DVD Edition Reminds Fans of ‘The Seventh Seal’s’ Pleasures
Perhaps the most charming side effect of DVD is that it allows the viewer to reconnect with forgotten masterpieces.
As the market is slowly flooded with more and more product, some of the newly released titles have an almost magical aura about them: They tempt you to rediscover them with a new cover design or a handful of extra features.
The Criterion Collection’s DVD edition of Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal†is actually a replica of the laserdisc released by the same label in 1987. But its reappearance is as good an excuse as any to enjoy it once again.
Budgeted at a modest $150,000 and shot in stark black and white, the 1957 film is a fascinating medieval tale that explores the most essential metaphysical questions with a devilish sense of humor and strikingly poetic images.
Besides a wonderful digital transfer, the edition includes a superb audio commentary by knowledgeable (if slightly snotty) British film scholar Peter Cowie. Unlike most lectures of its kind, this is one commentary that is simply not to be missed.
As soon as Cowie starts talking about Bergman’s filmic sorcery and the ferocity and candor of his images, you know you’re in good company. The man has met the director and has clearly spent hours deciphering the many symbols to be found in his work.
Listening to Cowie dissecting “The Seventh Seal†shot by shot, describing the movie as “a film of contrasts†and “the perfect vehicle for film teaching,†you feel as if he were giving you the keys to a series of doors that had been closed for a long time.
Cowie is wise enough to leave space in his lecture for the human touch, as when he describes staying up half the night with his father to talk about the movie after seeing it at a theater in the company of his irascible grandmother.
Most importantly, he emphasizes that although “The Seventh Seal†is a somber movie, it leaves you filled with hope and positive feelings. Even after the majestic figure of Death is seen on a hilltop leading most of the characters in a macabre dance to hell, you feel to the very end, in Cowie’s words, “the triumph of being alive.â€
Also included in the DVD is an excellent Bergman filmography, with insightful biographical comments, a plethora of stills, and excerpts from “Wild Strawberries†and “The Magician,†also enriched by Cowie’s commentary.
Ernesto Lechner can be reached at [email protected].
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