The Seventh Seal Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'The Seventh Seal')

1) Criterion (original) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Criterion (Ingmar Bergman's Cinema) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

Sweden 1957

Antonius Block (Max Von Sydow), a knight, returns from a 10-year crusade with his squire, Jons (Gunnar Bjornstrand), to find his homeland ravaged by the plague. When the black-cloaked figure of Death (Bengt Ekerot) appears to claim them, Block, whose war experiences have left him cynical about the existence of God and the afterlife, challenges Death to a game of chess to stall for time and gain some insight into the meaning of life before passing on. The game is intermittently paused and resumed during the journey home while Block and Jons meet several traveling companions, including a mute girl (Gunnel Lindblom) whom they save from a bandit, and a family of poor traveling players--Jof, a gentle visionary (Nils Poppe); his wife, Mia (Bibi Andersson); and their infant daughter. Block witnesses much suffering and anguish along the way (an encounter with a woman accused of witchcraft who is about to be burned at the stake is especially jarring) but also finds evidence of human kindness and love, prompting him to realize that even a single gesture of goodwill might make the long struggle of his existence worthwhile. The title of Ingmar Bergman's highly acclaimed allegorical film stems from the Book of Revelation.

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, Bergman’s stunning allegory of man’s search for meaning, The Seventh Seal (Det sjunde inseglet), was one of the benchmark foreign imports of America’s 1950s art-house heyday, pushing cinema’s boundaries and ushering in a new era of moviegoing.

Theatrical Release: May 15th, 1957 (Cannes Film Festival)

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Comparison:

Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Tartan - Region - FREE Blu-ray vs. Criterion (original) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. Criterion (Ingmar Bergman's Cinema) - Region FREE - Blu-ray

1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT

2) Tartan - Region - FREE Blu-ray SECOND

3) Criterion (original) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray THIRD

4) Criterion (Ingmar Bergman's Cinema) - Region 'FREE - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Cover

Distribution	Criterion Region 0 - NTSC	Tartan - Region - FREE Blu-ray	Criterion (original) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray	Criterion (Ingmar Bergman's Cinema) - Region 'FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:37:30	1:36:13.392	1:37:38.894	1:37:03.818
Video	1.63:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.59 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 22,550,087,928 bytes Feature: 16,988,663,808 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 21.93 Mbps	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,693,955,920 bytes Feature: 28,593,420,288 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.49 Mbps	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,605,995,405 bytes Feature: 28,787,042,304 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.96 Mbps
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate : MGM
Bitrate: Tartan - Region - FREE Blu-ray
Bitrate: Criterion (original) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Bitrate: Criterion (Ingmar Bergman's Cinema) - Region 'FREE - Blu-ray
Audio	Dolby Digital Audio Swedish 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps DUB: Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps	Dolby Digital Audio Swedish 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps DUB: Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps	LPCM Audio Swedish 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit DUB: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps	LPCM Audio Swedish 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit DUB: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, None	English, None	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by noted film historian Peter Cowie. • Theatrical trailer with optional English subtitle.. • An annotated, illustrated Bergman filmography, featuring excerpts from Wild Strawberries and The Magician with commentary. • Improved English subtitles. • Restoration demonstration. DVD Release Date: Re-issue: October 29th, 2001 Keep Case Chapters 28	Release Information: Studio: Tartan 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 22,550,087,928 bytes Feature: 16,988,663,808 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 21.93 Mbps Edition Details: • Includes the SD 50th Anniversary edition • Original Trailer (2:36). • Karin's Face (1984) - 13:42 • Onset Footage (1958) - 14:11 Blu-ray Release Date: December 3rd, 2007 Blu-ray case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Criterion 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,693,955,920 bytes Feature: 28,593,420,288 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.49 Mbps Edition Details: • Introduction by Ingmar Bergman, recorded in 2003 (2:56) • 87' audio commentary by Bergman expert Peter Cowie, with a new afterword (10:33) • Bergman Island (2006), a documentary on Bergman by Marie Nyreröd, featuring in-depth and revealing interviews with the director (1:23:18 16X9) • Archival audio interview with Max von Sydow (19:49) • A 1989 tribute to Bergman by filmmaker Woody Allen (7:14) • Theatrical trailer (2:35) • Bergman 101, a selected video filmography tracing Bergman’s career, narrated by Cowie (35:18) • Optional English-dubbed soundtrack • 26-page booklet featuring an essay by critic Gary Giddins Blu-ray Release Date: June 16th, 2009 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 15	Release Information: Studio: Criterion 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,605,995,405 bytes Feature: 28,787,042,304 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.96 Mbps Edition Details: • Introduction by Ingmar Bergman, recorded in 2003 (2:56) • 87' audio commentary by Bergman expert Peter Cowie, with a new afterword (10:33) • Bergman Island (2006), a documentary on Bergman by Marie Nyreröd, featuring in-depth and revealing interviews with the director (1:23:18 16X9) • Archival audio interview with Max von Sydow (19:49) • A 1989 tribute to Bergman by filmmaker Woody Allen (7:14) • Theatrical trailer (2:35) • Bergman 101, a selected video filmography tracing Bergman’s career, narrated by Cowie (35:18) • Optional English-dubbed soundtrack Blu-ray Release Date: November 13th, 2018 Custom Blu-ray Case Chapters 15

