From the 1950s until the late 2010s, Max von Sydow was a ubiquitous presence across many films of various genres, showing there was no part – big or small – that he couldn’t do. If he’d never appeared in any English-language films, he’d still be held in high regard for his collaborations with Ingmar Bergman and appearances in other European films. Similarly, if he’d only shown up in American productions, he’d still have a sizable filmography and his fair share of iconic performances.

The following encompass some of his best work, focusing just on films, and on those where he played a lead role or was a supporting character with a considerable amount of screen time. This will also exclude some of his more well-known performances from later in his career, when he showed up in small roles in big properties (like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Game of Thrones).

10 'Conan the Barbarian' (1982)

Director: John Milius

Conan the Barbarian is best known for being a key entry in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s filmography, with his lead performance being something of a star-making role, but he’s far from the only iconic actor in the film. James Earl Jones makes for a great villain in what might be his best performance that’s not just a voice role, and Max von Sydow also makes an impression as King Osric.

Osric helps begin Conan’s quest, with the character seeking vengeance against the man who killed his parents, and Osric wanting someone to rescue his daughter, who’s in the clutches of the same man Conan’s after. Von Sydow isn't in Conan the Barbarian a huge amount, but he makes his screen time count and is suitably commanding a presence as a ruler in this bombastic and extremely entertaining fantasy movie.

9 'Shame' (1968)

Director: Ingmar Bergman

While Shame is a war movie, it’s not specific about what war’s being fought – simply that it’s a civil conflict of some kind that’s making life extra difficult for a married couple living on a farm. It’s the rare kind of war film that’s not science fiction but does have a war that’s not a real one… though much of it is in the background, and what’s more important in Shame is the strained relationship between the two main characters.

Ingmar Bergman liked exploring such conflicts, doing so perfectly in Scenes from a Marriage, but also finding ways to investigate such a dynamic in an emotionally intense way in Shame. Von Sydow’s co-star is another Bergman regular, Liv Ullmann (who was also later in Scenes from a Marriage), and this film lets both of them cut loose and dominate the screen. Their performances are the best reason to watch Shame, which can be grueling, but is ultimately rewarding.

8 'Minority Report' (2002)

Director: Steven Spielberg

It’s a testament to the quality of Steven Spielberg’s body of work that Minority Report, while pretty great, still isn’t one of the filmmaker’s very best efforts. He just has that many outstanding movies, but Minority Report is still pretty great, taking place in a future where crime can be detected before it’s committed, which can save people but does also lead to would-be perpetrators being punished for things they technically haven’t done.

It's a film that stars Tom Cruise as someone working for the Precrime police department, with von Sydow playing the director of that same unit. It’s one of the more well-known American films Max von Sydow starred in, and also one of his best, with him playing this key supporting role well; one that’s ultimately more complex than it initially seems.

7 'Through a Glass Darkly' (1961)

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Bringing things back to Bergman, Through a Glass Darkly is one of the Swedish filmmaker’s most stripped-back and emotionally raw films, not to mention one of his best. It follows a young woman trying to recover from a psychological breakdown by staying on a small island, with the only other people there being her husband (von Sydow), her father, and her younger brother.

It’s something of a Bergman bottle movie, but it works very well, keeping the number of characters down to just four, and thereby leaving no stones unturned when it comes to developing such characters and exploring their dynamics with each other. Through a Glass Darkly isn't a fast-paced movie by any means, and it can be fairly bleak stuff, too, but it’s self-contained, psychologically engaging, and extremely well-acted all around.

6 'The Emigrants' (1971)

Director: Jan Troell

The Emigrants kicks off an immense epic that was told in two parts, both being over three hours in length. It’s far from an easy film to watch and/or finish, but it’s staggering and powerful stuff, depicting the perilous journey a Swedish family makes, traveling across the ocean in the middle of the 1800s in search of a more fulfilling and prosperous life in America.

