block, played by Von Sydow, who returns from 10 years at the Crusades only to find his homeland ravaged by the Black Plague and that Death is running rampant. After being home only a short time Block is shocked to see Death coming for him as well and Block becomes desperate as he wants to see his family at least once before he dies because he has not seen them in 10 years. Block challenges Death to a game of chess to delay Death in taking Block’s life so that Block may see his family again. American movie goers will recognize this part of The Seventh Seal as the same concept of delaying Death by challenging Death to games is used in Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey. The Bill and Ted movie even uses the same exact Death costume that is used in The Seventh Seal and the Death character in Bill and Ted has a German accent like the Death in The Seventh Seal. The difference between Bill and Ted and The Seventh Seal is that in The Seventh Seal you are never going to defeat Death in chess. The knight knows he will eventually lose but he is just trying to stall Death so that the knight can see his family and also so a young family can escape Death while Block has Death occupied.

In the end the cynical Page plays the opposite role of hope against Block’s constant faith that everything will turn out okay. It is a dark story with many twists and the young family that Block saves with his stalling tactics is said to represent the Holy Family from the story of Jesus. There was a young man, a young woman, and a baby and it raises the question of what Ingmar Bergman is trying to say. Is he saying that with faith there can be hope? It is hard to say for sure but it can be said that Ingmar Bergman was a genius.