Logo

CritifyHub

Home Reviews Blogs Community Movie Suggestions Movie Room Sign in

Max von Sydow

Max von Sydow

Biography

Max von Sydow (born Carl Adolf von Sydow; April 10, 1929 – March 8, 2020) was a Swedish actor. He also held French citizenship since 2002. He starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more. He performed in films filmed in many languages, including Swedish, Norwegian, English, Italian, German, Danish, French and Spanish.

Some of his most memorable film roles include knight Antonius Block in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (the first of his eleven films with Bergman and the film that includes the iconic shot of his career in the scene where he plays chess with Death), Jesus in George Stevens's The Greatest Story Ever Told, Father Merrin in Friedkin's The Exorcist, Joubert the assassin in Three Days of the Condor, and Ming the Merciless in the 1980 version of Flash Gordon.

He was twice nominated for the Academy Award - Best Leading Actor for Pelle the Conqueror (1988) and Best Supporting Actor for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011).

CritifyHub Reviews Featuring Max von Sydow

Echoes in the Heart: The Fragile Brilliance of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

on Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | Aug 22, 2025

Did a child’s scavenger hunt ever feel like it could mend a broken world? Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011), directed by Stephen Daldry, dares to ask, plunging us into the chaotic, curious mind... Read more

Beneath the Cross: The Exorcist’s Primal Dance of Faith and Fear

on The Exorcist | Jul 13, 2025

William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973) remains a cinematic crucible, forging terror and theology into a singular, unsettling experience. Its power lies not in its shocks though they are legion but in ... Read more

Shadows of Suspicion: Decoding the Paranoia of *Three Days of the Condor*

on Three Days of the Condor | Jul 12, 2025

Sydney Pollack’s Three Days of the Condor (1975) is a masterclass in constructing tension through restraint, weaving a tapestry of paranoia that feels as prescient today as it did in its post-Watergat... Read more

Acted Movies