Both The Emigrants and its follow-up can be singled out as the best Swedish films Max von Sydow starred in that weren’t directed by Ingmar Bergman. Anyone watching The Emigrants will likely recognize both him and Liv Ullmann, though, because of their Bergman collaborations; like in Shame, they once more play a husband and wife struggling through immensely difficult times.

5 'The New Land' (1972)

Director: Jan Troell

Just as compelling and challenging to watch as The Emigrants, but for different reasons, 1972’s The New Land concludes the duology that the aforementioned 1971 film began. The New Land picks up with the family having arrived in America, but slowly realizing that life has its own challenges there, with some problems being reminiscent of issues faced back in Sweden, as well as some new difficulties that have to be faced.

There’s no sugarcoating here; no real sense of relief to be found after the main characters reach the destination they spent most of The Emigrants getting to. The New Land is brutal, but also feels remarkably honest and authentic, successfully transporting audiences back into a previous century, depicting the ups and downs (mostly downs) of life for those who lived and tried to survive back then.

4 'The Virgin Spring' (1960)

Director: Ingmar Bergman

It’s difficult to single out just one film as being Ingmar Bergman’s most harrowing/devastating drama, but The Virgin Spring would have to be considered a contender, in any event. The premise here involves the aftermath of a brutal crime, pulling no punches in exploring how it devastates those who knew the victim, and how it spurs a previously non-violent man to contemplate getting revenge.

It's the sort of thing that feels dark right from the start, or at least foreboding, all before getting gradually grimmer and more emotionally intense. It’s honestly surprising that The Virgin Spring was made so long ago, yet still feels as visceral as it does. It’s one of the more upsetting Max von Sydow films, but showcases him at his best, as his character and his morally difficult journey come fully into focus during the film’s back half.

3 'Until the End of the World' (1991)

Director: Wim Wenders

Until the End of the World isn't too far off the runtime of The Emigrants and The New Land combined, and is just a single film, too, nevertheless reaching almost five hours in length. It’s a sci-fi/adventure film, but feels more grounded than most of the bigger films that could be described that way. It’s intimate and expansive at the same time, and more interested in characters and building a rich, unique world than telling a story 100% of the time.

Still, the narrative gets more intricate in the final couple of hours, which is where Max von Sydow’s character enters the picture. He plays a man who’s invented a revolutionary device that essentially records dreams/sights, allowing his wife, who’s gone blind, to see again. Von Sydow’s phenomenal when he does appear, but Until the End of the World is also a massive film that has much more to offer. It’s gargantuan, truly ambitious stuff, and mind-boggling how it not only came together, but came together so well.

2 'The Seventh Seal' (1957)

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Likely the best-known Ingmar Bergman film, and similarly containing one of von Sydow’s most recognizable, The Seventh Seal is a legendary film, and a landmark within the realm of arthouse cinema. It follows a disillusioned man playing a game of chess with a personification of Death, all the while also exploring the hardships of life for various people living during the Black Death.

It’s a drama with fantasy elements, being heavy-going but still relatively approachable, what with it having a clear narrative on the surface but much deeper thematic stuff to chew on in the background. Von Sydow had been in several movies before The Seventh Seal, but this one ended up being something that helped him get considerably more well-known, not to mention it marked the first (and far from the last) time he collaborated with Ingmar Bergman.

1 'The Exorcist' (1973)

Director: William Friedkin

The Exorcist has its fair share of sequels (and movies it influenced in one way or another), but nothing within the series comes close to touching the original. It’s one of the greatest horror films of all time, centering on a single mother’s desperate endeavor to find out what’s wrong with her daughter, eventually hiring two priests to perform an exorcism, given the possibility her daughter’s genuinely possessed by something.

Max von Sydow plays one of these priests, being transformed impressively into an old man. He was in his early 40s when he appeared in the film, but the make-up was convincing enough that it honestly looked pretty close to how the real von Sydow looked by the time he reached his 70s/80s. He’s fantastic in the film, as is everyone else, with The Exorcist being immensely influential, understandably parodied, and just an overall shining example of supernatural horror at its absolute best.