He will always be Liet Kynes from David Lynch's 1984 "Dune" to me.
7
Hoser! Don’t forget Strange Brew!!!!
8
He hung all humanity on his tortured frame in The seventh seal. Thank you Max.
22
He acted as a Tracker in "What Dreams May Come?(film) which is one of the best movies for me. "..my eyes being figment of my imagination":This is most descriptive line of this movie spoken by him.
4
In "Snow Falling on Cedars" (1999), Max von Sydow played the defence attorney, Nels Gudmundsson. He was tailor-made for the role: an elderly man brimming with morality and compassion, pitched against an arrogant, racist, ethnocentric prosecution. His quiet repudiation of populism was a remarkable performance.
22
I'm so glad that a college lit teacher insisted our class check out a Bergman mini-film festival. All I knew of Mr.von Sydow at that time was his role in "The Exorcist." I learned a lot about story telling from Bergman but von Sydow's screen presence really stayed with me.
And, I realize it's not a great movie but, I loved his work in "3 Days of the Condor." Von Sydow's cold, calculating, contract mercenary has just a touch of world-weary regret in his eyes. The weight and nuance he gave what could have been a strictly heavy role is till my favorite aspect of the movie.
23
Aw, Mr. von Sydow I am so sorry to read of your death. But I will be grateful and joyful for the countless hours of wonderfully engaging entertainment you have given me for over half a century of my own life. Thank you, sir. I plant a flower in your memory.
22
Max von Sydow has been a cinematic presence since I first watched “The Exorcist” sitting upon my father’s lap in the 1970s. Our family had one of the first VCRs, and someone my father got his hands on a copy of the scariest of all films. I was mesmerized by Father Merrin and, though still a child without only the vaguest conception of adult life, intuited in his portrayal a chasm of feeling in many ways more intense than the loud and obnoxious antics of his demonic opponent. I learned to appreciate him, but even more so I learned to study him. His characters were often quiet, thoughtful, a good or evil contrast with the others in the scene who was iconic precisely by not endeavoring to call attention to himself. He was the strong, silent type who downplayed his strength and spoke wonders in his silence. Less is More is an apt phrase, and this more than anything else may explain his difficulty in Hollywood in being cast in traditional leading man roles. As Hollywood demands “celebrity,” scene stealing performances from its leading men, he set that aside as the nonsense it is in favor of artistic integrity and independence. He would never sacrifice what was real, and that made him a natural for the art house and European cinema. He was always his own man, which is why so many have commented that he never came across in his roles as “acting.” The underlying integrity of his life embedded itself in each of his characters, heroes or villains, and that is why we love him so.
22
Max von Sydow was cast in roles beyond his years from the beginning of his career. So, his real age finally caught up with many of his portrayals. Some people have mentioned The Emigrants and The New Land (a companion set) and, having watched Sydow in many roles he performed in his prime (I would say the 1950's through the 1970's basically, when he was often cast as in a leading role), if you admire him and yet haven't seen these two films, you owe it to yourself to watch them. I would have to regard them as his magnum opus. Max is in almost every scene over 4+ hours and he doesn't just say a clever line as he is about to do some physical work and then we see a camera cut; no no, he does the work! It's part documentary, part drama. Both he and Liv Ullmann perform many mid 19th century tasks and their interpretation of the character of these pioneer people is so believable, so realistic. To me, this role carried out over two films is unique and transcends in both quantity and even quality every other role I've seen him perform. If you're a fan, you owe it to yourself to watch them.
14
"savagely criticized film, 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"...? If you know anything at all about autism, this film was extraordinary. One of my favorite films of all time, with remarkable performances by all members of the cast. Those who criticized it certainly did not know much about the subject.
It is told from the child's perspective and is a fine addition to our literature about Asperger's/autism.
13
Max von Sydow was one of those actors who proved with every performance the old maxim that "less is more".
14
Von Sydow was not, despite the subhead of this article, a pop culture star, at least not in this country. In in the 1970s, most Americans would not have been able to identify him.
Their loss.
5
Max von Sydow's portrayal of Jesus is one of the finest of its kind in religious cinema: He embodied the grace, long-suffering, and compassion of this holy figure. In "The Virgin Spring," von Sydow gave a compelling performance of a human being's painful struggle to understand God's silence in the face of evil. And his knight playing chess with Death in "The Seventh Seal" is peerless.
We will not see again the kind of actor Max von Sydow was. But we are so very fortunate to have his magnificent movies to remind us what manner of actor he was.
17
Max von Sydow was the consummate actor in everything he did. His acting embodied the full range of human emotion - the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, the weak, the strong, the sad, the glorious. I doubt I will ever see in my lifetime such a profound talent.
Rest In Peace.
14
He also did “Strange Brew” by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis of SCTV Fame. This was a fun that expertly satarizes Hamlet. Best line: “my condolences on the death of your father.”
8
Coincidentally - or not, it’s a plague year after all - one of the things I have been doing while hunkering down at home until the virus crisis has passed, has been making a deep dive into Bergman’s films, renting them from iTunes. Been spending a lot of time with Mr. Sydow lately. But it’s his performance in “Winter Light,” that, for me, still reigns supreme, as does the film.
8
Coincidentally - or not, it’s a plague year after all - one of the things I have been doing while hunkering down at home until the virus crisis has passed, has been making a deep dive into Bergman’s films, renting them from iTunes. Been spending a lot of time with Mr. Sydow lately. But it’s his performance in “Winter Light,” that, for me, still reigns supreme, as does the film.
1
One of the things I have been doing while hunkering down at home until the virus crisis has passed, has been making a deep dive into Bergman’s films, renting them from iTunes. Been spending a lot of time with Mr. Sydow lately. But it’s his performance in “Winter Light,” that, for me, still reigns supreme, as does the film.
