The Seventh Seal

Data
Title: Det sjunde inseglet
Year: 1957 (Sweden), 1958 (US)
Length: 96 minutes
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Writer: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe, Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson
Music: Erik Nordgren
Distinctions: currently #104 on IMDb's Top 250

My reaction
Synopsis: a 14th-Century Nihilist/Crusader stalls Death with a game of chess
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Concept: Great. If there's any subject that's suited to Bergman, it's challenging Death with a strong dose of bubonic plague thrown in.
Story: Okay. The concept is good enough to carry the story most of the way, but it doesn't live up to its potential.
Characters: Good. When they weren't too busy being Very Nihilist and feeling sorry for themselves about it, they seemed like nice enough characters. Death in particular is quite nice.
Dialog: Indifferent. There are a few excellent exchanges, but a lot of the dialog is just spouting of bad philosophy.
Pacing: Eh.
Cinematography: Good. Great visuals, but it's kind of hard to see some things through all the shadows.
Special effects/design: Good.
Acting: Great.
Music: Good.
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay). Maybe worth seeing once due to its cultural contributions.
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for dialog and pacing) 2.8/4 (Good).