I haven't decided yet, but I must say I'm leaning towards the shorter version. I understand the TV cut is supposed to be better, but... it's a TV mini-series, and this is a movie forum isn't it ? Also it makes sense to me to be watching what Adam & Matty did... and I generally tend to prefer watching the shorter version of anything first, then I can see if I like it enough to watch the longer cut. Ultimately it will depend on which version is available at my library, I haven't checked that yet.
I've only seen the shorter one and loved it. But I do feel like I've sold myself short (from all the chat on the forum) and will be looking to watch the long one when I get the chance.
I did remember that, and my hope is to be in the same situation, in the same way that I'm fine having watched the less complete version of Metropolis because I'll still get to enjoy the full one at a later point.
I don't feel hypocritical at all in recommending you watch that six hour cut.
How's that Solyaris dictation coming along ?
In case I do end up going with the full version (it seems my library has both) : should it be watched in one stretch (as much as possible that is) or broken down into episodes ?
In the meantime, let's talk about Bergman's most well-known film...
Det sjunde inseglet / The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)Adam & Matty's takes (starts at 35:27)Once again, this isn't quite what I expected. Knowing about the "playing chess against Death" conceit, I still did not foresee that Bergman's version of Death would not be so far from Terry Pratchett's. I'm starting to wonder if the image of Bergman as a dour, pensive and depressing filmmaker is accurate at all... but maybe we'll see more of that. Not that this film isn't contemplative, but depressing ? Granted, anything taking place in 15th century Europe is bound to be somewhat grim, what with the Black Plague and all, but there's hope to be found too, to the point that I'd say it's more hopeful than not.
The Seventh Seal is the cinematic equivalent of a danse macabre*, those medieval frescoes representing Death dancing with the living, one of which is shown in the film. They are the result of a period riddled with diseases and war which lead many medieval Europeans believing they were living the last days, a sentiment that has surfaced many times throughout history, but might never have been as justified as in that particular time period. Then again, once you take a look at the first half of the 20th Century, a period which will probably be seen in a similar way by future generations, it's no wonder that a European filmmaker from the 50's would be interested in similar themes.
The danse macabre genre associates a cold realization about the inevitability and omnipresence of death with a ridiculing of the consequently inconsequential societal norms by having nobles, merchants, bandits and peasants all dancing together, all equal when facing the Grim Reaper. That juxtaposition is certainly present here, and I ended up finding the parts focusing on life more compelling than the Max von Sydow/Bengt Ekerot scenes. Gunnar Björnstrand shines again here as Jöns, the hedonistic but steadfast squire, as well as the couple of actors, who truly are the heart of the film. The picnic (for lack of a less anachronistic word) scene is exactly my kind of humanistic, quiet celebration of life, and not something I expected to find here.
And yet I don't quite love this film. Part of me wishes Max von Sydow wasn't in it at all... not that he's bad at all, I understand Adam & Matty's admiration for his confession scene but... maybe it's just the whole "playing chess against Death" thing that I don't like in the end. Ekerot's Death is certainly a striking image, but I think I'd have preferred a simpler film, less blunt maybe. Then again, when that last shot of the characters literally doing a live-action danse macabre came, I found myself thinking about the last scene in 8½ (which was likely inspired by this one) and how much better I liked that : perhaps it's just that putting music to it is inherently more to my taste than the soliloquy we get instead.
So I'm not sure what I wanted from this film that it didn't give me. And I should stress that I did like it, I just felt that it didn't entirely live up to its potential, despite some great scenes like the sunset picnic (that just sounds wrong) or the flagellant's intermission (now that's more like it).
7/10*Wikipedia assures me that the French term is also used in English, so I'm going with that though it seems to also be referred to as "dance of death".