Tuesday, July 25, 2006

the seventh seal



The other night I watched The Seventh Seal. I don't know. In terms of enjoyment, I give it three of five stars I guess. Ingmar Bergman is just so fantastically depressing. Why does he have to be that way? I guess because he didn't know the Prince of Peace. That, too, is depressing.

Its technically excellent, has moments of real beauty and thoughtfulness, and is better than 95% of movies. Overall, I'd say its one of those movies you should watch before you die. But don't be in too much of a hurry.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

No thanks. Don't need any theatrical depression! There's enough real stuff trying to rob me of my peace and joy.

Texanglican (R.W. Foster+) said...

Father, I have to give "The Seventh Seal" a much better review than you have. It has been a "must see" movie for me for twenty-five years. I watch it once a year, every year. And in that time, I have identified most strongly with virtually every major character. I started out feeling a strong kinship with 'the squire' Jans, spent my early twenties as the knight. Then fancied myself as the Geoff the juggler, after my conversion. More often than not, these days I am probably more like the silent girl that Jans rescued, watching ECUSA drift into irrelevancy, speechless. So my advice to readers, rent it and watch it immediately. There is something valuable there for every thoughtful viewer!

Fr Andrew Petiprin said...

I agree with Tex Anglican. The Seventh Seal is a great masterpiece from all sorts of different perspectives. Bergman is, amazingly, still alive by the way.

Amber said...

I first saw the Seventh Seal when I was 16. From that time on, it has provided me with the meta-narrative for my life. It is a very, very good movie. It is on a certain plateau that to which few cinematographic efforts ascend, perhaps not as good as the volleyball scene from Top Gun, but close.