Monday, July 13, 2009

Summer Film Series, Part Four: Bergman


Again, GMOA’s summer film series drew a large crowd last Wednesday for the screening of the last film of Ingmar Bergman’s “trilogy.” However, the series is not over yet, as there will be a screening this Wednesday of Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal.” Easily his most renowned film, “The Seventh Seal” follows a game of chess between a knight returning home from the Crusades and death. This film, released in 1957, predates Bergman’s “trilogy” and anticipates the director’s later explorations of faith and spirituality.

One of the inspirations for Bergman’s film was a church painting by the medieval Swedish painter Albertus Pictor. This painting, pictured below, shows death playing chess – an image that Bergman borrows and transforms into the driving metaphor of “The Seventh Seal.”



Check out the trailer, and definitely come out to Lamar Dodd on Wednesday, July 15, at 7:00 p.m. for the final film in GMOA’s summer film series.

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