{"product_id":"9781839021756","title":"Seventh Seal","description":"\u003ch3\u003eBFI Film Classics\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch1\u003eSeventh Seal\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch3\u003eMelvyn Bragg\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerforming Arts \/ Film \/ History \u0026amp; Criticism\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Seventh Seal\u003c\/i\u003e is probably Bergman's best-known work and the film that most clearly bears the director's unmistakeable signature. \u003cbr\u003eThe opening scene sets the tone: a stony beach under a leaden sky, the knight alone with his thoughts, then the approach of black-clad Death, whom the knight invites to play a game of chess. Bergman's medieval allegory of faith and doubt is dark with the horrors of witch-burnings and the plague. But it is also shot through with bright flashes of peace and joy, symbolised in the milk and wild strawberries offered to the knight by an innocent family of actors.\u003cbr\u003eIn his compelling appreciation, Melvyn Bragg describes his own first encounter as a student with this extraordinary film, and how it revealed to him another cinema, quite different from the Hollywood he had grown up with. He recounts too his later meeting with Bergman himself, and how the marks of the director's powerful personality are everywhere in this troubling and inspiring masterpiece.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMelvyn Bragg\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer and broadcaster. He was editor and presenter of \u003ci\u003eThe South Bank Show \u003c\/i\u003efrom 1978-2010 and presents the BBC Radio 4 series \u003ci\u003eIn Our Time. \u003c\/i\u003eHis novels include \u003ci\u003eThe Hired Man\u003c\/i\u003e, for which he won the Time\/Life Silver Pen Award, \u003ci\u003eWithout a City Wall\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, \u003ci\u003eThe Soldier's Return\u003c\/i\u003e , winner of the W.H. Smith Literary Award, \u003ci\u003eA Son of War\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCrossing the Lines\u003c\/i\u003e, both of which were longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, \u003ci\u003eA Place in England\u003c\/i\u003e, which was longlisted for the Lost Man Booker Prize, and most recently, \u003ci\u003eNow is the Time\u003c\/i\u003e (Sceptre, 2015). He has also written several works of non-fiction, including \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Books\u003c\/i\u003e, about the King James Bible. He lives in London and Cumbria, UK.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e12 November 2020\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBritish Film Institute\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781839021756\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePaperback softback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e73\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e5.44\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51332928864396,"sku":"9781839021756","price":14.36,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/getimage_d2a8b5b0-84d2-417a-b414-7184c8b4772f.jpg?v=1783607422","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9781839021756","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}