Max von Sydow Movies
Standing over six feet-four inches tall, the bony Swedish actor Max von Sydow spent much of his acting career portraying stern, oppressive characters. Born to a family of academics in Lund, Sweden, von Sydow studied at the Royal Dramatic School in Stockholm, where he made his screen debut in Only a Mother and married his first wife, actress Christina Olin. In 1956, he moved to Malmö and met director Ingmar Bergman at the Malmo Municipal Theatre. After starring in The Seventh Seal, von Sydow went on to star in more than a dozen films with Bergman, including Wild Strawberries, Virgin Spring, Through a Glass Darkly, and Winter Light. He worked almost exclusively with Bergman's acting company until 1965, when he took the role as Jesus in George Stevens' epic The Greatest Story Ever Told. This part opened the door to American films, where he was often typecast in strong, humorless roles, like the rigid missionary Abner Hale in Hawaii. In the '70s, he went back to Sweden to work with Bergman in four more films and appeared opposite frequent co-star Liv Ullmann in Jan Troell's two-part saga The Emigrants and The New Land. It wasn't until 1973 that he made his first big Hollywood blockbuster with the role of Father Merrin The Exorcist, which he reprised in Exorcist II: The Heretic. Moving to Rome in the '80s, von Sydow had a fun role as Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon, played Barbara Hershey's intense artist boyfriend in Hannah and Her Sisters, and received his first Oscar nomination and numerous other awards for his work in Pelle the Conqueror (1988). After making his directorial debut with Katinka, he worked in several theater projects and a couple of biblical TV miniseries (Sampson & Delilah and Quo Vadis). It was during this time that he was cast as the devil in the Stephen King film adaptation Needful Things, marking von Sydow as the only actor to play both God and Satan. He also appeared in Judge Dredd and Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. He continued acting sporadically in Hollywood for What Dreams May Come and Snow Falling on Cedars. Moving on to the international circuit, he appeared in Intacto (Spain), Vercingetorix (France), and Non ho Sonno (Italy). In 2002, he co-starred with Tom Cruise for the Steven Spielberg blockbuster Minority Report.He continued to work steadily throughout the decade in projects as diverse as Rush Hour 3, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and Shutter Island. Coming nearly sixty years after his earliest film work, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close earned the venerable actor his second Oscar nomination - a Best Supporting Actor nod for his portrayal of a mute grandfather. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- 1986
- R
This drama looks into the life of French painter Paul Gauguin. Donald Sutherland plays Gauguin as he struggles through a few years in the 1890s in Montmartre after he has come back from his first stay in Tahiti. His new and radical painting style is not amenable to easy acceptance, as witnessed by August Strindberg's rejection of it here. The best segments of this film show the artist at work and talking with his friends, other less successful moments show him in amorous liaisons or in one case, in a fight sequence. Most of all, his dedication to his artistic vision as well as the depth of his personality are elements which maintain interest throughout, in a large part due to Sutherland's insightful portrayal of the artist. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Jean Yanne, (more)
- 1986
- R
Julie Andrews delivers a virtuoso dramatic performance in Duet for One. Based on a play by Tom Kempinski, the story concerns brilliant concert violinist Stephanie Anderson (Andrews) who is slowly succumbing to the ravages of multiple sclerosis. Stephanie's problems are compounded by her cheating husband David Cornwallis (Alan Bates), and her protégé Constantine Kassanis (Rupert Everett), who shows signs of "selling out" to popular entertainment. Max von Sydow, who previously co-starred with Andrews in Hawaii, plays psychiatrist Dr. Louis Feldman, who tries to help Stephanie cope with her debilitations, but who ends up as much an albatross around her neck as David and Constantine. Critics are still divided over whether or not the mystical sequences between Andrews and the ghost of her violin teacher (Sigfrit Steiner) truly work within the context of the plotline. Duet for One was the third English-language production for Russian filmmaker Andrei Konchalovsky. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julie Andrews, Alan Bates, (more)
- 1986
- PG
The first victory in The Second Victory is the Allied triumph in World War II. British major Anthony Andrews, in charge of the occupation troops in a remote Austrian village, must deal with the uncooperative attitude of the locals when one of his men is killed by a deranged Axis soldier. Andrews also pursues a romantic involvement with Birgit Doll, the niece of crooked lawyer Max Von Sydow. The lawyer kills himself when his crimes are revealed, whereupon Birgit, heretofore the only "sympathetic" villager in the film, turns on Andrews, holding the Major responsible for her uncle's death. We strongly suspect that the title The Second Victory was meant to be ironic: Nobody wins in this one. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anthony Andrews, Max von Sydow, (more)