Needful Things was a memorable film, where he played folks off against each other as the devil. That film has always stuck with me. Max was a master at his craft.
4
The image of rhe knight and Death playing chess remains engraved in my memory.
RIP Mr. Von Sydow
10
I may have missed it, but I was surprised that there was no mention of the epic movie, Hawaii (1966). He and Julie Andrews gave fine performances.
5
RIP Mr. Van Sydow Thank you for giving avant Cinema, your great presence and the obvious fun you had in Flash. Your performance made that movie watchable. I am sure that that movie was on your top ten of your favorite movies.
My sincerest condolences to your family.
3
Rest in peace Mr. Sydow. I will treasure your work with Bergman for the rest of my life. Thank you for your great work and artistry.
11
If you want to see Von Sydow at his very best (and Liv Ulmann at her best as well), stream "The Emigrants." Not among the best known of his movies, but a real treat. It's about Swedish emigrants to 19th century Minnesota. Which means it's about Swedes turning into Americans -- as much about America as Sweden.
22
Thank you for a great life story of a great Actor. He was unforgettable as Father Mirren in the Exorcist . His was a life well lived .Rest In Peace.
6
FELT Von Sydow was at his best in "Three Days of the Condor,"1976 with Robert Redford playing near opposite. Scene at the end when Von Sydow offers Redford a gun and tells him "for that day"is one of the great moments in cinema!
17
@Alexander Harrison
Yes. Von Sydow's character killed Redford's girlfriend and co-workers and tried to kill him. But, the, viewer knows without question when Von Sydow hands Redford the gun, just by the way he looks at Bob, that he's confident Redford won't shoot him. It's all in the way von Sydow looks at Redford. Amazing.
11
What a lovely tribute. Thank you.
7
I was always mesmerized by his performance in "The Days of the Condor." On the one hand subtle and understated, on the other cold and menacing. Just brilliant!
27
You nailed it and would have been my post, memorizing performance from a consumate professional to be sure and lucky to have an original US one sheet movie poster.
7
Watching a MVS performance is bewildering. How/why am I so fascinated and beguiled by this stone-faced skeptic, this distant, stern, still but brilliantly radiant face?
I wonder if it's even acting. It's something beyond acting, a quality that actors aspire to but which can't be taught.
By the time the viewer realizes he/she is transfixed the film is over, and you decide you must see it again. In his filmed performances he persists as a granite presence. He is a ghost who revisits our thoughts when life is difficult.
21
Well, I can’t post a coherent comment now because the last quote by Bergman has me in tears.
Max von Sydow was an extraordinary actor.
25
My 3rd generation Norwegian speaking step-mother was a huge Bergman/von Sydow fan…
"And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." Revelation 8:1 (KJV)
13
How can you not mention his role in David Lynch’s “Dune”?
8
I shall never forget seeing the"Virgin Spring" film and Von Sydow
preparing to kill the group of men who raped and murdered his daughter away from her home after those guests in his home
offered his murdered daughters clothing for sale. Sweet revenge somehow blessed my an angel.
3
“Winter Light” the work was superlative on so many levels
“Cinema acting at in its finest
state”
10
I never forgot Max in “The Virgin Spring,” my first Swedish movie of many. Then “The Seventh Seal” and two of Bergman’s faith trilogy movies. Max was great. And many others with Max.
Rest In Peace, Max. You were one of the greats.
12
A fine actor.
One of my favorite lines of his is from Three Days of the Condor. Robert Redford asks him why he does what he does (contract killing) to which he replies,
"I don’t interest myself in why. I think more often in terms of when. Sometimes where. Always how much.
27
@David, as well as" personally, I prefer Europe." The most urbane assassin ever.
11
Max was really great Actor!
6
I loved Von Sydow. What stellar film actor. Shame, Hour of the Wolf, The Virgin Spring, Minority Report. The list could go on. One of the greatest actors of his generation. Tender and terrifying.
11
“He (Bergman) said, ‘Max, you have been the first and the best Stradivarius that I have ever had in my hands.’”
What a way to put it.
17
He stole the show in Bob and Doug McKenzie's Strange Brew.
3
Max Von Sydow in Bergman's The Seventh Seal was an indelible experience for an 18 year old viewing it almost 60 years ago. This was something in the work-a-day world of just completed conformist 50s America that introduced me to artistry.
RIP Max Von Sydow
17
Max was a great actor. He'll be missed.
6
My introduction to Max von Sydow came in The Seventh Seal, which I first saw when I was about 20, uncomfortably close to 50 years ago. I have never forgotten the quiet but immense power of the film- it remains in my personal top 10 list to this day- and I will never forget von Sydow's extraordinary performance as Antonius Blok, the knight returning from the Crusades who is pursued across medieval Sweden by the Angel of Death, who he has challenged to an extended game of chess in an ultimately futile effort to escape his fate. The scene that often moves me to tears is the one in which the doomed knight is seated in a beautiful seaside meadow with a young couple who are travelling actors (*not* coincidentally named Jof and Maria) and their infant son, enjoying a picnic of milk and wild strawberries. I can't quote the dialogue verbatim, but the knight speaks of the pure peace and tranquility of the moment and how he will always hold it as a treasured memory, "as carefully I hold in my hands this bowl of strawberries". Then he sees Death waiting for him on the beach, seated at the chessboard, and leaves their company to resume the game. Sydow, in that scene, is utterly transcendent, aided by Ingmar Bergman's exquisite screenplay. To me it is one of the greatest scenes in all of cinema and I'm tearing up just thinking of it. No one but Max von Sydow could have played it so beautifully. Thank you for so much cinematic pleasure through the years, Mr. von Sydow. Sic Transit Gloria.
34
@gmgwat
Sorry-- as another poster noted, he was holding a bowl of milk, not strawberries.
2
@gmgwat While I don't remember the details of the scene, another poster votes for strawberries and milk, so viewing the film again is certainly a good idea.
2
I loved him in Three Days of the Condor. "For that day."
16
Watch his performance in Three Days of the Condor. You'll never forget it.
18
The 70's was my absolute favorite decade for films, and Max Von Sydow one of my favorite support actors. Fantastic as the Exorcist priest, and as the professional assassin in one of my favorite films of the decade, Three days of the Condor, with Redford and Dunaway. A truly professional...
14
@JCA Don't forget Hannah and her Sisters, and of course, those amazing Bergman films.
8
My favourite film of his goes oddly unmentioned in the obituaries and comments I've read so far - the 2003 Spanish "magic realism" film Intacto. It is a haunting, disturbing story that after several viewings, still leaaves me somewhat shaken.
Von Sydow plays a concentration camp survivor who, decades later, still considers himself unbearably lucky. The film is all about how luck can be "stolen" from someone who has it just by a touch on the shoulder.
This serves von Sydow's character very well, because he runs a very strange casino in the Nevada desert, and can steal luck from winners at the gaming tables by employing staff who have gift of this sort of theft - like the only survivor of a major plane crash, for example.
Throughout the film,other characters test their luck in sometimes suicidal contests - like a group of contenders racing blindfolded at full speed through a forest, or running across a dark and busy highway.
I wouldn't dream of revealing the denouementm except to say it is unforgettable. There are several other fine performances, but Intacto is Von Sydow's picture, and a very dark and troubling one it is. I highly recommend it. Otherwise, I join all others who admire the actor, and the man.
14
@Thomson Prentice
I forgot to add that although the film is largely in Spanish (with English subtitles), von Sydow's character speaks im English.
2
@Thomson Prentice
I remember "Intacto" well-- saw it around the time of its release. Interesting film. I don't remember much of von Sydow's performance, but I still shudder at the memory of the contenders running through the trees, blindfolded with their hands bound. It was difficult to watch.
2
I completely agree with your comments about the film "Intacto" and Max Von Sydow's acting. The movie stands multiple viewings. However, if I am not mistaken, the casino was located in the Canary Islands.
As the suicidal Lutheran parishioner in Ingmar Bergman's film "Winter Light," Max von Sydow provided one of most brilliant performances I've ever seen on film because he conveyed profound emotions even though he spoke no more than a few words. Mr. von Sydow's facial expressions and body language alone were unforgettably powerful as he sat in a pew, knelt to receive Communion for what he knew would be his last time, and suffered mostly in silence through two of his pastor's inept counseling sessions.
18
@Cromer It's almost like - to use the terminology of actor/theorist Michael Chekhov - the intensity of his emotion, felt as an interior experience rather than delivered as a facial expression, radiated outwards and was picked up by the film.
6
@Cromer "Winter Light": Thanks for reminding me. A crucial film in Mr. Von Sydow's distinguished career. His performance was stupendous.
7
Oh! One of my favorites. Rest in peace.
9
RIP.
I just re-watched “The Seventh Seal” this week.
It is a must-see during the current, and upcoming, pandemics.
15
Mr. Max von Sydow cast an unforgettable figure in all his films. Somehow, to us, he'll be always be associated with the highly convulsive '60's when we came of age and discovered what was then referred to as "art film houses" in New York City (the Thalia Theater and the New Yorker in upper Manhattan, the Elgin at the other end, etc. ), and particularly the directors of the European New Wave. Who can forget those unique scenes in Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" or "The Seventh Seal" in which Mr. von Sydow starred? RIP Max von Sydow, a truly great actor.
19
@Rafael Gonzalez It's very true that appreciation for von Sydow and Bergman and the "art house" films of the 60s and 70s rests almost entirely among people of a - ahem - certain age.
2
@Bob All ages of intelligence. As a Scandinavian, I saw those movies as a child and knew they were brilliant.
1
@Bob
Too bad for you he never made a Marvel movie.
3
I remember those so many years ago in college where I was first exposed to the greatness of Mr. von Sydow, Mr Bergmann and their compatriots. Our college audience was almost always quietly reverent watching these films, but we all cheered when we saw Max pumping gas in 'Wild Strawberries'. He was so very magnetic and of course talented. A very sad day.
12
To the onscreen father I never had, wrestle with angst in peace.
10
Max was an iconic figure in some of the most notable films ever made. He will be missed. We wrote a piece on him here: https://www.ihorror.com/max-von-sydow-the-exorcist-and-needful-things-star-dead-at-90/
3
Max von Sydow was incredible. We Swedes remember him for many roles, perhaps the most significant and relevant to our time was his role in the Immigrant movies.
@NewYorkTimes, it's Sjöberg you know, not Sjoberg. It's not that hard. Even Netflix manages it.
16
@Helen Yes, we saw those on TV in Denmark, too. For once a series that is as good as the book series (Moberg, another brilliant Swede). Gripping series and Max von Sydow simply WAS his character, no acting just being.
I've had a crush on him for decades. Hard not to, he was a natural. If anyone was The Scandinavian Man it was he.
3
The power of Max compels you!
13
I agree that the knight playing chess with Death in "The Seventh Seal" (1957) is an iconic image. However, it is the scene where the knight confronts the witch that cemented Von Sydow's cinematic immortality as an actor.
The knight (Von Sydow) begs the witch (Maud Hansson)—soon to be burned on a pyre—to summon Satan. When the witch says that Satan now stands behind him, Von Sydow's acting is a marvel: He instantly turns—his eyes expressing first hope, then confusion, and then resignation.
