For the narrate, I maintain the novel DVD release of The Seventh Seal along with this original HD transfer Blu Ray release and have done a dinky situation checking comparisons between the two.
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For those that are unaware of what this film is, it has become an icon in the art house circle of film. The film won the Special Jury Prize at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival; a testament to its impact in this arena. I don’t pay mind to “Artsy” films and usually don’t be pleased them, however I took a chance on the novel Criterion DVD release and loved it; thus the need and desire to upgrade to Blu Ray.
The chronicle is one of a knight (Antonius Block) and his squire (Jöns) returning from the Crusades only to gather that his homeland is being conquered by the plague. He travels the land towards his goal of being reunited with, what he has stated, is a wife whom he married young and has not seen for the 10 years he spent in the Crusades. In the opening scene Anotonius is greeted by Death. In a sequence that has been parodied in several films (Bill & Ted battling Death at Twister comes to mind), Antonius challenges death to a game of chess. If Anotonius wins, he goes on with his life; if he loses, his life comes to an slay. The game is not finished in a first sitting and there are several scenes in which the game takes a role.
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As he travels, a rag notice band of people accompany him; a smith, the smith’s wife, a woman whom Jöns saves from death and rape and two actors and their child with whom Antonius shares strawberries and milk in a scene where he begins to feel at peace.
Antonius struggles with his lot in life; questioning the existence of God, begging Death to lend him some of evidence of God’s existence (to which Death offers none) and eventually accepting his fate and using his reprieve to put the lives of the actors and their child thus giving meaning to a life which he felt meaningless.
To earn to the Blu Ray specific details, the video is transferred from a freshly prepared and restored film master. At least one sequence I capture seeing hurt in the unique DVD, which is shown in Criterion’s current “how was it remastered” extra, is no longer damaged in this transfer. In fact, there was no easily apparent distress to be found anywhere and a more pristine print is likely unattainable. Criterion did a profitable job on the video transfer and have given the video an upgrade it desperately deserved. It is presented on the Blu Ray disc in it’s new aspect ratio of 1.37:1 so anyone expecting a cropped, stretched or otherwise molested image will be disappointed. Everyone expecting a movie presented in its recent aspect ratio will certainly be glad.
Not being a tremendous expert on things like film grain and what formats point to more grain than others when transferred to HD, I have to execute it known that there IS grain prove in this film. I don’t know, however, whether this grain is due to the modern format of the masters or if Criterion added said grain during their transfer.
On the audio side, you have the current Swedish mono audio remastered and restored in 24 bit LPCM uncompressed format. There isn’t a pop, click or crackle to be found, fair certain audio free of defects and bellow. Also available, and I’m unaware of the format of it or if it has any damage/hiss/pop/crackle, is an optional English language dubbed sound track which I did not listen to.
Subtitles are improved from the unique DVD release as the subtitles are a more literal translation. I admit to not really noticing a mammoth dissimilarity in this arena, but if Criterion claims to have improved them, I will acquire their word for it.
For extras you have quite a few unusual ones (and all the former ones, minus one, detailed below) :
-Introduction to the movie by Ingmar Burgman (originally intended for presentation prior to playing the film on Swedish TV)
-Audio commentary by Peter Cowie (same as the modern DVD release)
-Afterword on the commentary by Cowie (novel)
-Bergman Island (region of mini-documentaries merged to construct 1- 83 puny documentary w/ interviews of Bergman; first time on any home video format)
-Archival audio only interview with Antonius Block actor, Max von Sydow
-1989 tribute to Bergman by Woody Allen
-Original trailer
-Bergman 101 (Peter Cowie gives a selected filmography of Bergman’s work)
For packed in extras, you will receive a printed booklet with an essay by film critic Gary Giddins. It’s a very high quality printing.
The only extra that doesn’t seem to have made the transfer to HD, as it was really specific to the current DVD release, was the Restoration Demonstration. Everything else from the fresh is included, along with quite a few, very valid, additions.
If you fill the unique DVD release and want to believe the definitive edition of the movie, you shouldn’t hesitate to win up this Blu Ray disc.
If you contain the fresh and don’t really care for the film or don’t feel the need to upgrade, then nothing on this release will change your mind.
If you don’t fill the previous release and want to peer what all the “fuss” is about and want it in as perfect a presentation as is possible, pick this on Blu Ray.
As a heed, the recent DVD release is “matted” in order to ensure every TV/display shows off as powerful of the release as possible. Only the Blu Ray disc retains the recent 1.37:1 ratio.
The film:
Bergman is one of those things. He won’t appeal to everyone. It’s arty, yes. It’s high conception. But really, when you acquire down to it, many of his movies are not hard to gape at all. This one might be the most accessible. Max Von Sydow plays a crusading knight returning home wearily after a long campaign. With his servant, he encounters a country besieged by plague and despair. Against this backdrop, he encounters Death, whom he challenges to a chess match. Does he want to live forever? No. He wants answers to his soul-chilling skepticism about God and life.
The performances are all very capable, especially Von Sydow and Gunnar Björnstrand as his squire. Dialogue is clipped and spare, but evocative. Sydow has some particularly superior scenes in the chapel, confessing his doubts.
Overall, it’s easy to gape why this film is hailed as a classic. It’s deep, but also brief enough and paced well enough to be exquisite. The ending is a bit cryptic, but not in an off-putting diagram. It should definitely be viewed by anyone with an start mind for “world cinema.”
The Blu-Ray:
This is a grand transfer. This is what I’m certain we all hoped “Dr. Strangelove” would be. There is a delicate, regular grain structure which allows us to perceive terrific detail, especially in foliage, facial features, and cloth textures. Dismal levels are solid and consistent, so objects in the shadows are always well delineated.
You MUST perform obvious your gamma and brightness are location well! This is a film in which a lot of stuff can be lost in the shadows – it is very high disagreement. In the opening shot, if your explain is crushing blacks, the mountains will search for like one murky blob, when in fact there is a grand amount of detail and shading on rocks. SO: if you do not have a disc like Digital Video Essentials, at the very least pop in a Lucasfilm disc to employ the “THX Calibrator.” It has a contrast/brightness pattern that should glean you situation true.
Extras include a LONG documentary/interview fragment with Bergman in his later life, presented in 1080i. Commentary is provided by a film scholar.
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If you are a fan of Bergman or this film, this is a no-brainer. There is detail here you’d never explore on a DVD, and the dusky levels (so notable on a b/w film like this) are considerable deeper and more consistent than any SD presentation could allow. Extras are a nice complement, and for the label, you really can’t beat this, especially compared to what Criterion releases cost unbiased a few short years ago.
If you’re more of a neophyte to this kind of cinema, you should rent first. Sight if you like this sort of thing. Don’t be daunted by the reputation of this and other Criterion releases. Give it a generous objective try. You might be pleasantly surprised.
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