Morituri

Back in April 2001, I saw Last Tango In Paris and I've been on a Marlon Brando kick ever since. I read Peter Manso's Brando biography, which states that the film was panned and I really don't understand why.

The film boasts two commanding performances by Brando and Yul Brynner.

Brando plays a German man who's blackmailed by British Intelligence to pose as a NAZI officer on a German ship commanded by Brynner. Brando's German accent was full on the whole way through. And after seeing various Brando films, it was really cool to see Brando play a double agent that was light on his feet, sneaking in and out of rooms on a German ship, in an attempt to sabatoge the ship. The supporting performances are solid all the way around. Trevor Howard has a nice cameo at the beginning of the film as a British Intelligence man.

I've always known about Yul Brynner, but this is the first time I see one of his performances. I can see why he's a legendary actor. The guy has tons of personality and has the acting ability to go with his charisma. And watching him work with Brando was an absolute pleasure. Now I definitely have to go and rent more of Brynner's stuff.

Brando's career presumably took a dive in the 60s, but Morituri is definitely a good movie with excellent performances by its two leads and it boasts some of the best camera work I've ever seen.

On a scale from 1-10, I'd give the film at least an 8.

An interesting and rather dark war story that takes place aboard a German merchant vessel during WWII. The black and white filming adds to the generally drab and realistic ambiance of the ocean crossing. Marlon Brando's expatriate is trapped into a scheme of espionage/sabotage, and his grim, softly sneering coolness gives the character of Robert Crain an added dimension. Yul Brynner plays the captain of the ship, out of favor with the Nazi party and under surveillance, yet still "pragmatically patriotic" to the Fatherland. Brynner is an oft-underrated actor because of the larger-than-life roles he played, but this film better showcases the subtlety he was capable of, and at times his performance excels. This is a complex and tense war movie that views both sides through a curtain of ugliness, yet captures moments of honor and loyalty and even kindness, a facet that other war movies in this genre often lack. The realism of the shipboard action is crucial--you could get a flutter of seasickness just watching--and all of the characters show depth and detail. No spoilers here; try to find this flick at the video store and watch it a couple of times. It's worth the search.

I don't mean to be repetitive but I stumbled onto this film at my local video rental store just like one of the other reviewers wrote. I'd never heard of it before. A movie with both Yul Brynner and Marlon Brando. A war movie at that. And I'd never heard of it. Not that I'm a super movie buff but at least I think that this is one I would have come across at some point.

Anyway, it's a great film about the conflicts between duty and beliefs. Each character is on a mission not of their making or preference. Each actor does a great job of portraying the difficulty in taking on a task one would rather not have to do.

This one is worth watching. I give it an 8.

Morituri (1965)

I had no expectation here. The name was odd. And the description was odd--a WWII film from the point of view of the enemy. Sort of. And so I didn't really think I'd be fully captive.

And I was. This is a special film war film. For one thing it has Marlon Brando being his arrogant best, and Yul Brynner, too. It presents an odd dramatic situation, a tension between strong willed characters who don't quite know what the other is up to. Here I mean Brando playing a German plant on this ship going from Japan to Europe, and Brynner, the captain, a disgruntled German with some experience both with the wheel and the bottle.

The ship is a modern (1942) Japanese ship, and among the crew are a bunch of political prisoners, who of course can't be totally trusted. The cargo is rubber, the most sought after material in the early war (later it would be uranium, I suppose).

Cinematographer Connie Hall is quite aggressive and brilliant with his photography, keeping the angles and movement nearly constant. The light is dramatic, the sharpness clean. And he got nominated for an Oscar for his work. The interior of the ship is large and filled with strange turns, great heights, lots of interior and exterior spaces that take you by surprise. Beautiful stuff.

The plot moves more quickly than you'd expect, too, with little surprises and turns, like finding a burning American ship at night and rescuing survivors. One of these is a young woman who was born in Berlin and they question her--why is a German on an enemy ship? And she says she is not German. And they ask what is she? You expect here that she might say she was American, but even better she says, "I am anti-German."

The script is tight and believable. The scenario, which is not formed from fact as far as I could discover (it's based on a novel), seems reasonable. And it ends up being more subtle than you'd expect. Yes, there are aspects that are obvious dramatic additions--the one woman who appears, for example, happens to be Jewish--but these end up being ways of showing people's characters. Ultimately that's what this movie is about.

Morituri is by no means a flawless masterpiece, but it is a good film. The problem is, because of a somewhat intricate plot you have to watch it a couple of times to understand it. Some parts of the film are dull, especially some of the engine room scenes where there is relative silence--only the noise of the engine room is heard, but it is also gripping at times. I decided to give this film another shot-and I'm glad I did. I found that it is quite interesting, after you watch it a couple of times you understand the purpose of Brando's character in the film. He is great in this film, his accent is flawless and he looks just great--I wish he would have done more action-oriented films. The cinematography is also great, and I absolutely loved the musical score. Hopefully, people will give this movie a chance and see that Brando did do a few good films in the 60's and stop giving him a bum rap.