A Woody Allen Manhattan mosaic, Hannah and Her Sisters concerns the lives, loves, and infidelities among a tightly-knit artistic clan. Hannah (Mia Farrow) regularly meets with her sisters Holly (Dianne Wiest) and Lee (Barbara Hershey) to discuss the week's events. It's what they don't always tell each other that forms the film's various subplots. Hannah is married to accountant and financial planner Elliot (Michael Caine), who carries a torch for Lee, who in turn lives with pompous Soho artist Frederick (Max Von Sydow). Meanwhile, Holly, a neurotic actress and eternal loser in love, dates TV producer Mickey (Allen), who used to be married to Hannah and spends most of the film convinced that he's about to die. Appearing in supporting parts are Lloyd Nolan and Maureen O'Sullivan (Farrow's real mom), as the eternally bickering husband-and-wife acting team who are the parents of Hannah and her sisters. The film begins and ends during the family's traditional Thanksgiving dinner, filmed in Farrow's actual New York apartment. Unbilled cameos are contributed by Sam Waterston as one of Wiest's brief amours and Tony Roberts as one of Allen's friends. Hannah and Her Sisters collected Oscars for Michael Caine, Dianne Wiest, and Woody Allen's screenplay. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, (more)
- 1985
Leading man Gabriel Byrne adds a "Harlequin Romance" dash to the two-part, six-hour TV movie Christopher Columbus. Seeking out a swifter route to the lucrative Indies, Genoa-born Columbus begs King John of Portugal (Max Von Sydow) to finance a westbound expedition. Failing this, he turns to Spain's Queen Isabella (Faye Dunaway), who is entranced by Columbus' near-religious fervor. After the famous 1492 expedition, Columbus is bankrolled for future forays into the New World, which win him both adulation and vilification. Originally telecast May 19 and 20, 1985, Christopher Columbus was filmed on location in Spain, Malta and the Dominican Republic, making full use of a $15 million budget. It isn't an earth-shattering cinematic experience, but is lots more worthwhile (and less ponderous) than the brace of Columbus biopics inflicted upon movie audiences in 1992. Those concerned with political correctness should be satisfied with the film's second half, which explores the more sinister elements of chauvinistic colonization. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1985
In this slow-paced thriller set just before D-Day in Paris, Gus Lang (Ed Harris) is an American agent who has to make sure a captured U.S. officer is not forced to divulge the secret of the Normandy invasion. Since audiences know the invasion worked, the success of Gus Lang's espionage forays into Nazi officialdom, and the French resistance appears to be a foregone conclusion. At least Paris provides an excellent backdrop for his undercover work, both with the attractive Claire Jouvet (Cyrielle Claire) and the less-attractive Nazi military. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ed Harris, Horst Buchholz, (more)
- 1985
This umpteenth film version of Henryk Sienkewicz's warhorse novel Quo Vadis? was produced for Italian Television. Francesco Quinn (son of Anthony) stars as the arrogant Roman legionnaire whose brutish, libertine outlook on life is softened by the love of early Christian girl Cristina Raines. Even allowing for the overproduced 1951 MGM version, this Quo Vadis? is a 200-minute wallow in excess. Accordingly, Klaus Maria Brandauer overplays Nero in an unbridled manner that hasn't been seen since the heyday of Bela Lugosi; at times, we shudder in fear that Brandauer's histrionics may level the papier-mache sets. Quo Vadis? debuted in the US on cable TV in 1986, where it was telecast in two parts. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1985
After a seven-year absence from the small screen, NYPD detective Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) made a comeback in the TV-movie The Belarus File (originally Kojak: The Belarus File). Adapted from John Loftus' best-selling spy novel The Belarus Secret, the film teams Kojak with federal agent Dana Sutton (Suzanne Pleshette). Following a labrynthine trail of evidence, the two investigators uncover a conspiracy that dates back to the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in the early 1940s. Max Von Sydow and Herbert Berghof guest star. Though Kojak himself is largely superfluous to the proceedings, the producers hoped that The Belarus File (premiere date: February 16, 1985) would serve as the launching pad for a weekly Kojak revival. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1985
In this fast-paced actioner, mobsters fight each other as well as the law with no one clearly winning either way. Judge Falco (Franco Nero) has been sent to Palermo under heavy-duty security to investigate mob bosses. Older Mafiosos are in a deadly war for power with the up-and-coming younger men, and in the middle of all of this, Judge Falco is supposed to bring law and order. When a gang member in New York makes his way back to Palermo to confront some of the Dons about monies due him, his sidekick Vanni (Tony Musante) considers testifying before the Judge's tribunal -- if only to indict his own enemies. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Franco Nero, Tony Musante, (more)
