Famous for his roles in the classic films The Seventh Seal, The Virgin Spring, The Exorcist, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Dune, Hannah and Her Sisters, Awakenings and Flash Gordon, Swedish-born, French actor Max von Sydow has died, his wife Catherine announced Monday. He was 90.
From the UPI:
“It is with a broken heart and with infinite sadness that we have the extreme pain of announcing the departure of Max von Sydow (on) March 8, 2020,” Catherine said in a statement to USA TODAY and Deadline.
No cause of death was specified.
The legendary actor who gave us both Brewmeister Smith and Ming the Merciless has finally laid down his King in the eternal chess match. Farewell, Max von Sydow. You were in many much more respected movies than Strange Brew and Flash Gordon but I loved you for those flicks first. https://t.co/ltytehF5Rm
He most recently played Lor San Tekka in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the Three-Eyed Raven in Game of Thrones.
His other credits include The Tudors, Pelle the Conquerer, Hercules, Shutter Island, Minority Report, Rush Hour 3 and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.
Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine in VICTORY is currently available on Blu-ray From Warner Archives. Ordering information can be found HERE
This is no ordinary soccer match. This is war! The battlefield: a stadium in occupied Paris. The armies: German all-stars vs. ragtag Allied POWs. The objective: demonstrate another “proof” of Aryan superiority. Guess who wins. Better yet, guess who cleverly uses the match as a means of escape. Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine and Max von Sydow star in this rouser directed by the legendary John Huston. The climactic match is a heart-in-the-throat, hat-in-the-air exhibition of brute force and balletic grace featuring soccer legends Pel�, Bobby Moore, Osvaldo Ardiles, Co Prins, Mike Summerbee and more. Score a splendid entertainment goal for Victory!
John Huston directs a worldwide line-up of superstars in this rousing variation on the prison sports flick. Huston raises the stakes considerably, placing the action inside the confines of a WWII POW camp. Max von Sydow plays the Nazi commander who commissions an Axis versus Allies football match (or soccer to us Yanks), Michael Caine plays the Brit team captain, and Sylvester Stallone plays the requisite American. Joining them on the field are some of the greatest footballers the globe has ever seen, including Bobby Moore, Osvaldo Ardiles, Kazimierz Deyna, Paul Van Himst, Mike Summerbee, Hallvar Thoresen, Werner Roth and the greatest of them all, Pelé. Huston’s high-kicking action packs an extra wallop on this High Definition 1080p presentation! Includes Original Theatrical Trailer (HD). 16×9 Letterbox
William Friedkin’s The Exorcist is the third film in Marcus Wehrenberg Theatre’s Friday night scare series. The film will be shown October 19-21, and there will be one screening each night at 10 PM. Admission is only $5. For more details and a list of participating theaters, go HERE
William Peter Blatty’s novel, The Exorcist, served William Friedkin a beacon of horror opportunity that still shines 44 years later. Blatty’s 1971 novel displays the exorcism of Roland Doe, a pseudonym for a boy, which happened in St. Louis. Friedkin adapts the film nearly two years later with Blatty’s screenplay. However, The Exorcist isn’t Friedkin’s first great film. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture the previous year for The French Connection. The Exorcist is the film he is most remembered for; Friedkin gets another Best Picture nomination, the first for a horror film, but doesn’t win. A horror film getting a Best Picture nomination is unheard of today, let alone 44 years ago. The Exorcist is considered by many to be the greatest horror film ever made. This opinion seems to be dwindling amongst recent generations. The younger moviegoers have argued that Friedkin’s film doesn’t hold up today; I disagree.
With the recent success of It, The Exorcist has finally been dethroned from the top box office spot inside the horror genre. The Exorcist grossed an international high at just over $440 million in 1973, and Stephen King’s novel adaptation has made $630 million worldwide. While inflation isn’t factored into the comparison between the two, there is still impressive box office numbers coming in for horror films today. People are never going to get tired of being scared. Friedkin once said, “People only go to movies for three reasons, to laugh, cry, or be frightened.” He followed that with, “There are only three reasons to make a movie, to make people laugh, to make them cry, or to frighten them.” The Exorcist will make some laugh today, but I will wager in the direction of the tears and fears that have plagued moviegoers for over four decades.
