I was reading an article about Max von Sydow and his appearance in the new Star Wars movie. It talked about his greatness as an actor and his long career. After reading the article, I decided to write a Movie Wisdom post based on the movies of Max von Sydow, and that is when I discovered something disturbing.
I have not seen as many of his movies as I thought. This is a void in my movie-watching experience that will be filled. However, I thought I had seen a bunch of them. That misconception may come from the impact that he had in the movies that I have seen.
Anyway, this is not going to prevent me from completing my original idea. Here is some wisdom that can be gained from the movies of Max von Sydow.
From The Exorcist
There are no experts.
If certain British doctors never asked “What is this fungus?” we wouldn’t today have penicillin.
From Three Days of the Condor
Someone is always willing to pay.
From Flash Gordon
Live and let live.
From Victory
Anything you say in your sleep can’t be held against you.
From Conan the Barbarian
There comes a time when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father’s love for his child.
Wealth can be wonderful, but you know, success can test one’s mettle as surely as the strongest adversary.
That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
From Ghostbusters II
Death is but a door. Time is but a window.
Better late than never.
From Needful Things
Everybody is insane.
From Minority Report
Sometimes, in order to see the light, you have to risk the dark.
Dig up the past, all you get is dirty.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
We don’t choose the things we believe in; they choose us.
From Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
If things were easy to find they wouldn’t be worth finding.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 
I guess it’s hard to quote “The Seventh Seal” because it was in Swedish. But that’s my favorite of his movies.
I didn’t quote it because I haven’t seen it. That’s first on my list.
It’s one of my top five favorite EVER movies. Not Garry’s, though. He isn’t as enthusiastic about medieval stuff as I am. You have to love the 14th century and Garry is not overfond of … you know … the Black Death, the schism — Rome and Avignon. Roving brigands murdering and pillaging. And of course out of control inflation (can’t forget the inflation). Those WERE the good old days.
Profound!
Those are some profound movies.
Von Sydow. Versatile and popular. A true international star.
Love that scene with him and Redford in the elevator from ‘Three Days of the Condor’.
I need to see more of his movies.