At that same moment, the witch's emotions have changed from duplicitous contempt to surprise at the knight's lack of hesitation. The witch realizes the knight truly seeks Satan, but the knight now realizes the witch is a fraud and is merely a frightened child wrongly condemned to death. The acting by Von Sydow and Hansson in this scene was phenomenal.
Ingmar Bergman was not overstating things when he said that Von Sydow was "the best Stradivarius that I have ever had in my hands." Von Sydow was a truly gifted actor whose mere presence elevated the quality of any film in which he appeared. His passing is keenly felt in my heart.
45
Not being one myself, immensely talented people really move me. Like Max von Sydow.
16
I shall remember our words and shall bear this memory between my hands as carefully as a bowl of fresh milk. And this will be a sign, and a great content.
14
The most universal, iconic scene in cinema.
On behalf of all humanity, Antonius played a delaying game of chess with Death. He bought us time.
We need Antonius/Max even more today -- to show us dignity, strength, optimism, hope.
RIP Antonius. RIP Max.
19
Max, you have been the first and the best Stradivarius that I have ever had in my hands. Well spoken. How well I remember my first viewings of Mr. von Sydow in some of these "art" films at the Thalia, the small Upper West Side theater where I used to go upon my moving to NYC in the early 1970's. What a great actor, Mr. von Sydow; thank you and rest in peace.
23
Max von Sydow was so brilliant, he could have made reading any instruction manual appear riveting, suspenseful, captivating and frightening because of his voice and how he commanded it with his inflection and deliberate pause in his phrasing. He could say more with fewer words than most actors say in an entire scene.
I will miss him dearly.
25
It's a disgrace the the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences never gave him an honorary Oscar.
50
@paul S. Wasn't he nominated for Hannah and Her Sisters?
1
I was always waiting for the academy to do so.
1
What about "Strange Brew" no mention, yet another brilliant performance!?
6
Bergman was an actor who always looked old. Consequently, he never seemed to age {like Victor Mature}. Yes. he was great with Bergman and all of the serious films. But his Ming the Merciless was precious.
8
@cleo
He was reported as being only 28 years old in "The Seventh Seal", yet he was perfectly cast as a battle-worn veteran of the Crusades. Every line on his face was a story itself.
6
Given his broad accolades, I also appreciate that he took the time to make movies that were just fun and silly like Strange Brew (where he was the evil brewmeister); side note that it was still an adaptation of Hamlet.
9
@GW
Pauline Kael explained his turn as Ming the Merciless by saying that a serious actor likes having fun now and then. Especially von Sydow, who had a great laugh.
1
He was also marvelous as the self-deprecating psychiatrist in 1995's tv movie, "Citizen X".
5
@Olyian
"Thank you both, and may I say that, together, you make a wonderful person." (von Sydow's character, Bukhanovsky)
2
Perfect casting as the elder king in the original "Conan The Barbarian," and as Ming the Merciless in "Flash Gordon." He raised cheese to elegant heights.
15
I thought that von Sydow was perfectly cast in "Citizen X" with Donald Sutherland. He played a Russian shrink helping to apprehend a serial killer. A limited role, but he played it perfectly and made the character memorable.
RIP.
7
He was such a versatile actor, and my favorite line of his comes from his character Frederick in Hannah and Her Sisters, as he goes off on TV fundamentalist preachers: "If Jesus came back and saw what was being done in his name, he'd never stop throwing up."
42
@Kathy McAdam Hahn
I agree.
4
Agree!
3
Agree it was beautiful.
But remember who wrote those lines.
Credit should be shared, for writing and casting.
But, oh, that delivery of those lines!
5
Why is it that no one ever mentions “The Emigrants”, in which Von Sydow abd his wife, played by the great Liv Ullmann, endure a grueling trek across the ocean and overland to the promised land in Minnesota? This was an incredible story of emigration that most Americans might actually find common ground in their own family trees if they researched it.
43
@Madeline I've watched it many times and LOVE that it is a long period quality series. The books (Wilhelm Moberg) are superb, too.
2
One of the real greats. I will never forget his speech over strawberries and milk in “The Seventh Seal.”
15
What a loss! I will miss him greatly.
5
Nothing so far about the irony of dying whilst plague ravishes a world at a loss for meaning ...
11
@Syd Maybe you meant "ravages."
4
I first saw him as Jesus in 1965.
He deserved Academy Awards for numerous rolls, most of all "Pelle the Conqueror."
But my favorite was his neurotic, self-centered artist in "Hannah and Her Sisters." What intensity in a comic performance!
A sublime artist.
14
I can't believe he's dead. And by that, I don't mean, I can't come to terms with his death -- I mean I literally thought he had some deal with the Grim Reaper that would allow him to live forever!
14
@Mark Gardiner I guess you forgot the end of the movie? :-) No, the best we can do is delay -- If you are brave, clever, patient, hopeful.
7
You neglected to include his role as Major Karl von Steiner in VICTORY with Sylvester Stallone, Michael Kane, and Pele'.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083284/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
Good film combining a WWII prisoner of war camp & a Soccer match.
But yes, I will always remember him as Father Merrin (EXORCIST). He was only 44 years old when he performed that role. Using old school makeup, they made him look far, far older.
R.I.P. Max von Sydow
6
I think Max Von Sydow's greatest role was the voice of Carl Jung, in the 1989 documtary Carl Jung: Wisdom of the Dream.
A fitting farewell to Mr. Von Sydow is the final scene in the Seventh Seal, where Death leads Antonius Block and the rest of the cast over a distant hill:
https://youtu.be/mbgiWPJLSsM?t=5674
11
@W Wow, the whole movie! And what a pristine print!
Many thanks!
PS- While I love this dearly, somehow The Three Days of the Condor stays near to me in my minds eye, and ear; what a complex character he created! Absolutely love him.