So what is different about Friedkin’s masterwork? Like It,The Exorcist was a film that audiences flocked to. The difference is that nowadays we know what we are getting, but many moviegoers in 1973 didn’t know what they were getting into. The Exorcist is a film that exploits a different style of filmmaking; this is true for the horror genre in particular. Friedkin adopts a documentarian approach to this film, and that’s why the movie is traumatically memorable. Do we care about Regan as she progresses into her devilish state? Do we care about what happens to the priests in the end? Do we care about the characters at all or are we hypnotized by the horrific events that take place? This film is a spiritual character study that brings us to the common recognition of how evil our world can be. It is hard to feel an emotional connection to subject matter that is so dark. All you have to do is sit back and watch. The film will take care of the rest.
“Your mother’s in here, Karras. Would you like to leave a message? I’ll see that she gets it.”
THE EXORCIST screens this Friday and Saturday nights (August 4th and 5th) at midnight at the Tivoli Theater as part of their ‘Reel Late at the Tivoli’ Midnight series.
This ground-breaking, starkly filmed thriller THE EXORCIST stands for many as one of the most terrifying films of all time. Fairly explicit for 1973, it raised the bar in film-making for realism and adult horror and has been emulated many times. However, it is set apart by its well-written (Oscar-winning) script and realistic performances. Ellen Burstyn is an actress who begins to sense unusual behavior in her preteen daughter (Linda Blair). The bizarre symptoms (open sores, violent thrashing, etc…) escalate as Burstyn seeks help from all conventional avenues. Finally, she determines that Blair is possessed by Satan (or a demon at least) and must be exorcised. Jason Miller is a troubled priest whose own problems pale in comparison with the dilemma facing Burstyn. When things get worse instead of better, it is up to legendary priest Max Von Sydow to attempt to rid the child of the demons inside her.
The sense of fear and dread in THE EXORCIST is aided by the cold, claustrophobic settings and the use of the music ‘Tubular Bells’ during key moments. The visuals are primitive by today’s standards, but still provide major jolts, notably Blair’s explosive green vomit and her celebrated 360 degree head turning. The film is packed with gross-out moments and shockingly blasphemous episodes which work to upset and disarm the viewer. Mercedes McCambridge helped provide the raspy, vulgar voice of the possessed Blair. I have a soft spot for the disastrous and heavily-panned 1977 sequel THE EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC, which starred an older, bustier Blair and Richard Burton. Maybe we should screen the sequel at midnight one of these weekends!
The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!
The Tivoli’s website can be found HERE
“You’ll have to go without me, Pelle. I don’t have strength to travel anymore. I’m too old. Too old. I don’t have a future. Do you understand?”
PELLE THE CONQUEROR (1987) screens Friday April 28th through Sunday April 30th at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). The movie starts at 7:30 all three evenings.
In the Oscar-winning classic PELLE THE CONQUEROR, Lassefar (Max von Sydow), an elderly and widowed farmer, and his young son Pelle (Belle Hvenegaard), join a boat-load of immigrants to escape from impoverished rural Sweden to Denmark’s Baltic island of Bornholm. They are employed at a large farm in Denmark, where they are treated as the lowest of the low. It is ultimately their loving relationship, which sustains them through a difficult year. PELLE THE CONQUEROR offers a deep insight into the life of immigrants from one country of Scandenavia to the other. Strange though it may seem today in the wake of current super-stardom of these countries in the arena of human development, the story remains true in nature, honest in details, dedicated to truth.
PELLE THE CONQUEROR received the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1989. The critics at the time raved:
Kevin Thomas at The L.A. Times said:
“The film is a towering achievement, grueling in its portrayal of a harsh existence yet ultimately an exhilarating experience unlikely to be forgotten.”
