NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: Criterion 4K UHD (April 2023): Criterion released Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" to 4K UHD in April 2023. It is cited as a "4K digital restoration". Like a few discs in this new format - ex. Criterion's In the Mood For Love, Night of the Living Dead 4K UHD and Kino's 4K UHDs of The Apartment, For a Few Dollars More , A Fistful of Dollars, In the Heat of the Night, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as well as Koch Media's Neon Demon , ClassicFlix I, the Jury + one of the 4K UHD transfers of Dario Argento's Suspiria, this does not have HDR applied (no HDR10, HDR10+, nor Dolby Vision.) Included is the 2009 second disc Blu-ray as evidenced by the M2TS files:

The 4K UHD starts with:

The 4K UHD has the October 2018' restoration that was on the Criterion Blu-ray of The Seventh Seal - part of their Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema 100th Anniversary 30 Blu-ray Boxset.  It has the full "Det Sjunde Inseglet" (The Seventh Seal) as opposed to "Sjunde Inseglet" (Seventh Seal) title that started the 2009 Criterion Blu-ray - that, a bit surprisingly, is included here. Ex.

The 4K UHD image looks very similar to the BFI. It is just marginally brighter throughout. Again - a brilliant presentation - texture, rich black levels, clean and consistent. Aside from being slightly brighter - and no HDR - the image compares very well with the BFI.

On their 4K UHD, Criterion use the same linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original Swedish language - as found on the BFI. So, we repeat: "It sounds authentically flat but not hollow as some SD renderings exported. The score is by Erik Nordgren (Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly, The Virgin Spring, The Magician, Wild Strawberries, Waiting Women) with notable 5 specific pieces - all with lyrics by Ingmar Bergman. It sounds clean and consistent throughout. Criterion also add the lossy English DUB found on bother their previous Blu-ray editions.  Both discs offers optional English subtitles - and the 4K UHD is region FREE, playable worldwide." The Criterion, second disc, Blu-ray is region 'A'-locked.

The Criterion 4K UHD has the 1987 audio commentary by Bergman expert Peter Cowie.

The Blu-ray  extras on the 2009 Criterion includes the 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. The package includes the same liner notes essay by critic Gary Giddins.

So that's it. No High Dynamic Range, but I couldn't say that affected the image quality significantly. The Criterion 2160P was a shade brighter. Sounds was flawless and the same, Criterion add the optional English DUB - albeit lossy Dolby and, debatably, the superior extras over the BFI 4K UHD.

"And when the Lamb had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour". 1957's "The Seventh Seal" firmly established Ingmar Bergman as one of cinema's greatest directors. It has iconic scenes represented countless-ly through homages, reference, and parody. Criterion's 4K UHD release offers another magnificent presentation, expert older commentary, relevant supplements and a booklet essay. From Crusade knight Antonius Block's chess match with the pale Grim Reaper to the finale of the Dance of Death, The Seventh Seal is a rightful, enduring, world cinema masterpiece. A must own in this 4K UHD format.

***

ADDITION: BFI 4K UHD (April 2023): BFI released Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" to 4K UHD in November 2021. We'd like to compare it to Criterion's 4K UHD release coming later this month. We compared Blu-rays / DVD HERE. This BFI transfer is labeled as "Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)". The 2160P image looks pretty great - darker with an uptick in detail and contrast layering - richer black levels. I am always impressed how the source for "The Seventh Seal" is in such stellar condition - restored by the Swedish Film Institute, from the original 35mm negative scanned at 4K resolution. Detail is so impressive. I would anticipate the Criterion 4K UHD to look similar. There is consistent grain with a few, barely visible, surface scratches. It has over double the bitrate of any previous digital transfer.

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

The 4K UHD disc has a Kat Ellinger commentary and the 1/4 hour's worth of 'Behind the scenes footage' from The Seventh Seal from 1956. It is rare footage with commentary by film scholar Ian Christie. There is also a trailer on the 4K UHD. In her commentary, Kat discusses how much of Bergman's notoriety is built on misconceptions of his reputation - and I would agree. There are many people who judge Bergman's oeuvre without seeing his work. She also makes the case for "The Seventh Seal" as a horror! Go girl! She's a delight supporting her propositions with astute observations. She digs quite deep into the psyche of a director's work. Overall - excellent.  

On the Blu-ray we get the feature in 1080P and all the extras above, including commentary, plus Karin’s Face from 1984. It is Ingmar Bergman’s 1/4 hour film based on pictures from his personal photo album, particularly those of his mother, Karin. This was part of Criterion's Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema boxset (reviewed HERE.)