6
"If Jesus Christ came back today and saw what people were doing in his name, he'd never stop throwing up." Von Sydow's character in "Hannah and Her Sisters". Best. Movie. Line. Ever.
24
@Quilly Gal Amen! to that. And double, and triple Amen! Thank you for recalling these words here; they were never more relevant (and appropropriate) in these troubled times.
3
Losing Mr. von Sydow, whose most famous role involved him persevering through the plague, amidst a global pandemic is one more reason to feel angst in these uncertain times.
8
How could you forget to mention his iconic lead role in Bergman’s masterwork “The Seventh Seal”
as the wandering medieval knight who challenges
Death to a prolonged game of chess?
5
@Catherine Herrmann
Again, this was mentioned in this very article along with a picture.
4
No one will agree with me but these are my favorites; Vivian Leigh in “A Streetcar Named Desire “ and Max Von Sydow in “Hamsun.”
3
Sorry. It’s Vivien. Spellcheck.
I'm not at all a religious person, but for me, Max von Sydow in The Greatest Story Ever Told was the most moving portrayal of Christ.
5
I saw Bergman's The Magician soon after it came out, with Max von Sydow and the Bergman company, and it knocked me out of my chair. What a revelation! The Technicolor 50s Hollywood movies I grew up with suddenly seemed colorless next to this black-and-white marvel.
11
We that are young shall never see so much nor live so long.
7
Certainly predicted the dumbing-down of America in "Hannah and Her Sisters": "Imagine the kind of mind that watches professional wrestling" and the Trump faux Christian mentality: "If Jesus came back he wouldn't stop throwing up." RIP
18
@steveconn
Professional wrestling... This is a mild addiction.
Just think of the millions of minds who watch TV series...
Remember who wrote those lines.
1
I find it very hard to take myself seriously. Max von Sydow
Only a man of true humble greatness would ever be able to say this! And you were one of the very greatest, actor and man, and I can't even begin count the tears which have been shed in the dark while you were the magician on screen opening every cell of my soul to flow.
I feel blessed by the emotons that you aroused each and every time I viewed a film (I never saw Exorcist).
Max, when I watched you on the phone speaking to your son in The Diving Bell I let out a cry of pain that matched your own. I just knew how all your special emotional powers were on view. I will never forget that moment and all others you have given to me.
Tears are flowing down my face as I write this, Max. And since I never met you that feeling is so profound since it tells me how far you reach inside my emotions and I'm sure that's true of all people close to you and on your path in life.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you've given to the world. I miss you already. Good thing that true love can never leave your heart. Not ever. Bless you and RIP
9
A three dimensional actor, not a two dimensional movie star.
23
“He was said to have adopted the name Max from the star performer in a flea circus he saw while serving in the Swedish Quartermaster Corps.”
That’s hilarious. Did the family ask to have that sentence inserted?
Simply exquisite!
13
In a word...brilliant.
10
The world is now truly over.
4
“I am an artist, not an interior decorator!”
13
@Steve Griffith "I don't sell my paintings by the yard."
3
The Virgin Spring is a powerful viewing experience, hard to watch but so rewarding.
9
I grin thinking how many updates the NY Times made to his obituary over the decades.
12
Hmm. Why no mention of “Strange Brew”?
2
Sad to hear! Another great talent taken away, another original voice silenced! But, happy we had him for as long as we did.
RIP Max Von Sydow. What an interesting person, great life and storried career!
He was in soo many movies and TV shows I grew up with. As a fan, I’m truly grateful he blessed us with his presence in “Game Of Thrones as well.
3
In “Hannah and her Sisters,” the line that jumped off the screen for me was, “If Jesus came back and saw what was being done in his name, he'd never stop throwing up.”
Funny, and still all too accurate. But having those words come out of the mouth of Max von Sydow — whose first American role was playing Christ — brilliant!
17
Max von Sydow: What a great actor! Playing cooly with death while the plague rages all around.
9
@Howie Lisnoff
Let us not hope for an actual real repeat with Trump & Biden and a Covid 19 epidemic.
1
Pelle the Conqueror -- See it!
8
@Woody Guthrie One of my very favorite films. He was great as the father, Lasse.
2
Now, I don't usually take to platitudes, but thank you for your service, Mr. Von Sydow, especially for being Father Kerrin, and saving us all from the devil! Oh gawd, that little girl was cute/angry!
1
Mr. von Sydow also did many of his own stunts some of which in his earlier works were hair raising.
6
The loss of an icon! The Seventh Seal is a classic, must see.
Note that production standards of 60 years ago quite inferior to today's. The Emigrants and Three Days of the Condor are timeless classics, as well. Max will live on!
10
It was an awesome chess match against Death. May you rest in peace.
18
RIP great Max von Sydow. You will always be alive for your fans, thank you for your great work.
I am going to watch ' The Exorcist ' today; best horror movie ever made, and offer a toast to your great performance and a great career.
8
As a kid who ate up movies in the 1980's my first memories of von Sydow were in The Exorcist (which I watched about a thousand times on HBO), and in Hannah and her Sisters, which made an impression on me when I watched it on VHS. He was a welcome and recognizable face forever after. Sad to see him go, but happy he is an indelible part of cinema history.
9
@Vin
“The Seventh Seal” is what made him a God.
3
Even more than his Bergman films, the films with the incomparable Max Von Sydow which made the most indelible impression on me will always be “The Emmigrants” and “The New Land.” I have never seen anything which brought home better the perils and physical hardship endured by immigrants (1800’s) determined to find a better life in this country, than the characters portrayed by Von Sydow and Liv Ullmann. Whatever your favorite roles of Max von Sydow were, he was one of a kind, and he, and that voice, conferred a beautiful gravitas to every film he appeared in.
23
I still remember is great performance in Three Days of the Condor. He cast a broad light for his fellow actors to glow in.