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion (Ingmar Bergman's Cinema) - Region 'FREE - Blu-ray - October 18': The Criterion Blu-ray of The Seventh Seal is part of their Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema 100th Anniversary 30 Blu-ray Boxset (reviewed, as a work in-progress, HERE).

NOTE: Yes, as has been leaked, we can now confirm that this Blu-ray set is Region FREE!

Criterion's new 4k transfer of "The Seventh Seal" is from a different source from their original 2009 Blu-ray release. It has the full "Det Sjunde Inseglet" (The Seventh Seal) as opposed to "Sjunde Inseglet" (Seventh Seal) title that started the previous Criterion Blu-ray presentation (see above). As with all the films in Criterion's Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema 100th Anniversary 30 Blu-ray Boxset - before the film we get a source text card. In this case:

So, this new transfer comes from the original 35mm negative. Whereas the older transfer had abundant grain texture, the new release is much smoother without losing any detail. In fact, certain scenes seem to reveal even more detail in this new 4k transfer. It looks magnificent in-motion and shows more in the frame aside from being 1.37:1 where the original Criterion Blu-ray was 1.33:1. The more you watch the 4K-restored 1080P, the more you appreciate it's superiority - the contrast subtleties and the improved visual qualities.

My ears cannot distinguish any significant difference in the mono linear PCM audio tracks in the original Swedish although this is apparently from a different source. The, often, intense score is by Erik Nordgren (Here is Your Life, and Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly, The Virgin Spring, The Magician, Wild Strawberries) sounds authentically flat but carries some depth in the uncompressed. There are musical pieces sung by Nils Poppe, Gunnar Björnstrand, Nils Poppe and Bibi Andersson, Erik Strandmar that are clear and crisp. It, again, offers an English DUB in lossy Dolby and there are optional English subtitles on the Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray, but less bold/bright on the 4K-transfer.

The extras are the same that were available on the 2009 Criterion Blu-ray. It has 3-minutes of a 2003 introduction by Ingmar Bergman, the excellent 87' audio commentary by Bergman expert Peter Cowie, with a 10-minute afterword, the lengthy 2006 Bergman Island documentary on Bergman by Marie Nyreröd, featuring in-depth and revealing interviews with the director, an archival audio interview with Max von Sydow, a 1989 tribute to Bergman by filmmaker Woody Allen and a theatrical trailer. There is also the Bergman 101 select video filmography tracing Bergman’s career, narrated by Cowie.

Well, after watching this for a few viewings, the new 4K has definitely grown on us. The Seventh Seal has some of Bergman's most iconic sequences and an upgrade for the Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema 100th Anniversary 30 Blu-ray Boxset seemed essential. To have it in a 4K-restoration Blu-ray presentation is awe-inspiring.