The Seventh Sign

For the album by Yngwie Malmsteen, see The Seventh Sign (album).

The Seventh Sign
File:The seventh sign.jpg
Directed by	Carl Schultz
Produced by	Ted Field Robert W. Cort
Written by	Clifford Green Ellen Green
Starring	Demi Moore Michael Biehn Peter Friedman Jürgen Prochnow
Music by	Jack Nitzsche
Cinematography	Juan Ruiz Anchia
Edited by	Caroline Biggerstaff
Production company	Interscope Communications
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures
Release dates	April 1, 1988 (1988-04-01)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$18,875,011

The Seventh Sign is a 1988 apocalyptic drama film written by Clifford and Ellen Green and directed by Carl Schultz. The title and plot reference the seven seals described in the Book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament of the Bible.

Plot

Signs of the apocalypse are appearing, along with a mysterious wanderer. Father Lucci (Peter Friedman) is the Vatican official investigating them. He dismisses the occurrences as natural, but Abby Quinn (Demi Moore) believes that they are real.

In the film, Jürgen Prochnow portrays Jesus' return to Earth in the year 1988 to judge humanity. The final judgment is averted by an act of faith that prevents the final sign of the apocalypse from occurring.

In the film, through a flashback, Prochnow also portrays the original Jesus on the eve of his crucifixion. Father Lucci is revealed to be Cartaphilus, a Roman Centurion and Pilate's porter who struck Jesus before his death and was sentenced to wander the Earth until Christ returned to judge mankind. The Lucci-Cartaphilus character is a combination of the Longinus and the Wandering Jew legends. In the movie, Abby—who is soon to give birth—discovers that she is actually the reborn woman some identify as Seraphia, the woman who offered Christ water during the Crucifixion but was turned away by Cartaphilus. She learns that the prophecies lead up to the birth of her child, who may not survive because there will be no more souls left for the newborns unless someone offers their own.

Cast

• Demi Moore as Abby Quinn
• Michael Biehn as Russell Quinn
• Jürgen Prochnow as David Bannon
• Peter Friedman as Father Lucci

Release and reception

The film was released theatrically in the United States by TriStar Pictures in April 1988. It grossed $18,875,011 at the box office. It received negative reviews from critics, and holds a 19% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 16 reviews.

The film was released on DVD in the United States by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in 1998.

See also

• Plagues of Egypt
• The Abominable Dr. Phibes
• The Reaping

External links

• The Seventh Sign at IMDb
• The Seventh Sign at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Seventh Sign Review by Roger Ebert