15
Brilliant actor. I think what amazed me was that he could play any age at any age. His depth as an actor must have come from depth as a person.
23
Beautiful man, and great actor!
Who through his craft showed life in all its facets.
That we should not fear living, but embrace life. The dark and the light.
9
I saw Max von Sydow for the first time in the Seventh Seal. I was sitting on a folding chair in a high school gymnasium in the afternoon sunlight — not ideal moviegoing conditions. Yet I have never, ever forgot that scene of him playing chess with Death in a match for his life in the face of the Black Death.
Great art touches us profoundly.
Deep appreciation to a great actor and his great director Ingmar Bergman.
48
@Alice In Wonderland
That surely was a hip High School!
2
My cousin took me to an Ingmar Bergman film festival when I was in high school in the '80s. I remember seeing Max von Sydow in "The Seventh Seal" and "The Virgin Spring." I didn't see "The Exorcist," "Three Days of the Condor" or his other mainstream movie performances until later, on cable TV showings. One thing that has always impressed me is how he played an old, dying man, Father Merrin, in "The Exorcist" without using much "aging" makeup at all. He adapted his posture, movements and expression--an understated and skilled actor. I will miss him.
15
At age 14 I was an aspiring teenage actor and had the opportunity to see both The Virgin Spring and The Seventh Seal on the screen of a movie theatre in my native Havana. I think that those two movies and Olivier's Hamlet had a more profound impact on me than any other event in my then budding career.
18
Even though he lived a creative , full life, I was shocked to find Max Von Sydow's obituary in today's paper. For me , an avid movie buff who has seen many of Mr. Von Sydow's movies over the past 50 plus years, here was an actor who left in indelible impression , a man who amassed an enormous body of work in an astonishing number of certifiable film masterpieces. His charisma and talent was a boost to so many movies, even those that were less than critical successes. A prime example was his performance as Jesus in George Steven's ponderous 1965 biblical epic, "The Greatest Story Ever Told". Shoehorning this tall, austerely handsome swede in a role that was uncommon casting at best, Von Sydow brought an ethereal presence to the role, despite his ethnic accent and ice blue eyes. He was equally arresting a year later in another mammoth production , "Hawaii', playing a stern , uncompromising New England missionary. But it was his collective film work with the likes of two genius directors from his homeland, Ingmar Bergman and Jan Troell , where the actor truly made his mark in film history : "The Seventh Seal", "The Virgin Spring", "Though A Glass Darkly", "The Emigrants" and others too numerous to mention.
26
What a great actor. The most important thing in an actor is the way he or she looks. This gentleman had that look with tons of gravitas.
10
Max was the best.
If he was in it , I would watch it. His turn in "The Exorcist" made the movie. An actors actor who always surprised.
God rest your soul sir.
12
Farewell, Max von Sydow. Thank you for all your wonderful work. I will miss you.
24
I am a Bergman fan. I’ve only ever seen von Sydow in those eerie, mesmerizing Bergman films, only speaking Swedish. Did not know he played in so many later American films, to some acclaim apparently. I’m having trouble imagining it... maybe I should try.
18
My wife & I watched Pelle the Conqueror and were simply emotionally drained at the end. Such a great film and performance. We felt that we almost didn't need the subtitles.
And add me to those who have pointed out Max's role in 3 Days of the Condor.
24
One of my all time favorite actors.
A genuine actor with a finely honed craft.
R.I.P. Max.
21
quite possibly yesterday in Sweden was the first sunny day
of spring. terribly sad condolences.
farewell
18
I'll be watching The Exorcist and Seventh Seal at home this weekend (in-between putting on my McCoy Tyner albums!). In pace requiescat!
46
@A
listened to The Real McCoy this past weekend, great stuff, but probably (hope springs) the end of the bop pantheon.
4
Truly a master. His range of artistry from “Diving Bell and the Butterfly” to “Strange Brew” is remarkable.
I’ll never forget “Strange Brew”.
15
For a gentleman who didn't care for portraying the villain, I can't imagine any other actor portraying his roles in Condor, Quiller, or Never Say Never. All the more reason to love the roles he played.
11
Of his many films ... I remember him mostly for his excellently played role as the icy hitman in "Three Days of the Condor"
19
A brilliant man. May you rest in peace Max.
23
Thank you for the lovely Bergman quote at the end!
67
God no!
I was just thinking the other day "Thank God Max von Sydow is still with us." I knew he was 90 but hoping he'd still have a few more movies left in him.
So many wonderful roles that I remember him in. He was one of those actors who could not be replaced - the roles he was in, you'd think "That's a Max von Sydow" role, and you couldn't imagine anyone else in that role.
He was always wonderful as the kindly older mentor type. For instance, look at this span over 4 decades:
"Father Merrin" in "The Exorcist" (1973).
"Doctor Kynes" in "Dune" (1984).
"Judge Fargo" in "Judge Dredd" (1993).
"Lamar Burgess" in "Minority Report" (2002).
And he died on the 17th anniversary of the day my own father died. Just great. What a way to start a Monday.
16
Max's career and presence in film was Titan - and has always informed every aspect of what I have studied, learned, practiced and believed to be highest in the art of acting.
As a young man I first discovered him in The Exorcist; his performance above all the others, it left a profound and indelible impression on me. I was only thirteen at the time, and a young man cherishing my youthful dreams of becoming an actor, so I immediately sought out his films, and from the first, he stole my heart, captured my imagination, and he never let go.
I cannot say I have ever seen him deliver a bad performance or even a pedestrian one. Every leap into the ring was a knock out, a championship event of mastery and purity.
For people such as myself, for whom the world of film is the only remaining cure before our inescapably crass and increasingly vulgar day to day world, every day more cheapened by mediocrity, especially in the wasteland of current filmdom, Max was one of the rarest of gems: pure, naked, raw talent.
We do still have a few master filmmakers and players who manage to escape redundancy, mediocrity, dnd the vile hands of lowly modern producers, but their numbers dwindle.
Upon reading this sad news today I wept as I have rarely done for a public persona, or celebrity - I did once upon the news of Richard Burton's passing as well - but when a true prince of my most-cherished medium of art is lost, it is as if something vital is ripped out of my life's armor forever.
27
A great one, through and through.
I wish this obit could have pared its coverage of "Oscar" nominations and offered more depth. First, The Seventh Seal signaled Bergman's life-long preoccupation with postwar Existentialism; is an homage to Camus' famous book The Plague; and starts the long inquiry, as to whether God exists in a world of implausible evil. Von Sydow came to incarnate that debate through his performance. Secondly, Woody Allen's film, Hannah and Her Sisters, is an homage to Bergman's Cries and Whispers, which is an homage to Chekhov's Three Sisters. That's one reason why Allen chose von Sydow. Von Sydow was a cultural icon for master filmmakers and for cinephiles, not for "Hollywood."
57
One of our great "go-to" character actors in the business. Some roles he took, ran away with the movie. An example, "Three Days of the Condor" with Redford. His passing is a sad day for the art. Godspeed MVS!
14
As a director, I learned more about acting from Max than anyone, when I was lucky enough to be his assistant when he portrayed Prospero in THE TEMPEST at the Old Vic in 1988. Max was one cool cat!
37
The first time I saw Max von Sydow was in The Seventh Seal, a movie in which he played a character I share a last name and first initial with. Von Sydow was playing a young man in that movie, but one who was old before his time, vanquished not by age but by the trauma of war and the burden of memories. Pale, sinewy, and towheaded, he already seemed like a figure out of time, an impression that grew over the next 24 movies I saw him in. That otherworldly aura only increased as he starred in a series of movies set in the past (The Virgin Spring, Pelle the Conqueror, The Emigrants, The New Land), the present (Hannah and Her Sisters, The Exorcist), the future (Minority Report), and outside of any historical timeline (Flash Gordon, Conan the Barbarian, Star Wars 7). He was an avatar of the Swedish past, the world's present and humanity's future. His appearance and his face, stonelike and brittle, gave him the ability to play in the realm of fantasy and within the deepest bounds of human emotion. In The Virgin Spring, that emotion was set on the stove and left to boil over. The scene of him in that movie wrestling a tree to the ground (wrestling with God and his own conscience), remains for me one of the most indelible images in cinematic history.
If those early Bergman movies had been his entire career, he would have already been a legend. But he kept working, appearing in movies across six decades. And the legend grew.
38
It's hard to imagine the world of film without Max Von Sydow in it. He brought a wry humanity to all his roles, even the villainous ones. He saw us, his fellow human beings, with great clarity and reflected back what he saw in his performances. That's what made him one of the greatest screen actors. And it's why I feel surprisingly sad at this news, as if I've lost someone I actually knew.
28
Definitely in a league of his own. A fine, inimitable actor that always elevated the work he was a part of. What a force. He'll be missed.
20
A great actor, who played many memorable roles - one of the last of the legends of film.
13
In the world of cinema he was sui genesis. One of the greatest actors in cinematic history and always a pleasure to watch.
26
There was a time in my life, in my early 40's, when I felt lost and despondent. I watched The Seventh Seal. I watched it again. Then again. Max von Sydow's performance radiated courage and wiliness in the face of a plague that something snapped into focus for me: Carry on. Be brave. And look out for others.
There are many reasons one drops into depression, and many ways to re-emerge. But for me, today, I am grateful for The Seventh Seal, for Bergman, and for von Sydow's masterful, life affirming performance.
155
@Down62 Well said. Grateful for a college film course that introduced The Seventh Seal (along with other Bergman greats). Years later, now teaching college students myself, a student told me she'd just seen the greatest film ever. Turned out to be The Big Chill -- she'd never heard of The Seventh Seal nor even of Bergman. Times do change, not always for the better. (Another current Film major had never heard of Grace Kelly. I felt so lucky... ) The image of Von Sydow over the chessboard remains with me to this day. Revisiting The Seventh Seal will give you more insight into humanity's response to coronavirus than any pundit possibly can.
35
@Down62
Having been down that all too familiar lost and despondent road more times than I care to count, there was always the one constant in my life which kept me from taking that turn and jumping off that cliff - my cats. They need me more than my husband does because they depend on me for food, comfort and care and love. While my husband needs me as well, he could carry on without me. My cats give me purpose and reason and joy and happiness.
For you it was "The Seventh Seal" film which clicked. I am extremely happy that you found a way and a lighted path out of your depression.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.
11
@Down62 maybe we should all try to view it now, to help us cope with the current coronavirus, and with fears of the Trump's administration response to it.
9
Von Sydow’s acting was often understated, but delivered with a realism, intensity, and intention that was almost always compelling. When he talked or acted, it was impossible not to listen and watch.
Even small roles, such as the assassin in “Three Days of the Condor,” lent a kind of gravitas and realism that helped propel films to success.
New actors can learn a lot by studying his work. It goes without saying that he will be missed, but his oeuvre will remain for future generations to relish.
52
If I believed in signs, which, as it happens, I do, I would say this wasn't a good one.
16
@Jean, No, you don't want to show that movie right now.
Since the obit mentions the play "Duet for One" I thought it would be worth mentioning that vonSydow was also in the movie which re-teamed him with his "Hawaii" co-star Julie Andrews and also starred Alan Bates, Liam Neeson and Rupert Everett. You've probably never seen it because it was essentially dumped in it's theatrical release and has never been issued on dvd. It's a terrific film and probably the greatest dramatic performance in Andrews' career. Highly recommended, if you can find it.
