The Seventh Seal is probably Bergmans bestknown work and the film that most clearly bears the directors unmistakeable signature. The opening scene sets the tone a stony beach under a leaden sky the knight alone with his thoughts then the approach of blackclad Death whom the knight invites to play a game of chess. Bergmans medieval allegory of faith and doubt is dark with the horrors of witchburnings and the plague. But it is also shot through with bright flashes of peace and joy symbolised in