Max Von Sydow (1929-2020)
Monday, March 9, 2020 at 10:41AM by Nathaniel R
It is with great sadness we must announce the passing of Max von Sydow. The international acting legend had worked steadily since his big screen debut in Sweden in 1949. Multiple Swedish classics followed including Miss Julie, Wild Strawberries, and The Virgin Spring. International fame happened quickly through his mutli-film collaboration with Sweden's most celebrated auteur Ingmar Bergman. By the mid 60s he began headlining international productions, first as Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) and by the 1970s he was a mandatory for prestige all star productions (Voyage of the Damned, The Exorcist). He's been a mainstay of cinema for 70 years, that exceedingly memorable long face flipping from sweet to sinister to authoritative to wise (and everything inbetween) on command for the demands of any role.
Before his death he completed a lead role in an as yet unreleased WW II drama Echoes of the Past which is currently in post-production. Let's pray it's a fitting swansong for one of the inarguable greats.
We had the privilege of interviewing him over coffee when he was making the awards rounds for The Diving Bell and Butterfly and he was sweet, humble, and talkative about his career and the cinema. We've begged the Academy to give him an Honorary Oscar quite frequently but, tragically, they didn't listen and they've missed their long long window to do so.
After the jump the first 10 Max von Sydow roles that jumped to mind in no particular order when we heard the news...
Minority Report (2002)
Pelle the Conqueror (1987), his first of two Oscar nominations
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
The Emigrants (1971)
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
The Exorcist (1973)
Game of Thrones (2016)
The Magician (1958)
Three Days of Condor (1975)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Which of his many classic roles are your favourites? And which sprang immediately to mind when you heard the sad news.
Reader Comments (43)
Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon, hands down. Kinda surprised not to see it on your list tbh.
Ron -- these aren't my 10 favourites per se. just what popped into mind first.
I am disappointed that Oscar never rewarded this icon of the cinema. I suppose we can take solace in the knowledge that instead of Max von Sydow the AMPAS Board of Governors did award an honorary prize to fellow cinematic greats Jackie Chsn and Wes Studi.
Swedish: Hamsun / Pelle the Conqueror
English: Hawaii
A giant.
Dune and Judge Dredd are my immediate reference points to him.
We're going to regret very very soon this past decade of erratic Honorary Oscars.
The first that spring to mind for me are The Exorcist, Hannah and Her Sisters, Flash Gordon, and The Seventh Seal.
Peggy Sue is right.
This news made me very sad. He was one of the indelible faces of the cinema. For me, his most memorable roles are The Seventh Seal (of course), The Emigrants, and Three Days of the Condor.
Shame springs to mind as well, even though that increasingly becomes more UIlmann's movie as it goes along. A remarkable actor with a staggering filmography. RIP.
A total monument to cinema Fave performances and there are many would have to be The Exorcist and Hannah & Her Sisters,vivid characterisation with minimal screen time.
He was amazing in the quite academic PELLE deserving all the kudos and accolades he received but his Ming The Merciless was unbeatable
I'm also disappointed he never got an Honorary one (which he absolutely should've) but there's no need to bring down much deserved (if albeit somewhat early) and extremely welcome acknowledgments of people like Jackie Chan and Wes Studi, both giants in their own right and glass breakers of underrepresented minorities.
Nothing but MAD RESPECT to Max Von Sydow, he was an amazing, brilliant actor in so many great films -- and a highlight in many that were decidedly not great (cough, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, cough cough).
He was a giant. RIP.
Needed to be said, Peggy Sue.
oh, no! He's always such a welcome presence even in small roles. He brought so much gravitas to even a small role like the one in "The Force Awakens." RIP
Footnotes like Angela Lansbury, Cicely Tyson and Wes Studi can get Honorary Oscars, but a true icon can't. I sincerely hope that Ming the Merciless will get ahold of the Academy.
But maybe this isn't the time to get upset. Rest in peace, Max von Sydow. The chess game is finally over.
My mind immediately jumped to minority report. So awesome in such a small role. Super memorable.
Honestly, the first movie that i watched with him was Voyage of the Damned for the reader's choice post in this page.
Watching the movie and his filmography I understand why many people talk about him to receive an honorary Oscar and that was the first thought that comes to my mind when i read the title of this post.
Also i was expecting a post remembering James Lipton and his work in Inside the Actors Studio considering that this page is an actressexuality temple. Will that happen?
The Exorcist and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. His phone call with his son is devastating. So much story and emotion in such a small amount of time, and in a phone call!
Oh, The Seventh Seal for sure and all those early Bergman movies and THAT FACE!
Legend of cinema. RIP
Sorry to hear of his passing. For sure should have received Honorary Oscar. My favorite was Pelle the Conqueror. May he rest in peace.
One of the all-time greats. So much staggering work over the years. I always think of him and Ingmar Bergman together, despite von Sydow's incredible work throughout the decades. I also love his small part in Hannah and Her Sisters...he effortlessly nails that insulated intellectual. How wonderful that he worked for so long and we have so much from him.
Definitely for four very different novies: The Exorcist, Hannah and Her Sisters, Three Days of the Condor, and Flash Gordon.
Definitely deserving if that Honorary Oscar.
Rest in Peace.
A true legend in cinema. He was always a joy to watch as I loved him in the films he did with Ingmar Bergman and I own a copy of The Emigrants/The New Land which is a two-part film that everyone should see. I enjoyed his brief appearance in The Force Awakens as he just had this air of prestige and gravitas that is sort of lacking these days. Thank you Max. We will miss you.
I'm just so fed up with all this diversity shit.
Jackie Chan received an Honorary Oscar and Max Von Sydow died without one.
Goodbye Mr. Sydow. You played a very long game of chess and during that time you made some wonderful films and helped change the landscape of world cinema. Good game sir. What a player.
Seeing commentators spew vitriol in a post intended to celebrate the accomplishments of a legendary performer on the occasion of his passing is sad. At least the commentator spewing hate for "this diversity shit" said the quiet part out loud for us. The Film Experience used to be such fun. It's sad what's happened here.
R.I.P. Max von Sydow. The films that came to mind first when I heard the news were Pelle the Conqueror (for which he would have deserved the Oscar), The Exorcist, The Seventh Seal, Never Say Never Again and Hannah and Her Sisters. That's just scratching the surface of his wonderful career.
People who love Max Von Sydow can also love Jackie Chan. Denigrating the latter doesn't flatter the former (or the writer).
When I saw Peggy Sue first break the news in the comments my heart sank. They really did have many chances to give him an honorary and missed out. But I still think they should have given Doris Day one even if she didn’t attend the ceremony, so what do I know.
When I first learned what the Criterion Collection was, I would find myself, every payday, at a nearby shop that had a small section of titles. One day, I came across The Seventh Seal and, despite the $75 price tag, bought it. A few hours later, I was a Von Sydow disciple. Watching that film and later devouring so many more of his performances mark a time in my life that is very memorable to me.
I don’t care too much about honorary Oscars. I do care that Von Sydow is no longer with us. He was a legendary actor and his performances will endure. Rest In Peace.
@David my heart is with yours - such a wonderful actor and I can't believe he's gone, even at 90+.
Very touching story David. I imagine with the privilege of money and film availability even more would mourn this loss as intensely. RIP to a legend.
He was such a scene stealer in Hannah and Her Sisters. I love him in that.
The Virgin Spring and The Emigrants came to mind when I heard of the passing of Max von Sydow. Two essential films (plus The Seventh Seal) from one of cinema's everlasting treasures. I was moved by his mute and muted performance in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - he's the genuine article no living simulacra can ever appropriate. Meanwhile the game of chess continues ...
This is heartbreaking news. One of my favourite actors of all time, so deeply etched into my cinematic imagination that he seemed immortal. I’m the hugest Bergman nerd, so those collaborations were my first thought. I’d like to draw particular attention to the stunning late-60s run of Hour Of The Wolf, Shame and especially the stunning The Passion of Anna - his very finest in my opinion.
Loved him as Dr. Kynes in Dune.
What would you say is the performance Oscar should have awarded him for?
So hilarious in Hannah and her Sisters.
He was really pretty too.
RIP
One of the true icons of world cinema and yes he had a lot of fun with the campy Ming the Merciless
@DeanDay The film itself has problems, but MVS'S performance SNOW FALLING ON CEDERS is better than a whole lot of other performances that have won Oscars. Strictly speaking, he also ws deserving for THE VIRGIN SPRING and HOUR OF THE WOLF. Marcello Mastroianni was nominated for foreign language work in the 60s, Von Sydow should have been, too. The fact that he didn't get an honorary Oscar really does seem like a scandal. It's not like people (me, cough, cough) weren't tweeting to them reminding them about his distinguished career every year.