After watching Ingmar Bergman's film The Seventh Seal in class, I was able to analyze the significance of film techniques. Melvyn Bragg's book BFI Film Classics: The Seventh Seal, published in 1993, discusses the importance of 1.) Art and Religion; and 2.) The Making of the Film. I will analyze the importance of worship in the construction of art, as well as the importance of the song 'Dies Irae' which means 'Day of Wrath'.
She says, "art lost its basic creative drive the moment it was separated from worship" (p.9). Bragg argues that Bergman aimed to "keep the link between creation and worship and the link between the mid-twentieth century, the Middle Ages, the New Testament and much deeper into the past"(p. 10). Bragg and Bergman both agree that it is important for artists to "take a little glory to himself as well as offer so much to his God" because the gift of art was given by God. Bergman wants us to know that his film was made with the intention to keep art and worship alive, but "there is always space made by the individual, the artist, the mischief-maker perhaps, the side of Bergman which gives him the skills to be the worshipper through cinema and in cinema that he aimed to be" (p. 12).
We saw many films like The Seventh Seal where producers use different artistic methods for us to interpret a message from the Gospel, allowing us to have our own religious connection to the film. Bragg discusses the significance of specific film techniques during the production of The Seventh Seal which began in the late 1950s. For example, the film -colored in black and white- has an introduction with the music 'Dies Irae' and a snapshot of an eagle "hovering almost motionless against the sky"(p. 56). When the music is taken out, an excerpt from the Book of Revelations is read: 'And when the Lamb had opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour. And the seven Angels which had the seven Trumpets prepared themselves to sound'. When we see the chess set arranged and acknowledge the break of sound by silence, Death is introduced.
The placement of background music like 'Dies Irae' was strategic in The Seventh Seal. The music of the film aimed to create emotion in the audience and introduce Death. Bergman used film techniques through the use of sound and image for us to interpret Death, and the significance of the game of chess. He uses the separation of sound from 'Dies Irae' and silence to introduce the presence of Death. The use of music was essential in introducing the Knight, seeking knowledge of God, as he faces Death. On page 64, Bragg admits, "For it is constructed like an argument. It is a story told as a sermon might be delivered: an allegory rooted in the opening texts, the words 'Dies Irae' and the two sentences from Revelations which recur near the very end when the Knight's lady reads them aloud and Death enters to claim them all". This shows the meaning behind playing this type of music in order to deliver a certain message to the audience. The use of 'Dies Irae' and scripture of Revelations is important in showing the audience the relationship between the Knight and Death. Bragg's excerpt gave me a better understanding of the purpose of music and scripture in The Seventh Seal.
Bragg, Melvyn. (1993). BFI Film Classics: The Seventh Seal. London: British Film Institute.
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