Streaming The Seventh Seal Online
Samedi, juillet 24th, 2010 |
Streaming The Seventh Seal Online.
Movie Title: The Seventh Seal The Seventh Seal is available for streaming or downloading. |
For the report, I have the novel DVD release of The Seventh Seal along with this unusual HD transfer Blu Ray release and have done a minute space checking comparisons between the two.
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For those that are unaware of what this film is, it has become an icon in the art house circle of film. The film won the Special Jury Prize at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival; a testament to its impact in this arena. I don’t pay mind to “Artsy” films and usually don’t savor them, however I took a chance on the current Criterion DVD release and loved it; thus the need and desire to upgrade to Blu Ray.
The tale is one of a knight (Antonius Block) and his squire (Jöns) returning from the Crusades only to procure that his homeland is being conquered by the plague. He travels the land towards his goal of being reunited with, what he has stated, is a wife whom he married young and has not seen for the 10 years he spent in the Crusades. In the opening scene Anotonius is greeted by Death. In a sequence that has been parodied in several films (Bill & Ted battling Death at Twister comes to mind), Antonius challenges death to a game of chess. If Anotonius wins, he goes on with his life; if he loses, his life comes to an demolish. The game is not finished in a first sitting and there are several scenes in which the game takes a role.
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As he travels, a rag mark band of people accompany him; a smith, the smith’s wife, a woman whom Jöns saves from death and rape and two actors and their child with whom Antonius shares strawberries and milk in a scene where he begins to feel at peace.
Antonius struggles with his lot in life; questioning the existence of God, begging Death to lend him some of evidence of God’s existence (to which Death offers none) and eventually accepting his fate and using his reprieve to set the lives of the actors and their child thus giving meaning to a life which he felt meaningless.
To glean to the Blu Ray specific details, the video is transferred from a freshly prepared and restored film master. At least one sequence I assume seeing injure in the fresh DVD, which is shown in Criterion’s unique “how was it remastered” extra, is no longer damaged in this transfer. In fact, there was no easily apparent injure to be found anywhere and a more pristine print is likely unattainable. Criterion did a apt job on the video transfer and have given the video an upgrade it desperately deserved. It is presented on the Blu Ray disc in it’s fresh aspect ratio of 1.37:1 so anyone expecting a cropped, stretched or otherwise molested image will be disappointed. Everyone expecting a movie presented in its fresh aspect ratio will certainly be satisfied.
Not being a spacious expert on things like film grain and what formats demonstrate more grain than others when transferred to HD, I have to compose it known that there IS grain indicate in this film. I don’t know, however, whether this grain is due to the current format of the masters or if Criterion added said grain during their transfer.
On the audio side, you have the new Swedish mono audio remastered and restored in 24 bit LPCM uncompressed format. There isn’t a pop, click or crackle to be found, unprejudiced sure audio free of defects and whine. Also available, and I’m unaware of the format of it or if it has any damage/hiss/pop/crackle, is an optional English language dubbed sound track which I did not listen to.
Subtitles are improved from the recent DVD release as the subtitles are a more literal translation. I admit to not really noticing a broad contrast in this arena, but if Criterion claims to have improved them, I will engage their word for it.
For extras you have quite a few original ones (and all the ancient ones, minus one, detailed below) :
-Introduction to the movie by Ingmar Burgman (originally intended for presentation prior to playing the film on Swedish TV)
-Audio commentary by Peter Cowie (same as the modern DVD release)
-Afterword on the commentary by Cowie (modern)
-Bergman Island (place of mini-documentaries merged to gain 1- 83 petite documentary w/ interviews of Bergman; first time on any home video format)
-Archival audio only interview with Antonius Block actor, Max von Sydow
-1989 tribute to Bergman by Woody Allen
-Original trailer
-Bergman 101 (Peter Cowie gives a selected filmography of Bergman’s work)
For packed in extras, you will receive a printed booklet with an essay by film critic Gary Giddins. It’s a very high quality printing.
The only extra that doesn’t seem to have made the transfer to HD, as it was really specific to the new DVD release, was the Restoration Demonstration. Everything else from the novel is included, along with quite a few, very beneficial, additions.
If you believe the recent DVD release and want to fill the definitive edition of the movie, you shouldn’t hesitate to prefer up this Blu Ray disc.
If you contain the fresh and don’t really care for the film or don’t feel the need to upgrade, then nothing on this release will change your mind.
If you don’t hold the previous release and want to recognize what all the “fuss” is about and want it in as perfect a presentation as is possible, seize this on Blu Ray.
As a heed, the current DVD release is “matted” in order to ensure every TV/display shows off as great of the release as possible. Only the Blu Ray disc retains the unique 1.37:1 ratio.
The film:
Bergman is one of those things. He won’t appeal to everyone. It’s arty, yes. It’s high opinion. But really, when you procure down to it, many of his movies are not hard to eye at all. This one might be the most accessible. Max Von Sydow plays a crusading knight returning home wearily after a long campaign. With his servant, he encounters a country besieged by plague and despair. Against this backdrop, he encounters Death, whom he challenges to a chess match. Does he want to live forever? No. He wants answers to his soul-chilling skepticism about God and life.
The performances are all very helpful, especially Von Sydow and Gunnar Björnstrand as his squire. Dialogue is clipped and spare, but evocative. Sydow has some particularly fine scenes in the chapel, confessing his doubts.
Overall, it’s easy to spy why this film is hailed as a classic. It’s deep, but also brief enough and paced well enough to be savory. The ending is a bit cryptic, but not in an off-putting blueprint. It should definitely be viewed by anyone with an initiate mind for “world cinema.”
The Blu-Ray:
This is a astronomical transfer. This is what I’m certain we all hoped “Dr. Strangelove” would be. There is a dazzling, regular grain structure which allows us to study terrific detail, especially in foliage, facial features, and cloth textures. Dim levels are solid and consistent, so objects in the shadows are always well delineated.
You MUST get obvious your gamma and brightness are dwelling well! This is a film in which a lot of stuff can be lost in the shadows - it is very high disagreement. In the opening shot, if your prove is crushing blacks, the mountains will scrutinize like one unlit blob, when in fact there is a spacious amount of detail and shading on rocks. SO: if you do not have a disc like Digital Video Essentials, at the very least pop in a Lucasfilm disc to exercise the “THX Calibrator.” It has a contrast/brightness pattern that should fetch you status apt.
Extras include a LONG documentary/interview share with Bergman in his later life, presented in 1080i. Commentary is provided by a film scholar.
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If you are a fan of Bergman or this film, this is a no-brainer. There is detail here you’d never leer on a DVD, and the unlit levels (so notable on a b/w film like this) are great deeper and more consistent than any SD presentation could allow. Extras are a nice complement, and for the heed, you really can’t beat this, especially compared to what Criterion releases cost honest a few short years ago.
If you’re more of a neophyte to this kind of cinema, you should rent first. Notice if you like this sort of thing. Don’t be daunted by the reputation of this and other Criterion releases. Give it a well-behaved unprejudiced try. You might be pleasantly surprised.
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