3. Ingmar Bergman And Max Von Sydow
Films Together: The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, So Close to Life, The Magician, The Virgin Spring, Through A Glass Darkly, Nattvardsgasterna, Shame, Hour of the Wolf, The Passion of Anna and The Touch. Not many directors ever make a masterpiece, yet alone make two in the same year, but that's what Ingmar Bergman did, and they both starred Max Von Sydow at the beginning of his career. Those two films are The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries, two visceral and beautifully unique films, and both are involved thematically with existentialism. Like everybody else on this list, Bergman and Von Sydow were at their glorious best when partnered together, as their instinctive relationship led to some of the greatest ever movies being made. The legendary director has a great reputation for his work with actors for a reason, as well as Von Sydow, Bergman is acclaimed for his work with Liv Ullmann and their masterpiece Persona and his whole acting troupe regard him as a genius. Both Bergman and Von Sydow's iconic moment is the scene where Von Sydow plays chess with Death in The Seventh Seal and it's a moment that captures the brilliance of both men perfectly. Von Sydow acts with subtle genius and Bergman creates one of the most profound and lasting images in cinema. Though it has been over five years since Bergman's passing, Von Sydow still works with admirable frequency, though he has never hit the heights he did when working under the legendary Swede, despite being directed by greats such as Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese.