Monster of the Day #2088

Updated on March 10, 2020 By Ken Begg 15 Comments

Max Von Sydow, RIP.

This has been a tough year for old movie buffs already, what with Kirk Douglas passing away last month and now Max Von Sydow passing. I’ve seen Strange Brew and Flash Gordon recently (Gordon as at this year’s B-Fest), so this week I’ll rewatch today’s subject. Of course there’s The Exorcist, his typically excellent turn in Three Days of the Condor, and a ton of other work. It’s quite a legacy.

No matter how many chess games you win, though, eventually you lose.

Pin It



Related Posts

  • Beckoning Chasm

    I don’t think he ever turned in a bad (or even indifferent) performance. And he definitely channeled Bergman superbly.

  • Gamera977

    Going to embarrass myself but I’ve watched this twice and fell asleep halfway though. I loved Sydow in ‘Dune’ and ‘Flash Gordan’ though.
    R.I.P. Mr. Sydow

  • NathanShumate

    Amazing that he was under 30 years old for THE SEVENTH SEAL, and already looked as old as dirt.

  • Gamera977

    He should have challenged Death to a game of Twister instead…

  • Beckoning Chasm

    And he looked old as dirt in The Exorcist, but he was only in his mid-40’s.

  • bgbear_rnh

    “The Virgin Spring” is a must see film. Wes Craven got a hold of the plot for “Last House on the Left”.

  • bgbear_rnh

    You sunk my battleship!

  • zombiewhacker

    Credit makeup artist Dick Smith for that. Although Smith also did Linda Blair’s hideous makeup for Exorcist, Smith (from what I’ve read) always considered the transformation of young von Sydow into an old man to be Smith’s greatest accomplishment.

  • zombiewhacker

    I don’t know how many of you guys are gamers, but if you ever play The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, von Sydow’s in that, too… and does an excellent job there as well.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    I think I read somewhere that after The Exorcist, Von Sydow got dozens of offers to play old men, the makeup was so convincing. (Same thing happened to Robert Cornthwaite after The Thing.)

  • Gamera977

    Very cool! I’ll have to look up who he played. I’m afraid I kinda suck at recognizing voices unless they’re really distinctive.

  • Ken_Begg

    One of the great homages, certainly.

  • zombiewhacker

    von Sydow plays the monk who trains the player how to use his “Dragon Voice.”

    Christopher Plummer voices another character in Skyrim but I forget who he played… maybe one of the dragons (!)

  • zombiewhacker

    Right. Wasn’t Cornthwaite even younger, like maybe in his twenties or early thirties?

  • Beckoning Chasm

    According to Wikipedia, 34 or so. I remember an interview where he was bemused by the whole thing. They’d call him to read and this young guy would walk in, while everyone waited for the old man to show up.