1) The Seventh Seal (dir. Ingmar Bergman)
The Plot: The brave, disenchanted knight, Antonius Block (Max von Sydow), and his squire (Gunnar Bjornstrand) return from the Crusades to find their homeland, Sweden, decimated by the Black Death. Upon their return, Antonius encounters the personification of Death (Bengt Ekerot), who tells him that his time is up; and the knight, in hopes of forestalling his end, challenges the pale figure to a game of chess. In between turns, Block journeys across Sweden with a band of other travelers to find everyone living in fear of God’s punishment, but he himself is not convinced of the almighty’s existence.
Why Black and White?: With the infamous game of chess, The Seventh Seal delivers a haunting portrayal of the battle for mortality, that is also piercingly attractive. And even though Ekerot may be the one holding the scythe, the film’s rich cinematography displays that clash just as effectively.
The clouded sky over the plague-ridden land that hosts Block’s homeward journey appears obscure and forlorn. From the start of the film, just as the knight does, the audience can sense that the end is near. The black and white presentation of this world symbolizes and provides perhaps a greater distinction between life and death than the jarring king pieces on the chess board.
But Bergman also uses his black and white screen to signify the straying absence of God from the world. During his excursion, Block comes across a doleful church and goes to confession there. Inside, he pours his heart out to the hooded figure next to him: “I cry out to him in the dark but there is no one there.” Aside from the light on the other side of the iron grill, the confessional is pitch dark; Antonius is alone in the one place God’s presence should be most prominent.