22
@jim Perhaps. you could do us the favor of naming that elusive film?
@st_croix_wis Duet for One, I believe. Released in 1986.
3
@st_croix_wis
Considering that I referred to the play "Duet for One" was it really that difficult to figure out that I was writing about the film version of that play?
2
His performance in "Three Days of the Condor" was a masterpiece.
75
@seano Yes. Just saw it again recently and marveled at how much he conveys in what is such a compact performance. More than most actors do with a leading role.
24
@seano
i LOVE 3 days. one of my top 25 or so movies. i love the final scene between him and Redford, where you can see him thaw just a bit as he explains to Condor how his death could possible happen, by way of giving him fair warning...
"it may happen this way, a car will pull up beside you..."
25
@davethesuave Not fault-finding, but you've got the "may" and "will" transposed, Dave. I think that's an important point as it is foreshadowing the closing of the story. And yes, the subtlety of that scene is just so incredible.
10
In this era of increasingly superficial film fantasies, his acting talent will be missed. It is with nostalgia and longing I reflect on his film legacy of films for adults.
31
One of the true legends. He also had a substantial role in Win Wender's semi classic Until the End of the World.
25
Another great actor lost. He was one of my favorite foreign actors. Really enjoyed him in the ‘Exorcist’ and ‘Never Say Never Again.’ Sad news indeed.
9
Mr. von Sydow was a fantastic actor. His performances were nuanced and stunningly effective.
How we're going to miss that face and that voice. His amazing body of work will ease our sorrows.
Thank you, Mr. von Sydow. How we succumbed to your charms.
49
Another great has crossed over into eternity.
It was always Max von Sydow's voice that stopped me in my tracks because of its depth and richness.
I loved him in that 1998 little side movie, "What Dream May Come". He played "The Tracker" and he gave such substance to a rather minor role. But that's the kind of actor he was - every role was studied and performed at his absolute fullest and best. He was simply brilliant and magnificent.
Sincere condolences to his wife, friends, and many fans.
71
One of the best!
RIP Sir.
23
Of the sublime Max von Sydow's performance in Bille August's film adaptation of Martin Anderson Nexo's novel “Pelle the Conqueror,” John Simon wrote, “But the concluding words of praise must go to Max von Sydow. There is a scene near the end where his misery is shot almost entirely from the back, his face only briefly, partially visible. Yet there is more ineffable wretchedness in that rear view, as [his character] Lasse weeps in terminal defeat, than other actors could give us in full frontal closeup and twice the amount of time.”
90
@Jerry Kavanagh I totally agree. An absolute heart wrenching performance that should have awarded him an Oscar for what its worth. One of the greatest of all time. Dignified, modest and utterly talented. A talent wasted on many american movies I will add. Farewell Max.
36
@Jerry Kavanagh
your comment reminds me of another great scene, from another great actor (and probably my all time fav, George C Scott), the movie was Islands in the Stream (1977), his ex-wife, played by Claire Bloom, has come a long way to visit him is his tropical hideaway, there's a moment, he walks to the liquor cabinet to makes them a drink, you see him from the back, he suddenly, almost imperceptibly stiffens, as he only then realizes WHY she's traveled all that distance (and not just the physical distance), to break the news....
7
Best film ever. Heartwrenching.
3
My favorite role of his is absolutely Father Merron in The Exorcist. He was a great one.
5
Simply put Mr. Von Sydow was one of the greatest film actors ever. If for no other reason, watch him portray Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told and listen to his eloquent delivery of the English language! And then watch him in Bergman's A Passion (aka The Passion of Anna) and be both moved and shattered by his appreciation of the human condition. And then go on to choose among fifty or so other movies in which Von Sydow managed to distinguish himself with material great and otherwise. Not since Paul Scofield passed away have I felt so strong a loss within the acting profession.
66
@stu freeman
Today, I'm used to hearing Europeans, especially Scandinavians, speak English with nary a trace of an accent (maybe because there are so many linguistically-gifted opera singers around today). But I recall how surprised I was some 55 years ago when I went to see Mr. von Sydow's first American film, THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD, and encountered his virtually unaccented performance as Jesus, a very rare experience back then. Only his compatriot Ingrid Bergman could manage that as well (as with Audrey Hepburn, you heard something of a slight Continental accent but could never define it), but she even managed to do a Cockney accent (come to think of it, so did Ms. Hepburn), and acted in films (and I think on the stage) in five different languages, which must be a record that even Mr. von Sydow might have envied. A very great actor in any language!
11
Sven Nordin, Norwegian actor, was casted in a British mini series on Scott / Amundsen. The series told the story of their race to the South Pole: Last Place on Earth. Sven was casted in a role as Trygve Gran, the only Norwegian in Scott’s group. Sven rehearsed his lines in impeccable English. When arriving on the set he was told by the director;”No,no. I don’t want you to speak perfect English. Speak like von Sydow, that’s why we hired you. You look like him, but you’re far cheaper”. End of cute story.
4
Mr. Von Sydow's performance in "The Seventh Seal" was my first introduction to serious film. Long after the lights came up, I remained stunned in my seat.
159
@Burnham Holmes
Same thing for me. I was 17 or 18 when it opened in Montreal at the small Cinéma Élysée. From then on I
looked forward to each new Bergman film.
In 1974 as I traveled through San Francisco, I noticed
a lesser known of his films : Passions of Anna. There were very few of us in the theater and when the lights came on a tall blond guy turned to me and made a face meaning "that was intense". We chatted a bit
then went for a drink and we were together for the
next thirty years. When he died in 2003 I came back
to Montreal, resumed living in french but the NYT
remains part of my American self.
33
A great actor. RIP.
72