The great Max von Sydow passed away this week leaving behind an incredible cinema legacy. The Swedish movie icon had an spectacular 70-year career where he appeared in over 150 films. Von Sydow died Sunday, March 8th. He was 90-years-old. Here are just a few great images from some of the memorable movies he was a part of.
What is your favorite Max von Sydow performance and film? Please take time to share your thoughts on this truly wonderful actor in the comments section below.
Keith & the Movies 
Good gallery of pics of him, Keith. Ones I remember seeing and liking: “Needful Things,” “The Hour of the Wolf,” and “Flash Gordon.” There’s one I saw with him in it, where there was a “special child” who was going to be taken away by aliens, and he played the character who was going to make sure it happened. I think a woman in a wheelchair was the girl’s mother, and the girl’s stepdad? dad? was trying to stop it from happening. It was a spacy movie but really good.
I’m a huge fan of his Bergman films. The Virgin Spring, Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, Seventh Seal, Shame, etc. So good!
Great gallery and reminder of how inspirational and awesome was Max von Sydow. Seventh Seal and his collaborations with Bergman immediately come to mind. I really liked him in “What Dreams May Come” as the guide through hell. Of course, whatever the role, he made the film better.
Yes, always. He made every film better. And he brought such humanity to each role.
I like that he got into Game of Thrones too, that gave it some gravitas!
Believe it or not, I have never seen an episode. But just hearing that he was in it makes me want to change that.
Seriously you should watch it, great acting, really deep characters, great costumes, great story, nothing is bad about it. I miss it!
I’m ashamed to be so out of the loop!
It’s incredible how diverse von Sydow’s filmography was, and how instrumental he was into getting many filmgoers into arthouse cinema (myself included). It’s difficult to say what his best performance was, but I’m tempted to choose The Seventh Seal, though all of his work with Bergman is top-notch.
Yes, all of his work with Bergman was sublime. I don’t know if I could pick just one performance either. But there is something about his work in The Virgin Spring that really stays with me.
Lovely tribute! He was a great actor. I am tempted to say The Seventh Seal, too.
Great pick!
A true legend of cinema who will be missed. The work with Ingmar Bergman, The Exorcist, The Emigrants/The New Land, and so much more. A true giant in cinema like Kirk Douglas. 2020 really sucks now as we’re all in deep shit.
No doubt. Love the Kirk Douglas comparison. The two are very different actors, but both had long distinguished careers. RIP
Not much for Bergman (I know – BOO), haven’t seen him in much, but have liked him when I have seen him – Three Days of the Condor is the one where he stands out to me. Looked him up at IMDB, boy, he really worked, lots of titles in that list.
I was late coming to Bergman and really grew to appreciate him. Some of his movies definitely work better than others.
I’m a little older than you, back in the seventies European films were all the rage. Fellini and Bergman were quite the thing over here, so I sampled some of them, but they didn’t quite take hold with me. Here is the Sight and Sound poll from 1972 and then 1982 if you are interested, you can see Bergman was really in vogue in 1972 but fell out of the top 10 in 1982, tastes change I suppose.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sight_%26_Sound#1972
Tastes do change for sure and cinematic fads are a real thing. I’ve never really subscribed to them personally. I just like what I like. But there is no denying that ‘trends’ do come and go.
I mainly remember him for Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Oh yes!
Pingback: Great Images: Max von Sydow (1929-2020) — Keith & the Movies | Los Angeles feedback film festival
Pingback: Great Images #15: Max von Sydow (1929-2020) — Keith & the Movies – Chicago FEEDBACK Film Festival