In all the madness on Black Monday – coronavirus, the market meltdown, and a global oil price war – we lost one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema: Max Von Sydow.

The Swedish thespian had an extensive and eclectic body of work that highlighted talent and grace unmatched by most actors today. He was truly one of the greatest European actors of all time.

What is somewhat disappointing is that a lot of the coverage notes of his appearance in Star Wars or the lead in The Exorcist, while dismissing his huge resume from back in the day. But that is a minor gripe because at least his death captured international headlines and was even the top trend on Twitter.

So, here are my five favorite Max Von Sydow films:

• The Seventh Seal
• Through A Glass Darkly
• Shame
• Hannah and Her Sisters
• The Exorcist

I would also add Winter Light to the list, but his part only lasts a few minutes. Of course, those few minutes were truly remarkable.

Also, here is a personal favorite of mine: Max Von Sydow in the Woody Allen classic:

So, one of the top critically-acclaimed motion pictures this year was a film called Marriage Story starring that woman from The Avengers and that guy from Star Wars. I haven’t seen it nor do I intend to for two reasons: Zero time and there are many other great films about marriages that deserve another viewing.

What are some of these films?

Well, here are a few that immediately come to mind:

• “Husbands and Wives” – Woody Allen
• “Scenes from a Marriage” – Ingmar Bergman
• “The Awful Truth” – Leo McCarey
• “La Notte” – Michelangelo Antononi
• “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” – Mike Nicholls
• “Dodsworth” – William Wyler
• “Adam’s Rib” – George Cukor

There are plenty more, but it’s midnight and my mind is mush.

I recently appeared on LN Radio with Liberty Nation‘s Chief Washington Correspondent Tim Donner to discuss President Donald Trump, the U.S. and global economies, and the 2020 presidential election.

Kirk Douglas was a unique thespian that possessed an incredible screen presence. Even in his early days of The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, you could see that he had a knack for acting, whether it was in a supporting role or a featured part.

He was as fierce in the pictures as his good buddy, Burt Lancaster, and as memorable as James Cagney. But there was only one Kirk Douglas; nobody could replicate him.

It’s sad to think that there are only a few people left from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Olivia De Havilland will probably be the next one to go.

Most young people today will only know Douglas from Spartacus, but he has an extensive body of work.

These are my five favorite films that featured Kirk Douglas (in no particular order):

• “Ace in the Hole”
• “The Detective Story”
• “The Paths of Glory”
• “A Town Without Pity”
• “Bad and the Beautiful”

Champion was an underrated boxing film and definitely a superb film.

Here is a clip of just how great he was:

I recently spoke with Mike Manwell of Rethinking the Dollar and Silver Doctors to talk about a whole host of economic issues, including negative interest rates, the global economy, the Federal Reserve, repo markets, and a lot more.

The last time I spoke with Manwell was a few years ago to talk about the war on cash. It was a pleasant discussion.

Here is the 37-minute interview: