Jag spelar schack med Döden
Aug. 12th, 2007 10:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pallas_athenaMy local cinema is showing Bergman's The Seventh Seal, and last night I went to see it with the ever lovely ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fracture242.
Bergman's own recent checkmate by Death saddened me. I loved so many of his films: in addition to Seventh Seal, I adore Smiles of a Summer Night (which Stephen Sondheim adapted for his musical A Little Night Music) and of course The Magic Flute, which to this day is one of the best examples of opera on film.
Seeing The Seventh Seal in all its monochrome glory on the big screen, the overall effect is one of terrifying clarity. On the one hand, the gaps in the production values are more obvious-- yes, they're wearing faked-up knitwear chainmail-- but on the other, moments like Death's appearance in the blinding light on the stony beach have about ten times the impact.
What filmmaker today would dare portray Death without using CGI? Or the dream-visions of the actor Jof? Bergman does it all with acting: the story is told on the faces, in merciless close-ups which are all the more revealing on the big screen.
In the opening scene, Death asks the Knight why he wants more time. The Knight replies "To accomplish one meaningful thing." In the Knight's case, he means seeing his wife again after ten years on crusade-- but in Bergman's, I think, that thing was this film. It's amazing in so many ways.
fracture242. Bergman's own recent checkmate by Death saddened me. I loved so many of his films: in addition to Seventh Seal, I adore Smiles of a Summer Night (which Stephen Sondheim adapted for his musical A Little Night Music) and of course The Magic Flute, which to this day is one of the best examples of opera on film.
Seeing The Seventh Seal in all its monochrome glory on the big screen, the overall effect is one of terrifying clarity. On the one hand, the gaps in the production values are more obvious-- yes, they're wearing faked-up knitwear chainmail-- but on the other, moments like Death's appearance in the blinding light on the stony beach have about ten times the impact.
What filmmaker today would dare portray Death without using CGI? Or the dream-visions of the actor Jof? Bergman does it all with acting: the story is told on the faces, in merciless close-ups which are all the more revealing on the big screen.
In the opening scene, Death asks the Knight why he wants more time. The Knight replies "To accomplish one meaningful thing." In the Knight's case, he means seeing his wife again after ten years on crusade-- but in Bergman's, I think, that thing was this film. It's amazing in so many ways.