- 1984
- PG13
- Add Dune to Queue Add Dune to top of Queue
David Lynch wades through dark waters in his adaptation of Frank Herbert's cult science fiction novel. In condensing Herbert's rambling and complex book by eliminating characters and compacting events, Lynch succeeds in rendering the story incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the novel and making the film look like a sketchy greatest hits collection of the book for Herbert fans. The story takes place in the year 10,191. The universe is governed through a system of feudal rule, presided over by Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (José Ferrer), who appears to take his marching orders from something that resembles a talking vagina. In the kingdom are two rival houses -- the House of Atreides and the House of Harkonnen. Each house is trying to gain dominion over the universe, but that dominion can only be gained by the house that controls the Spice, a special substance that permits the folding of time. The Spice is only available on the desert world of Arrakis, or Dune. Shaddam, tired of the feuding between the two houses, permits the Atreides to take over the Spice production on Dune, while secretly working with the Harkonnens to launch a sneak attack on the Atreides and destroy them. The leader of the Atreides is Duke Leto (Jürgen Prochnow), who rules with the help of his concubine Jessica (Francesca Annis) and son Paul (Kyle MacLachlan). The rival Harkonnens are headed by the pus-oozing degenerate Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan, in a thoroughly through-the-roof performance) and his two unsavory nephews, Rabban (Paul L. Smith) and Feyd (Sting). When his father is murdered by the Harkonnens, Paul escapes to Dune, where he is greeted by the Fremen (the desert dwellers on Dune who prepare the Spice) as the messiah foretold in Fremen legend. Paul assumes the mantle of messiah and leads the Fremen in a revolt that topples the balance of power in the universe. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Francesca Annis, Leo Cimino, (more)
- 1984
This lavish retelling of the story of the Hebrew strong man and history's most famous lady barber was based in part on the Old Testament, in part on Eric Linkletter's book Husband of Delilah, and in great part on the same-named 1949 Cecil B. DeMille movie epic. Newcomer Anthony Hamilton stars as Samson, who uses his awesome strength--not to mention the jawbone of an ass--to safeguard his fellow Hebrews from the persecution of the Philistines in the 11th Century BC. Fascinated by Samson, Philistine harlot Delilah (Belinda Bauer) pretends to fall in love with him so that she may learn the source of his muscle power. Upon discovering that his mightiness stems from his flowing mane of hair, Delilah drugs Samson's wine and pulls out the shears. Bald and blinded, Samson is transformed from the savior of his people into an enslaved object of Philistine ridicule. But redemption is at hand, and by film's end practically the entire cast has been entombed in the rubble wrought by Samson's final, desperate feat of strength. Victor Mature, who of course played Samson in the 1949 film, was coaxed out of retirment to portray Samson's father, while Max Von Sydow, who Biblical-movie credits include the part of Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told, delivers an impressively subtle performance as the Philistine governor. Filmed in Mexico, Samson and Delilah originally aired April 1, 1984, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Great special effects do not always make for a great film, but Dreamscape comes awfully close. Dr. Paul Novotny (Max Von Sydow) and Dr. Jane Devries (Kate Capshaw) run a clinic for the study of dreams. Hoping to alleviate the pain of those plagued with recurring nightmares, Novotny hires a team of psychics to "inhabit" the subconsciouses of the patients. Alex Gardner (Dennis Quaid), a small-time hustler who uses his ESP gifts for financial gains, is hired to work at the clinic. He helps to disperse the fears of a young nightmare-plagued boy, then reverts to type by "raping" the thoughts of the lovely Dr. Devries. Things come to a head when one of the patients, the American president (Eddie Albert), decides to purge himself of his apocalyptic dreams by making a lasting peace with the Soviets. Bob Blair (Christopher Plummer), the political reactionary who finances the clinic, decides to assassinate the president by acting upon Dr. Novotny's pet theory: if a person dies in his or her dream, he/she will die in real life. The finale pits Gardner against psychic assassin Tommy Ray Glatman (David Patrick Kelly). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, (more)
Max Von Sydow and Andre Gregory provide voices forR.O. Blechman's animated adaptation of Stravinsky's L'Histoire Du Soldat. The music was performed by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
