Few films have had as large a cultural impact as Ingmar Bergmans The Seventh Seal (Det sjunde inseglet). Disillusioned and exhausted after a decade of battling in the Crusades, a knight (Max von Sydow) encounters Death on a desolate beach and challenges him to a fateful game of chess.
Much studied, imitated, even parodied, but never outdone, Bergmans stunning allegory of mans search for meaning was one of the benchmark foreign imports of Americas 1950s art house heyday, pushing cinemas boundaries and ushering in a new era of moviegoing.