Amazon.com Essentials:
Ingmar Bergman's 1956 film has been parodied by everyone from
Woody Allen to Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, but it remains one
of the strangest and richest classics of world cinema. Max Von Sydow
plays a knight returning from the Crusades to encounter an apocalyptic
scenario inspired by the Book of Genesis. He plays chess with Death
(Bengt Ekerot), sees a manacled witch, watches a band of flagellants
go by--all of it foretelling an inevitable end to life. Unabashedly
allegorical and lyrical and existing in a world unto itself, the film
is enormously mesmerizing no matter what one thinks of the weighty
meanings Bergman has attached to it all. The DVD release has English
subtitles, audio commentary by critic Peter Cowie, theatrical trailer,
and Bergman's filmography. --Tom Keogh
