Brando

BRANDO is a stunning documentary that will certainly have its largest appeal for true Brando fans who will undoubtedly be fascinated by all the clips from his films--and even more so, by the home movies made when Brando was just coming into prominence and surrounded by other up and coming stars like MONTGOMERY CLIFT, KEVIN McCARTHY and JAMES DEAN.

He certainly had a striking film presence and this comes across in all the stills from some of his most famous earlier roles up until his gradual decline from super-stardom with MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY.

Like many other male stars who loved pranks and rebelled against authority (Errol Flynn, Robert Walker, Montgomery Clift), he was sent off to military school at an early age in order to instill some sort of discipline in his behavior. It didn't work.

Nor could his energies be channeled in any one direction until he found out that acting was his forte. But even then, directors found him to be quite a challenge for he was always a strong free spirit. Scenes from THE MEN,A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, ON THE WATERFRONT, THE WILD ONE and JULIUS CAESAR show the dynamic range that he had and gave full expression to up until the 1960s when his career began to falter with several misfires in a row instead of hits.

What's most incisive about the documentary is how it shows that even in his early theater days on Broadway, it was evident that his talent had a strong effect on audiences. Some very revealing talks about TRUCKLINE CAFE, in which he dominated the play with his strong presence and stunned theatergoers with the power of his performance, are among the most interesting segments of the documentary as we trace his early start in theater work and see how inevitable it would be that Hollywood would call.

Perhaps Part II of the documentary should have been called "The Rise and Fall of Marlon Brando" because it deals in depth with his decline and occasional bursts of success followed by even more plummeting to the depths in his personal life, which, quite frankly, was a mess. But rather than concentrate on all that went wrong in his personal life, I'll simply say that he remains a sympathetic figure despite some bad choices (such as refusing his second Oscar over the plight of Indians in America). Instead, the documentary reveals Brando with all his faults and virtues and leaves it up to the spectator to make what he will of a man who was an undisputed talent.

His influence on fellow artists is confirmed by AL PACINO and JOHN TURTURRO, both of whom remain loyal to the man they feel most influenced the work of "method" actors throughout the years.

Much evidence that he was strikingly handsome in his youth makes it even sadder to see that he ended up as a corpulent version of Orson Welles--a result of a personal life that exploded with stress and a pattern of overeating extended by his stubborn lack of discipline.

Summing up: But throughout it all, he remains a legendary star if only for the brilliant parts he played at the height of his powers.

"Brando" gives us knowledge of this enigmatic acting giant. It shows aspects of his life that most people are unaware of. I like the way it gives facts from people who knew him through work and/or friendship. It neither sugarcoats nor demonizes him. The film clips from his beginning to his end are amazing. What impressed me the most was that it didn't attempt to psychoanalyze him as some biographies do. It leaves the viewer with things to talk about and think about. Most of all, it makes you want to read, watch and learn more about this fascinating character. The film is almost three hours, yet it seemed to whiz by. I watched it a second time and even enjoyed it more!. There's a tremendous amount of information to absorb. Watch it and then see some of his great films you might have missed.

"Brando" is a two-part documentary about one of our greatest screen actors, considered by many to be the greatest, Marlon Brando. I saw it all at once, which may have been a mistake because, interesting as it is, it seemed overly long to me.

The documentary attempts to cover everything - Brando's childhood, stage work, his breakthrough success in "Streetcar," subsequent film work, private life and political beliefs, his becoming box office poison, and his resurrection as a great character actor beginning with "The Godfather." Ultimately, "Brando" leaves one feeling sad for what his private life became and when all is said and done, what went on behind that glorious facade remains a mystery. He obviously had passionate political beliefs and a true desire to help the blacks and the Indians, and he did so; at a certain point, his commitment to these causes, and his feeling for Tahiti, took over his life and superseded his desire to act.

One can't help admire Brando and feel frustrated at the same time. His gifts went into the realm of genius, but he was basically lazy and over time became lazier. Though the documentary doesn't cover it, he hated doing theater night after night, which is why he never returned to it. Eventually film became a drag for him too. He said he hated acting; it was probably a painful process for him, but at the beginning, he must have at least liked it and found it cathartic. Later on, it's apparent he did it for the money, becoming increasingly difficult to work with and prone to playing mind games with directors and actors. Some of that was probably out of boredom. He had a quick mind and an attention span that grew shorter over time.

There are some wonderful film clips, but I missed the monologue from "Superman," which he did brilliantly in one take. There are also reminders through photos of his godlike looks and an interesting screen test for "Rebel Without a Cause."

The best thing about "Brando" for me were the interviews with former classmates, Angie Dickinson and Mai Britt, who worked with him, and Carmelita Pope and Ellen Adler who knew him in the early days. An interview with the personable John Turturro provided lively commentary throughout, and there were also interviews with John Travolta, Karl Malden, Jane Fonda, Martin Scorcese, Martin Landau, Cloris Leachman, Robert Englund and others.

Though in the end he's still an enigma, one will certainly get a glimpse of this unusual man and phenomenal actor in this thorough documentary.

Brando (2007)

**** (out of 4)

Another masterpiece documentary from TCM. This documentary cover the life and films of Marlon Brando runs nearly three hours in length but it could have gone on for another three hours. Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, John Travolta, Jane Fonda, James Caan, Edward Norton, Dennis Hopper, Kevin McCarthy, Johnny Depp, Jon Voight, Harry Dean Stanton, Cloris Leachman, Karl Malden, Arthur Penn, Sean Penn and countless others are all interviewed and we get to hear stories about the early part of Marlon's career on the stage all the way up to his death. I personally consider him the greatest actor to ever live and this documentary does a great job at showing and telling people why he was so great. There's also some interesting stories told by some who went to high school with Brando as well as a few girls that he dated back in the day. It was also nice hearing from many of his children who hadn't been interviewed before and of course there's the new interview with the woman who accepted his Oscar for The Godfather. We also get to hear various interviews Brando gave throughout his life from the early days on radio to his Larry King interview. Brando's political views and his helping hand towards the Civil Rights are also discussed with never before seen footage and interviews. It was great seeing some of these great actors and directors talk about the man and how he influenced them before they even met or worked with him. There's also some very interesting story about Last Tango in Paris, which features interviews with Bernardo Bertolucci and co-star Maria Schneider. I wish the documentary had covered a few more things like Stanley Kubrick's brief direction of One Eyed Jacks and Brando's relationship with Charles Chaplin but even with these bits overlooked, this is still a defenitive documentary on the man.