Editing Max von Sydow (section)

===1955–1960s===
In 1955, Sydow moved to Malmö and joined the [[Malmö City Theatre]], whose chief director at the time was [[Ingmar Bergman]].<ref name=TelegraphObit/> Sydow had previously sought to play a small part in Bergman's ''[[Prison (1949 film)|Prison]]'' (''{{lang|sv|Fängelse}}'', 1949), but the director rejected the proposition.<ref name=BFI10>{{cite web |last=Parkinson |first=David |date=10 April 2017 |title=Max von Sydow: 10 essential films |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/max-von-sydow-10-essential-films |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref> Bergman and Sydow's first film was ''[[The Seventh Seal]]'' (''{{lang|sv|Det sjunde inseglet}}'', 1957), in which Sydow portrayed Antonius Block, a disillusioned 14th-century knight returning from the [[Crusades]] to a plague-stricken Sweden.<ref name=GuardianObit>{{cite web |last=Bergan |first=Ronald |date= 9 March 2020 |title=Max von Sydow obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/09/max-von-sydow-obituary |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref> The scene of his character playing a game of chess with [[Personifications of death|Death]] has come to be regarded as an iconic moment in cinema.<ref name=BFI10/> Sydow went on to appear in a total of 11 Bergman films.<ref name=GuardianFrench>{{cite web |last=French |first=Philip |title=Philip French's screen legends: No 3: Max von Sydow 1929– |work=[[The Observer]] |date=10 February 2008 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/feb/10/art|access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref> In ''[[The Magician (1958 film)|The Magician]]'' (''{{lang|sv|Ansiktet}}'', 1958), Sydow starred as Vogler, a 19th-century traveling illusionist who remains silent for most of the film.<ref name=GuardianObit/><ref name=WaPoObit/> In ''[[The Virgin Spring]]'' (''{{lang|sv|Jungfrukällan}}'', 1960), he played a medieval landowner who takes vengeance on the men who raped and murdered his daughter.<ref name=Atlantic2015/> In ''[[Through a Glass Darkly (film)|Through a Glass Darkly]]'' (''{{lang|sv|Såsom i en spegel}}'', 1961), he portrayed the husband of a [[Schizophrenia|schizophrenic]] woman, played by [[Harriet Andersson]].<ref name=GuardianObit/> During this period, he also had roles in films including ''[[Wild Strawberries (film)|Wild Strawberries]]'' (''{{lang|sv|Smultronstället}}'', 1957), ''[[Brink of Life]]'' (''{{lang|sv|Nära livet}}'', 1958) and ''[[Winter Light]]'' (''{{lang|sv|Nattvardsgästerna}}'', 1963).<ref name=NYTObit/><ref name=GuardianFrench/> Films starring Sydow were submitted by Sweden for the [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]] in [[List of Swedish submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|five out of six years]] between 1957 and 1962.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} Under Bergman, Sydow also continued his stage career, playing Brick in ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]'', Peer in ''Peer Gynt'', Alceste in ''[[The Misanthrope]]'' and Faust in ''[[Goethe's Faust|Urfaust]]''. In his company were [[Gunnar Björnstrand]], Ingrid Thulin, [[Bibi Andersson]] and [[Gunnel Lindblom]], all frequent collaborators of Bergman on screen.<ref name=GuardianObit/>

[[File:Sydow Ramel Wolgers 1968.jpg|thumb|Max von Sydow (left) with [[Povel Ramel]] and [[Beppe Wolgers]], 1968]]
Despite his rising profile, Sydow limited his work exclusively to Sweden early in his career, constantly refusing offers to work outside the country.<ref name=GuardianObit/> He was first approached at the [[1959 Cannes Film Festival]] to act in U.S. films, but refused the proposition, saying that he was "content in Sweden" and "had no intention of starting an international career".<ref name=NYT1983>{{cite web |last=Goldberg |first=Robert |date= 10 April 1983 |title=Max von Sydow, Actor Without a Country |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/10/arts/max-von-sydow-actor-without-a-country.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref> He also refused the opportunity to play the [[Julius No|title role]] for ''[[Dr. No (film)|Dr. No]]'' (1962) and [[Georg von Trapp|Captain von Trapp]] in ''[[The Sound of Music (film)|The Sound of Music]]'' (1965).<ref name=TelegraphObit2>{{cite news |date=9 March 2020 |title=Max von Sydow, star of The Exorcist and Game of Thrones, dies aged 90 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2020/03/09/max-von-sydow-star-exorcist-game-thrones-dies-aged-90/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2020/03/09/max-von-sydow-star-exorcist-game-thrones-dies-aged-90/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=9 March 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1965, Sydow finally accepted [[George Stevens]]'s offer and made his international debut, playing Christ in the epic ''[[The Greatest Story Ever Told]]''.<ref name=GuardianObit/> He accepted the part against the advice of Bergman, spent six months at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]], preparing for the role, and adopted a [[Good Amercan Speech|Mid-Atlantic accent]].<ref name=TelegraphObit2/> The film introduced Sydow to a wider audience, but ultimately performed below expectations at the box office.<ref name=NYTObit/> He went on to play a crop-dusting pilot in ''[[The Reward (1965 film)|The Reward]]'' (1965) and a fanatic missionary in ''[[Hawaii (1966 film)|Hawaii]]'' (1966).<ref name=GuardianObit/> For his performance in ''Hawaii'', Sydow received his first [[Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe]] nomination.<ref name=LATimesObit/> To his own frustration, however, Sydow would become frequently cast in villainous roles, such as a neo-Nazi aristocrat in ''[[The Quiller Memorandum]]'' (1966), a Russian colonel in ''[[The Kremlin Letter]]'' (1970), a meticulous and elegant international assassin in ''[[Three Days of the Condor]]'' (1975), Emperor [[Ming the Merciless]] in ''[[Flash Gordon (film)|Flash Gordon]]'' (1980) and James Bond's nemesis [[Ernst Stavro Blofeld]] in ''[[Never Say Never Again]]'' (1983).<ref name=NYTObit/><ref name=GuardianObit/>

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sydow was often paired with [[Liv Ullmann]] in Bergman films. In 1968's ''[[Hour of the Wolf]]'' (''{{lang|sv|Vargtimmen}}''), Sydow played an artist living on an isolated island with his pregnant wife, played by Ullmann.<ref name=CriterionObit>{{cite web |last=Hudson |first=David |date=9 March 2020 |title=The Wide and Deep Range of Max von Sydow |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6852-the-wide-and-deep-range-of-max-von-sydow | newspaper=[[The Criterion Collection|Criterion]] |access-date=10 March 2020}}</ref> In the same year, the two appeared in the drama ''[[Shame (1968 film)|Shame]]'' (''{{lang|sv|Skammen}}''), about a couple (both former musicians) living on a farm on an island during a war.<ref name=Atlantic2015/> Sydow and Ullmann returned for the 1969 Bergman film ''[[The Passion of Anna]]'' (''{{lang|sv|En passion}}'').<ref name=CriterionObit/> In 1971 and 1972, Sydow again starred alongside Ullmann in the [[Jan Troell]] epic duology, ''[[The Emigrants (film)|The Emigrants]]'' (''{{lang|sv|Utvandrarna}}'') ''[[The New Land (1972 film)|The New Land]]'' (''{{lang|sv|Nybyggarna}}''), the story of a Swedish peasant family that emigrates to America in the mid-19th century.<ref name=Atlantic2015/>