In this undistinguished parody of the sci fi genre, Robert Urich is Jason who leads a band of pirates in redistributing the wealth of the few to the coffers of the needy. He also joins up with Princess Karina Mary Crosby in searching for her father and a possible source of water in the next galaxy. Meant to be a campy romp through the sci fi genre, the film stops short of achieving a goal that should have been effortless. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Urich, Mary Crosby, (more)
- 1984
- Add George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey to Queue Add George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey to top of Queue
The man who assembled the remarkable documentary George Stevens: A Filmaker's Journey had the benefit of knowing the subject intimately: the film was written, produced and directed by George Stevens Jr. Utilizing pristine-quality filmclips and interviews, Stevens Jr. details Stevens Sr.'s rise from silent-film cameraman to one of the top producer/directors in Hollywood. We are treated to snippets of Stevens' camerawork on the Laurel and Hardy films at Hal Roach Studios, then we are transported to his salad days as a feature director at RKO. Among the films highlighted from this first chapter of Stevens' directorial life are Alice Adams (1935), Swing Time (1936) and Gunga Din (1939) (one would like to have heard a bit more background info concerning Stevens' Wheeler and Woolsey comedies). Next we find Stevens as an autonomous entity at Columbia Pictures, producing and directing such classics as The More the Merrier (1943). The war years are thoroughly covered via Stevens' vivid color footage of the invasion of Europe. The last stages of Stevens' Hollywood career is traced through generous portions of A Place in the Sun (1951), Shane (1953), Giant (1956) and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959). The many interviewees include Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Warren Beatty. As an added filip, A Filmmaker's Journey includes rare home-movie sequences showing George Stevens at home and at work--all filmed with as much care and professionalism as Stevens' "mainstream" pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Stevens, Jr., George Stevens, (more)
The title of the 1983 James Bond adventure Never Say Never Again is a self-mocking reference to star Sean Connery's insistence back in 1971 that he would never play Bond again. Reportedly, the huge salary offered Connery was but one consideration that brought him back to the 007 fold; the other was the producers' assurance that Connery would have full control over all aspects of production, a promise that was not kept often enough to the star's liking. Essentially, this film is a remake of the 1965 Bond flick Thunderball (the producers were able to get away with this due to a legal tangle involving the original 1961 Ian Fleming novel). Bond emerges from cozy retirement to cross swords with Largo (Klaus Maria Brandauer), a megalomaniacal business exec who steals several nuclear missiles, intending to bring the World Powers to their knees. Kim Basinger plays Domino, Largo's mistress, whose loyalty Bond secures when she learns that Largo was responsible for the death of her brother. In addition to Basinger, the film boasts a toothsome villainess by the name of Fatima Blush (played by Barbara Carrera). After wrapping Never Say Never Again, Sean Connery swore that this was his absolutely final performance as James Bond; thus far, he's kept his word. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Klaus Maria Brandauer, (more)
Purporting to be loosely based on Hamlet, Strange Brew is about an evil braumeister at the Elsinore Brewery who has discovered an additive that when guzzled in beer, allows the drinkers to be easily controlled. Braumeister Smith (Max von Sydow) has a plan to take over the world with his new brew, and only the Great White hosers of the North, Bob and Doug McKenzie (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) -- with their plaid shirts, ski toques, fur-lined parkas, and addiction to beer -- can stop the dastardly plan, sober or not. There are several jabs at "hoseheads" and the business of movie-making, including an epilogue that critiques the film itself. Strange Brew found a cult audience with fans of the Second City comedy troupe, of which Moranis and Thomas were members. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, (more)
- 1983
Director Claude D'Anna has tried for epic proportions in this less-than-epic film about incest, murder, suicide, and insanity in an aristocratic Sicilian family living in the 1950s. Count Villafratti (Max Von Sydow) has sex one night with his nymphomaniac daughter because he thinks she is his wife, and his wife, who is an operatic diva, hears of this just before she goes on stage. Later on, she commits suicide over the heinous act. In the meantime, their plantation workers are on strike, the communists and Mafiosos are fighting -- and the family's whole inner story (seen through the eyes of a visiting Sicilian-American who has come to bury his father here) is reflected in this outer turmoil. Segments of Verdi and Puccini at the opera house cannot do much to keep the entire scenario from seeming like a parody of itself. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Giuliano Gemma, Max von Sydow, (more)
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