Morituri

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.

I stumbled across MORITURI in a Virginia Blockbuster; I've never seen it for rent anywhere else. I noticed that it had Marlon Brando and Yul Brynner, so I thought it had to be worth a try. And so I saw what turned out to be one of the top 20 World War II movies I've ever seen. That's right, up there with PATTON, THE YOUNG LIONS, and the like.

Brando plays Robert Crain, who is assigned to go undercover on board a German freighter transporting a cargo of rubber to the war zone. He must impersonate a Nazi to do this, and must face some hard choices as to how cruel he can be to appear realistic. Brynner is Muller, the captain of the freighter who has accepted the job as his last chance to save his career in the German merchant marine. He is fair and compassionate and must rein in the fanatical Nazi second-in-command that his superiors have appointed for him. En route, the freighter picks up the survivors of a U-boat, including Esther (Janet Margolin) a beautiful young concentration camp survivor who is so brimming with hatred and vengefulness that she can no longer even accept human compassion.

Brando is very good in his role, but he is completely upstaged by Brynner, who gives the performance of a lifetime. His conflict, between his patriotism and self-preservation on the one side and the vileness of what the Nazis are doing to him and to his country on the other, is marvelously realized. The movie also features a beautiful exchange between Brando and one of the passengers - "I was a political prisoner." "Falsely accused, of course." "No. Not falsely accused." (smiles). I have a soft spot for movies where adversaries come to respect each other, and MORITURI is one of the best of that type.

Good luck finding this movie. It's a true diamond in the rough.

Rating: ***1/2 out of ****.

This is a remake from a German film, it was made seventeen years prior to this movie, and it was the first German film made after the war which was about the Second World War. This enjoyable WWII film has a brilliant script , original, precise, forceful , with intensity difficult to perceive . The title "Morituri" is Latin which can be translated as "we who are about to die", from the traditional salute of Roman gladiators in the arena, "Morituri Te Salutamus" , We, who are about to die, salute you! . World War II, espionage, adventure and human lives have never before been combined so explosively . It deals with a German called Rober Crain (Marlon Brando) living in India during World War II is blackmailed by the English (Trevor Howard along with Brando appeared in Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962 and were to appear again years later in Superman) to impersonate an SS officer , he aboard a freighter captained by Mueller (Yul Brynner) with a dangerous assignment . His mission is to locate and disarm the scuttling charges in order to prevent Mueller from scuttling the gunboat and its cargo upon interception by the British fleet . As the allied spy attempts to persuade German boat captain to surrender his vessel .

It's not the ordinary World War II spy movie , has an interesting as well as gripping screenplay without mannerisms , though is sometimes slow-moving and overlong . The improvisations throughout history , traps the writer to throw , the short dialogues and surprises rise the action . Sensational interpretations , where all the characters are equally evil in their intentions . Brando plays a Nazi soldier in this film as he had done so in the earlier ¨The young lions¨(1958) for 20th Century Fox, both movies being filmed in black-and-white and both being for made for the same studio. Yul Brynner -is no surprise- magnificent , the film's marketing boasted the surname alliteration of Brando and Brynner . A very support cast such as gorgeous Janet Margolin as Jewish Esther , Trevor Howard as Colonel Statter , Martin Benrath as Kruse , Hans Christian Blech as Donkeyman and William Redfield as Baldwin and Wally Cox as Dr. Ambach

Atmospheric cinematography in black and white by Conrad Hall ("Road to Perdition" 2002, "In Cold Blood" 1967,) . Evocative as well thrilling musical score by the great Jerry Goldsmith (Planet of apes , Patton) , full of nuances and details make a lovely movie. The motion picture was professionally directed by Berhard Wicki . He was a notorious stage actor , producer , filmmaker and secondary player . Wicki, who was clown before he became a soldier, stole food for and entertained his French prisoners while they waited to find out if they would be executed. He imprisoned for ten months at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp because of his earlier affiliation with the communist party. Started directing films from 1958 . Best known for his anti-war film ¨The Bridge¨ (1959) and subsequently ¨ Morituri¨. This movie bombed at the box-office upon initial release , it is believe that the film's title was not understood by the public . As such, when re-released, the film was re-named "Saboteur: Code Name Morituri"

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.

In 1942 Japan, the Germans are desperate to open the shipping lanes between Japan and Germany. German Captain Mueller (Yul Brynner) is still being blamed for having a drink before getting torpedoed in his last assignment. He is bitter at his son's treatment by the military brass. There is a shortage of manpower and Mueller is forced to take on prisoners pressed into service. He is transporting a valuable load of rubber destine to supply the German war machine for three full months. In India, German deserter Robert Crain (Marlon Brando) is recruited by British intelligence. They expect any approach by the Allies would immediately set Mueller to scuttle the ship. While pretending to be an SS official, Crain is tasked with surreptitiously disabling the scuttling charges and thereby securing the cargo for the American Navy.

The sneaking around in the bowels of the ship is not the most compelling. The secret meeting with the German prisoners is when the drama really starts. There is a bit of awkwardness with Mueller's views. One would expect him to hide his disdain much better. I like the interrogation scene with the two visiting officers. The problem does resolve itself pretty quickly and I really like the hospital ship reveal. It's a compelling fight to the finish. Brando is doing well. Brynner is acting a little too much although his role is calling for it. The action could be better. Overall, it's a solid thriller.