Tom Hutchinson at Radio Times claimed:
“Director Bille August’s adaptation of the first part of Nobel Prize winner Martin Andersen Nexo’s four-volume novel is genuine life-affirming drama.”
and Kim Newman at Empire Magazine crowed:
“Director Bille August and ace Scandinavian cameraman Per Holst make the film a visual treat.”
Admission is:
$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty
Free for Webster students with proper I.D.
Advance tickets are available from the cashier before each screening or contact the Film Series office (314-246-7525) for more options. The Film Series can only accept cash or check.
The Webster University Film Series site can be found HERE
Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as Star Wars returns to the big screen with STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS on December 18th.
Today, a brand new featurette premiered at Comic-Con Brazil during a presentation hosted by Producer Bryan Burk.
Check it out below.
The film stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max Von Sydow. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are producing with Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers.
The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt.
A second TV spot for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS TV aired on Thursday evening during ABC’s TGIT. Additionally, a new IMAX poster featuring BB-8 and Rey was released.
A new beginning is coming December 18th.
A new behind the scenes look at THE FORCE AWAKENS will air this Friday night during “Girl Meets World” at 8:30pm est.
Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as Star Wars returns to the big screen with STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS.
The film stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max Von Sydow.
Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are producing with Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt. John Williams returns as the composer.
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS releases in U.S. theaters on December 18, 2015.
Brand new characters posters for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS were unveiled on Wednesday. With the seventh film less than fifty days away from opening in cinemas, the five posters feature close-ups of Han Solo, Princess Leia, Kylo Ren, Finn and Rey.
Head over to the Hollywood Reporter where they feature Star Wars young breakout actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega on this year’s Next Gen list of Hollywood’s top up and coming actors.
Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as “Star Wars” returns to the big screen with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
The film stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max Von Sydow.
Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are producing with Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by J.J. Abrams & Lawrence Kasdan.
Tickets for the seventh chapter of the STAR WARS saga are available now.
“It’s true. All of it. The Dark Side. A Jedi. They’re real.” Take a deep breath!
Classic STAR WARS, along with flourishes of John Williams’ iconic score from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, are back in this thrilling new trailer for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS.
The film opens across the galaxy and in cinemas on December 18.
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) makes an appearance at the 1:40 mark in the trailer.
Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as Star Wars returns to the big screen with STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS.
The film stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max Von Sydow. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are producing with Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt.
The new standalone Star Wars stories series, ROGUE ONE, is slated for a December 16, 2016 release. Gareth Edwards (“Godzilla,” “Monsters”) is directing ROGUE ONE, which tells the story of resistance fighters who have united to steal plans to the dreaded Death Star.
Rian Johnson will direct STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII. The film slated for release on May 26, 2017.
The “Untitled Han Solo” stand-alone film, slated for release on May 25, 2018, will be directed by Christopher Miller & Phil Lord, with Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jon Kasdan writing the screenplay.
Colin Trevorrow will direct STAR WARS: EPISODE IX, which is set for release in 2019.
Tickets for the seventh chapter of the STAR WARS saga are available now.
The seventh episode in the STAR WARS saga hits theaters two months from today.
Lucasfilm announced today that the trailer for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS will debut on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” on Monday, October 19, during halftime of the National Football League (NFL) game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia.
The game starts at 5:15 p.m. PDT/8:15 p.m. EDT. The Spanish language version of the trailer will air on ESPN Deportes simultaneously.
To commence the countdown for the trailer launch, today Lucasfilm released the STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENSposter worldwide. Following the trailer launch, tickets to the highly anticipated cinematic event will be on sale everywhere movie tickets are sold. (Comic-Con reel)
In conjunction with the STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENStrailer debut, the Walt Disney Company is providing unprecedented company-wide on-air and social support (#TheForceAwakens) as well as tying in events and special activities for the day of the trailer release.
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS opens in U.S. theaters on December 18.
Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as Star Wars returns to the big screen with STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS.
The film stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max Von Sydow. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are producing with Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers.
The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt.
