The best Max von Sydow’s documentary movies

Max von Sydow

Max von Sydow

10/04/1929- 08/03/2020
Max von Sydow (10 April 1929-8 March 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).

The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist

The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
7.8/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/01/1998
  • Character: Himself - 'Fr. Merrin'
A behind-the-scenes retrospective made for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the classic horror film, The Exorcist. Includes interviews with Linda Blair and the other stars of the film, along with commentary from the director and writer on some of the deeper meanings behind the elements they used to terrify their audiences, and previously unreleased footage including make-up tests and deleted scenes.

Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'

Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'
7.3/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/01/2000
  • Character: Himself
Nearly all the cast and crew are on hand to give stories and memories about the making of the film. Plenty of detail on every aspect of the film from pre-production to opening night is covered.

Terror in the Aisles

Terror in the Aisles
6.3/10
  • Genre: DocumentaryHorror
  • Release: 26/10/1984
  • Character: Father Merrin (archive footage) (uncredited)
A non-stop roller coaster ride through the scariest moments of the greatest terror films of all time.

Belmondo: Il était une fois le beau monde

Belmondo: Il était une fois le beau monde

Their Frozen Dream

Their Frozen Dream
6.7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 03/10/1997
  • Character: S.A. Andrée (voice)
Poetic documentary about the polar expedition of S. A. Andrée which Troell had previously dramatized in "Ingenjör Andrées luftfärd" (1982).

Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar Bergman
7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 17/03/1972
  • Character: Himself
On-set documentary on the making of Ingmar Bergman's The Touch.

She Dances Alone

She Dances Alone
6.8/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 19/09/1981
  • Character: Nijinsky's voice
Director Robert Dornhelm casts Bud Cort for alter-ego purposes in She Dances Alone. Cort plays a documentary director, seeking to produce a film on the life of controversial ballet star Vaslav Nijinsky. He finds his goal of objectivity blocked by Nijinsky's elderly real-life daughter Kyra, who is as stocky as her father was sylph-like. Kyra's uncompromising insistence on total control over the project literally shapes (and frequently distorts) the film before our eyes. Adding to the Pirandellian atmosphere of the Australian-produced She Dances Alone is Max Von Sydow, also playing "himself."

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
7.7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 03/03/1985
  • Character: Self
Biography of the legendary filmmaker directed by his son.

Ingmar Bergman: The Magic Lantern

Ingmar Bergman: The Magic Lantern
7.5/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 24/05/1988
  • Character: Voice
The first of two documentaries about Ingmar Bergman produced to mark his 70th birthday. Includes behind the scenes "home movies" from Bergman's personal archive, interviews with Bergman recorded over his 40 years in the film industry and passages from his autobiography read by Max von Sydow and Bergman himself.

An Introduction to Ingmar Bergman

An Introduction to Ingmar Bergman
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 14/04/1968
  • Character: Interviewee
Produced in 1968 for New York's WNET public television station and filmed by Gunnar Fischer, host Lewis Freedman visits director Ingmar Bergman during the production of SHAME. They discuss some of Bergman's major works leading up to SHAME as well as the just-released HOUR OF THE WOLF.

Minns ni?

Minns ni?
A quick overview of Swedish film history, featuring a breathtaking cavalry of scenes from about 170 films.

Max Von Sydow: Dialogues with The Renter

Max Von Sydow: Dialogues with The Renter
6.9/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 27/03/2012
  • Character: Self
A documentary shot on the set of "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" by Cedric Brelet von Sydow.

The Atlantic

The Atlantic
7.4/10
Spectacular documentary, shot on and around Atlantic Islands from Iceland to South Georgia.

Tuschinski's Dream

Tuschinski's Dream
After 50 years of exile, an old man comes back to the cinema of his childhood. The Tuschinski Theater of Amsterdam was born from a foolish dream; the one of Abraham Icek Tuschinski who has left his shtetl from Poland, and settles in Rotterdam where he opens a canteen to welcome Jewish immigrants. He then opens three little cinema halls that become a fast success and that’s how he decides to built a real cathedral like cinema hall. Real Art Deco palace inaugurated in October 1920, the Tuschinski encounters a meteoric success. During 20 years of a brilliant activity and despite the rise of intolerance in the Netherlands, Abraham Tuschinski believes in his dream. And, though weakened by financial difficulties, Tuschinski will never give up his dream. It will be the Nazis, invading the Netherlands, organizing the deporting of Jews and despoiling the properties, that will make Tuschinski’s dream turning into a nightmare.

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