Marlon Brando (a genre unto himself)

[Scott]

Alot of people over look the greatness of Marlon Brando. Yes, they say he is one of the greatest actors of all time, but to watch all of his films is like entering a genre that stands alone. Most of them are must see films. Actually Brando broke racial barriers more than even Martin Luther King in my opinion. He should have his own National Holiday. Check out his films if you like the strangely great material.

The Men - His first film. Remember it well as a child as he becomes a vet in a wheelchair.

A Streetcar Named Desire - Powerful performance.

Viva Zapata! - When I saw it as a youth I remember the death scene in the square when they give him the horse as a gift.

Julius Caesar - Wow, Brando doing Shakespeare. How do you memorize all those lines.

The Wild One - The classic of all motorcycle movies

On The Waterfront - Great story of a

Desirée - Brando plays Napoleon in this romantic version. Not one of my favorite Napoleon films, but its Brando.

Guys And Dolls - Brando sings ! He actually saves this film.

The Teahouse Of The August Moon - Never seen it. Hard to find.

Sayonara - Great film of officer who falls in love with a Japanese woman when it wasn't an excepted thing.

The Young Lions - Plays a upper class Nazi and his death scene is authentic.

The Fugitive Kind - Good film with a

One-Eyed Jacks - One of my all time favorite Westerns.

Mutiny On The Bounty - Great version of this classic story.

The Ugly American - Another social statement film, but on the rather boring side.

Bedtime Story - Never saw it.

Morituri - Good WWII spy type film on a ship.

The Chase - Long film with a all-star cast. I haven't finished this one yet.

The Appaloosa - Good Western, but not the greatest.

A Countess From Hong Kong - Haven't seen it yet. Comedy with Sophia Loren directed by Charlie Chaplin !

Reflections In A Golden Eye - Strange film and subject.

Candy - Haven't seen it yet, but am trying to find this comedy.

The Night Of The Following Day - Haven't seen it yet, but has mixed reviews.

Burn! - Possible his best film. One of my favorite.

The Nightcomers - Haven't seen it yet, but its high on my list.

The Godfather - A Classic for Brando.

Last Tango In Paris - Rough film with Brando way out there.

The Missouri Breaks - Great Western. The coffin scene and him wearing a dress while hunting down some horse thieves.

Superman - Plays the father of Superman !

Roots: The New Generation - Never saw it.

Apocalypse Now - Another great one for Brando as Col. Kurtz.

The Formula - Good performance on Brandos part, film is a bit of a dud.

A Dry White Season - Ok film

The Freshman - Brando playing off his Godfather character.

Christopher Columbus - The Discovery - Ok film

Don Juan DeMarco - My least favorite Brando film, but here you see the Brando-Depp connection forming. Depp is great in this one, but the movie fails.

The Island Of Dr. Moreau - Most don't like it, but I enjoyed this and all version of this story.

The Brave - Never seen it. Johnny Depp directs it.

Free Money - Not bad

The Score - Very good film, but not because of Brando. Still good to see him though.

Apocalypse Now Redux - Seen parts of this new version, but not sure if Brando has extra scenes. Anyone know?

[Eirik]

"Apocalypse Now Redux - Seen parts of this new version, but not sure if Brando has extra scenes. Anyone know?"

I actually own this on DVD (Christmas gift).  To be honest, if Brando has more screen time it isn't very much.  Most of the extra screen time involves a group of die hard French colonials and a sequence where the guys score with those Playboy Bunnies who had to be evacuated from the USO show (look for Colleen Camp - with that name she really should have done B-movies).

Remember that Brando was supposed to have a bigger role in that film as a SF Colonel, but he arrived on set weighing something close to 275 pounds and looking nothing whatsoever like a Green Beret.  That's why all of his scenes are shot in that dark hut with closeups on his face.  I believe they had to rewrite the movie for that reason...  So they probably didn't take much footage of Brando except what was necessary to use in the first cut.

[Scott]

Looking at Brando's weight problem at the time would have made the film all the more insane as the Col. Kutz would be overweight undiscipled and having a smorgasboard of food and death all around him. Just a thought.

[yaddo42]

"Bedtime Story" was remade as "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" in the 80s with Michael Caine in David Niven's role and Steve Martin playing the Brando role. I've seen both, it's strange how little they actually changed other than a few minor plot points (Brando is a huckster/conman in the military when the film starts), updating the dialogue. and giving Martin more room to "act up" during the scams they work together. BS is overall an average Hollywood comedy from the 1960s, lots of obvious studio backdrops during outdoor scenes etc. Very quaint and cute, the kind of perfect lazy Sunday afternoon movie.

Most of Brando's dialogue in "Apocalypse Now" was improvised by him in long rambling monologues. I love the scene in the making-of documentary "Hearts of Darkness" where in the middle of one of them a bug flies into his mouth, he chokes, and says "I ate a bug."

Everybody overdoes it in "The Chase" going for that kind of overheated Southern Gothic style, except Brando actually underplays it here. He comes off better than most in the film, but the movie is nothing special.

"Burn!" is a great and underappreciated film, and apparently one of the few that Brando still likes.

"The Freshmen" fun to see him playing off the Godfather persona in another good comedy. Plus I love the odd sight of him ice skating.

[Scott]

HEARTS OF DARKNESS was a great documentary of APOCALYPSE NOW. You felt like you were there or something. Great documentary.

[Eirik]

"Looking at Brando's weight problem at the time would have made the film all the more insane as the Col. Kutz would be overweight undiscipled and having a smorgasboard of food and death all around him. Just a thought."

Not a bad thought, especially considering the movie's tone and atmosphere...  but the director didn't think so.

[Scott]

I'm sure Coppola was having seizures with all the money and the time it took to make the film. He probably had enough to think about without trying to change someone, especially the impossible Brando.

[Flangepart]

Hummm....
Nice idea.
Does that Mean Richard Burton is next?

[Chopper]

It was a great documentary. I saw an interview with Laurence Fishburn where he said he feels embaressed about how dumb he came across in the interview they did with him.

[Eirik]

"It was a great documentary. I saw an interview with Laurence Fishburn where he said he feels embaressed about how dumb he came across in the interview they did with him."

Well, wasn't he only something like 14 years old at the time?  I can't imagine I anyone would come across like Olivier at that age.

[trekgeezer]

That should be Marlon Brando a continent to himself.  He's interesting only in the fact that he is an actor that despises acting.

[Scott]

If you listen to his ramblings about acting it's more than interesting. You think at first that he dosn't care about acting and he will say something that sounds insulting and stupid. Don't let this fool you as that insult statement actually is telling you just how he does it. It's like he's putting it right under our nose and nobody can look past what he is actually saying. The man is a true genius.

I don't mean that he really does care about acting, but that he knows what he is doing. For him acting is a con or a lie. He might make a statement that he lies for a living. What he is saying is that when performing he is trying to "convince" his co-star or camera that what he is saying is "true or real". Because if he can do this effectively he has surpassed trying to "become" the character. Pay notice to the word "convince". It says much more than regular acting.

He's a master of his art who hides the "simple" behind a mask of indifference just to throw you off. Reading one of his biographies someone said he would sit at home and watch his films. Not sure how true.

Actually he seemed more in conflict with social justice than doing films.