The seventh seal responses The seventh seal is a Swedish existential film filmed by Ingmar Bergman, filmed in 1957. Mainly speaking, in Sweden, where the Black Death broke out, after a medieval knight Brock joined the Crusades, he met not God but Death. Brock did not fear death, but calmly played chess with death. His life depends on the outcome of the game. But in this game, Brock experienced life, religion and the meaning of God. At the end of the film, the knight and other travelers arrived at the castle of the Crusaders. For me personally. In this movie, many represent the voice of the "medieval." For example, filth and disease (plague), war (knight), knighthood, and religion (the cathedral). In addition, there are many unique lens applications in the movie, close-ups. For example, the facial features of the god of death set off a tense atmosphere. Then, in the face of death, the lying knight has a positive facial close-up and his eyes are a little depressed. This shows that the Cavaliers are not afraid of death, but during this period he experienced too many tragic things (religious wars, deaths of loved ones, etc.), and then lost God lost faith, he is very confused. Therefore, I think the theme of this film is an understanding of death. The shackles and deaths that can be seen everywhere in the movie are the images of death and the subject that the author wants to express. When death and emptiness suddenly come, no God has no faith, and everyone's reaction is different. Some people are fearless, and some people panic, so only those who believe in love can gain hope of life, and life can continue. In the movie, the Cavaliers are not afraid of facing death, but he is puzzled by the regrets before the self-belief is not liberated. Then the knight said to death: "My body is fearful, and the soul is quiet." In short, this film is worth watching and thought-provoking. Western Medievalism in Film • Summary of first four classes Discussion of: what do we think of when we think of the Middle Ages? And what sounds and/or music do we think of? From individual elements (people, things, ideas), we came up with some broader themes of how the Middle Ages is represented: • Grime and disease (the plague) • Hierarchical systems (political, social) • Fantasy (magic, fantastical creatures, witchcraft) • Town formation • Pastoral (small farms, farm animals) • War (knights, armour) • Chivalry • Religion (monks, nuns, monasteries, cathedrals) • Learnedness (universities, Latin) Three approaches to medievalism in film and television: • Focus on specific medieval figure or event • Medieval fantasy world • Uses medieval trope/theme but in different setting Three kinds of sound in film: • Dialogue • Music • Sound effects Viewed a film clip and discussed relationships amongst the sound, the action, and the visual elements, reviewing and introducing terminology: Opening of Princess of Thieves (2001) - up to the cow.

1. The seventh seal responses
The seventh seal is a Swedish existential film filmed by Ingmar
Bergman, filmed in 1957. Mainly speaking, in Sweden, where
the Black Death broke out, after a medieval knight Brock joined
the Crusades, he met not God but Death. Brock did not fear
death, but calmly played chess with death. His life depends on
the outcome of the game. But in this game, Brock experienced
life, religion and the meaning of God. At the end of the film,
the knight and other travelers arrived at the castle of the
Crusaders.
For me personally. In this movie, many represent the voice of
the "medieval." For example, filth and disease (plague), war
(knight), knighthood, and religion (the cathedral). In addition,
there are many unique lens applications in the movie, close-ups.
For example, the facial features of the god of death set off a
tense atmosphere. Then, in the face of death, the lying knight
has a positive facial close-up and his eyes are a little depressed.
This shows that the Cavaliers are not afraid of death, but during
this period he experienced too many tragic things (religious
wars, deaths of loved ones, etc.), and then lost God lost faith,
he is very confused.
Therefore, I think the theme of this film is an understanding of
death. The shackles and deaths that can be seen everywhere in
the movie are the images of death and the subject that the
author wants to express. When death and emptiness suddenly
come, no God has no faith, and everyone's reaction is different.
Some people are fearless, and some people panic, so only those
who believe in love can gain hope of life, and life can continue.
In the movie, the Cavaliers are not afraid of facing death, but he
is puzzled by the regrets before the self-belief is not liberated.
Then the knight said to death: "My body is fearful, and the soul
is quiet."
In short, this film is worth watching and thought-provoking.

2. Western Medievalism in Film
• Summary of first four classes
Discussion of: what do we think of when we think of the Middle
Ages? And what sounds
and/or music do we think of?
From individual elements (people, things, ideas), we came up
with some broader themes
of how the Middle Ages is represented:
• Grime and disease (the plague)
• Hierarchical systems (political, social)
• Fantasy (magic, fantastical creatures, witchcraft)
• Town formation
• Pastoral (small farms, farm animals)
• War (knights, armour)
• Chivalry
• Religion (monks, nuns, monasteries, cathedrals)
• Learnedness (universities, Latin)
Three approaches to medievalism in film and television:
• Focus on specific medieval figure or event
• Medieval fantasy world
• Uses medieval trope/theme but in different setting
Three kinds of sound in film:

