8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Disillusioned and exhausted after a decade of battling in the Crusades, a knight encounters Death on a desolate beach and challenges him to a fateful game of chess.
Starring: Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe, Max von Sydow, Bibi AnderssonDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 87% |
Surreal | 18% |
Imaginary | 7% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.38:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Swedish: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital Mono (192 kbps)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" (1957) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include an original trailer for the film; archival audio commentary by film scholar Peter Cowie; additional featurettes; audio interview with actor Max von Sydow; and more. In Swedish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
And if I win you set me free?
Criterion's release of The Seventh Seal is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray disc is Region-A "locked".
The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this release:
"This restoration was undertaken by the Swedish Film Institute from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative made on a Scannity film scanner. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic track."
Please note that all screencaptures that are used in this review are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray. Also, the 4K content is not graded with Dolby Vision or/and HDR.
The Seventh Seal was fully restored in 4K in 2018. During the same year, the 4K restoration was introduced via Criterion's Ingmar Bergman's Cinema box set. You can see our review of this release here. Now, this 4K Blu-ray release allows you to see the 4K restoration in native 4K. Fourteen years ago, Criterion also produced this Blu-ray release, which was sourced from a different master.
If you have seen our review of the Blu-ray release that introduced the 4K restoration, you already know how I feel about the work that was done during the 4K makeover. The Seventh Seal looks spotless and its visuals frequently boast tremendous density levels, so it has an undeniably attractive appearance. However, on the 4K restoration, there are small traces of noise reduction and they produce some undesirable side effects. The visuals are still very good, but trained eyes will recognize that they could have spectacular. On my system, darker areas with nuanced shadows tend to expose the side effects the most, but occasionally even daylight footage does. (See screencaptures #3, 15, 25). The higher resolution of 4K Blu-ray hides them a bit bitter -- because 4K tightens up all visuals -- but I was able to notice them just as easily as I did in 1080p. Also, areas that looked very good in 1080p now tend to look slightly better, so some of the most obvious discrepancies are simply replicated in native 4K. The grasycale is outstanding, but perhaps in some areas balance could have been even better without the emerging side effects. (See screencapture #4). This being said, I prefer the less contrasty look of the visuals on the 4K makeover, but the larger your screen is, the easier it becomes to recognize the side effects that are highlited above.
Should you upgrade if you already have the previous Blu-ray release in your collection? Well, the previous Blu-ray release -- the one that introduced the 4K restoration in 1080p -- was available only in the Ingmar Bergman's Cinema box set. So, the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack is easier to recommend to folks that do not have the box set in their collections. What if you already have the box set in your collection? I would say that the jump in quality from 1080p to native 4K is quite small, or at least it appeared quite small on my system. So, if possible, find a way to rent the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack and decide whether the jump in quality is good enough for you to invest in it. My score is 4.75/5.00.
There are two standard audio tracks on this release: Swedish LPCM 1.0 and English Dolby Digital 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the Swedish track.
I always view The Seventh Seal with the original Swedish track. The LPCM 1.0 track is the same track that was offered on the previous Blu-ray release of the 4K restoration of the film. I think that the quality of the audio is outstanding. There are no technical anomalies or errors to report in our review.
4K BLU-RAY DISC
Criterion's upcoming 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack gives you the opportunity to view the 4K restoration of The Seventh Seal that was prepared in 2018 in native 4K. Until now, the 4K restoration was available only on Blu-ray, which was included only in the massive Ingmar Bergman's Cinema box set. The 4K restoration is very good, but I think that it could have been spectacular. If you have in your collection only Criterion's original Blu-ray release of The Seventh Seal from 2009, the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack should be on your radar. Despite my reservations about some of the work that was done on the 4K restoration, the native 4K presentation is the best presentation of The Seventh Seal that I have seen to date. If you already have the massive box set and are trying to decide whether to invest in the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack, I think that you need to find a way to rent the latter and see how the 4K restoration looks in native 4K on your system. There is an undeniable jump in quality from 1080p to 4K, but it is not dramatic. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
1966
Hamnstad
1948
Smultronstället
1957
Ansiktet
1958
Otto e mezzo / Federico Fellini's 8½
1963
2003
Till glädje
1950
Riten / The Ritual
1969
Törst
1949
Efter repetitionen
1984
En passion
1969
Nära livet
1958
Skepp till Indialand / A Ship Bound for India
1947
Kvinnodröm
1955
Gycklarnas afton
1953
Tystnaden
1963
Scener ur ett äktenskap
1973
Nattvardsgästerna
1963
Såsom i en spegel
1961
Fanny och Alexander
1982