3. • Dialogue
• Music
• Sound effects
Viewed a film clip and discussed relationships amongst the
sound, the action, and
the visual elements, reviewing and introducing terminology:
Opening of Princess of Thieves (2001) - up to the cow-
milking/Latin lesson scene
• Opens with mountains and mist (visual icon or convention for
the medieval or the
distant past)
• Voice-over (non-diegetic narrator) introduces the narrative
(informational
prologue) with a long, anticipatory drone in the underscore and
the sound of birds
to place the outdoor scene (establishing sound)
• Heroic theme in underscore (Fr. Horn, leaping and rising
melody with dotted
rhythm) with horse and rider galloping through the forest;
“pastoral” setting
emphasized with the sound of the horse’s hooves and splashing
water
• Dark interior scene and cold stone walls in castle fit with
foreboding music (low,
drawn-out string drones and dissonant chords); Sherriff of
Nottingham and his
men express violent ways (“price on the infant’s head”), and
misogynistic attitude

4. (“a girl” + evil cackle)
• Dissolve to image of infant with diegetic off-screen voices of
mother and child’s
protector
• Rooster cawing establishes the place (confirmed by simple
interior)
• Montage sequence - musical underscore provides continuity as
time is
compressed and we see Robin Hood’s daughter, Gwyn, growing
up; underscore
uses harp and celtic flute with alternating chords to establish
gentle, protective
and historical setting (medieval or distant past)
• Sound lag bridges to outdoor scene of cow-milking and Latin
lesson (Latin, so we
know it’s the Middle Ages) with a young monk or novice
Terminology:
• diegetic / non-diegetic
• diegesis – story or narrative of film
• voice-over
• underscore
• soundtrack – all audio in a film (often refers to the music)
• montage (single shot has meaning only in relation to another
shot)
• shot – single take (seconds, minutes)
• scene – several shots
• sequence – several scenes

5. Review of 5 general categories of music in the Middle Ages:
• Chant
• Vernacular song (Troubadours and Trouvères)
• Instrumental fanfares
• Dance music
• Vocal polyphony
Viewing and discussion of Alexander Nevsky (1938)
• Discussion of Brown 1994 and close collaboration between
Eisenstein and
Prokofiev
• Representation of the medieval through sound and image,
while simultaneously
promoting communist ideals under Stalin: men fishing together
collectively,
music is worker’s song sung in unison, all men (including
Alexander) dressed in
simple fisherman’s clothing
• Sounds of the medieval: war (clashing of swords, horses);
church (bells, organ,
droning music)
• Meaning of the film in 1938: pre-war, Soviet Union fearing
German invasion and
recalled an earlier Russian national hero, Alexander Nevsky
from the thirteenth
century
• non-aggression pact in 1939 – film pulled from circulation;

6. June 22, 1941,
Operation Barbarossa: Germany abandoned pact and invaded
Russia
Weekly Film Responses
FILM 2016 / MUSC 2016
Aims:
• To keep you on track with required film viewings
• To encourage you to think about the films in preparation for
class discussion
• To give you practice writing about sound (music, sound
effects, and dialogue) in film
Requirements:
You have to submit 4 responses over the course of the semester,
choosing one film from each
numbered pair (choose 1a or 1b; choose 2a or 2b; etc.). Late
submissions are not accepted.
Content:
You do not have to do external research for the weekly
responses, although you are welcome to
incorporate readings and earlier class discussions. If you
include external sources, simply include a
bibliography.
Your response should be about 250 words.

7. For each response you should consider one or more of the
following questions, being sure to address
aspects of sound (music, sound effects, and dialogue):
1. What does the film tell us about the Middle Ages, and how is
that achieved? Does the “Middle
Ages” portrayed fall into one of Umberto Eco’s “ten little
Middle Ages”?
2. What does the film tell us about particular social or cultural
conditions or events during the time
in which it was produced, and how is that achieved?
3. Discuss the genre of the film (you can define genre however
you want – documentary vs.
fiction, detective film vs. rom-com, children’s vs. adult film,
etc.). What are the key features of
the film that make you categorize the film this way and how
does the genre relate to the
medieval aspect of the film?
4. Provide specific detail about the use of diegetic music in the
film and how it intersects with
other aesthetic elements (mise-en-scène, cinematography,
editing, or narrative structure). Does
the diegetic music sound medieval? Does it try to evoke the
medieval in a more conceptual
way?

8. 5. Provide specific detail about the use of non-diegetic music in
the film and how it intersects with
other aesthetic elements (mise-en-scène, cinematography,
editing, or narrative structure). Does
the non-diegetic music sound medieval in any way? Does the
non-diegetic music relate to other
films in the genre it represents?
Assessment:
You will get a single letter grade on each response. Marks will
evaluate insight into and depth of
engagement with the film. Grammar, structure, and spelling will
not be marked separately, but a
response may lose a grade increment if the writing is
particularly poor.
All responses are due at noon on the date indicated below. For
film details, see the syllabus.
January 23, Response 1a on The Seventh Seal
January 30, Response 1b on Saladin
February 6, Response 2a on Robin Hood
February 25, Response 2b on Monty Python and the Holy Grail
March 4, Response 3a on The Princess Bride
March 18, Response 3b on The Canterbury Tales
March 25, Response 4a on Vision aus dem Leben der Hildegard
von Bingen
April 1, Response 4b on Game of Thrones, Season 1, episode 1