You probably have heard his name somewhere or imitated his 'godfather' voice with an offer you can’t refuse. This is the Marlon Brando started kit to watch all the movies from one of the most iconic actors there is.
I got into Marlon Brando thanks to a Gilmore Girls' imitation and close captioning. And then I fell into the rabbit hole.
Marlon Brando is known for starting the technique of method acting, who learned it from Stella Adler an actress and acting teacher very known in New York. She was the only American actor who studied alongside Stanislavsky who created Method Acting. She was responsible for bringing it to America.
Method acting is what we know today as regular acting, basically is when actors do research for their part by finding facts, the backstory of their character, and pretending to live their life in order to immerse in their role so It can appear realistically and true to the character as it can get.
Method acting is what we know today as regular acting, basically is when actors do research for their part by finding facts, the backstory of their character, and pretending to live their life in order to immerse in their role so It can appear realistically and true to the character as it can get.
 |
| Marlon living as an invalid in order to prepare for a role in The Men (1950) |
In movies from the '50s and '60s, you can notice a pattern on acting. A very theatrical and caricaturesque way of acting. It felt fake.
Method acting got rid of overacting. That's why Marlon Brando was so relevant in his time (and still is) because through method acting, Marlon disappeared in the character and you forgot it was an actor performing.
Method acting got rid of overacting. That's why Marlon Brando was so relevant in his time (and still is) because through method acting, Marlon disappeared in the character and you forgot it was an actor performing.
You see his movies and you don't see anything extraordinary at first because it feels normal to you for actors to feel real. If you have seen other movies from the '50s or '60s and compare it to one of Brando's, you will be able to tell the difference in a heartbeat.
On The Waterfront (100/10)
On The Waterfront (100/10)
It's a mob movie. The plot is about how the mob has control over the port and how a murder sparks anger on the people, where the priest and Edie, the sister of the dead man, take action to confront the mob.
Terry (Marlon Brando) is involved with the mob. After the murder, Terry starts feeling antagonized by the mafia. He starts to rebel against them.
Brando's character is intimidating but at the same time, you feel very empathetic towards him. It's this troubled young man who chose the mafia instead of his dream.
Terry (Marlon Brando) is involved with the mob. After the murder, Terry starts feeling antagonized by the mafia. He starts to rebel against them.
Brando's character is intimidating but at the same time, you feel very empathetic towards him. It's this troubled young man who chose the mafia instead of his dream.
On The Waterfront is a critically acclaimed movie. It got Brando his first Oscar. He made his character multidimensional. Terry could've easily fallen into the cliché mob character category. But Brando made him real. Terry's not 100% bad or a 100% good–he's both. You hate him and you love him. Just how life is.
It's a really good plot and it doesn't end up being as cliché as you might expect with mob movies. The movie feels very modern for its time. That's why he was so groundbreaking as an actor, he broke the mold.
It's a really good plot and it doesn't end up being as cliché as you might expect with mob movies. The movie feels very modern for its time. That's why he was so groundbreaking as an actor, he broke the mold.
I recommend this movie 100%. It may be old, but I promise you, you won’t be bored and it feels up to date.
This is the most famous scene in the movie. It's pop culture.
But, my favorite scene is this one...
A Streetcar Named Desire (10/10)
Turns out this movie is from a successful Broadway play and from what I understood Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando (leading roles) were doing the play beforehand, and it got so popular that it got made into a film.
What makes me jump my seat in movies are two things: doors closing abruptly out of nowhere and people who shift their mood in a blink of an eye, suddenly with an anger that causes them to throw shit around the room. And that's exactly what happened.
Stanley (Marlon's character) represents a blue collar worker who eludes hyper-masculinity. A macho character with a toxic and abusive personality; in other words, an asshole. The relationship Stella has with Stanley is the typical abusive relationship when the abuser (in this case Stanley) behaves at two extremes: when he's good, he's the best person you could meet, but when he's bad he turns into an abusive monster. I was really surprised they would show domestic abuse in such times (1954). You can see how Stanley suddenly feels guilty and screams for Stella to come back like his world wouldn't be the same without her. And Stella does come back to him. You see how these two characters have this sexual tension between them where they can't be apart from each other, but he's basically destroying her as well.
Stella in this film is the third character. Because the other lead is Stella's sister: Blanche (Vivien Leigh) who is a pathological liar. You end the movie feeling bad for Stella. What kind of person has such bad luck to have such a crappy family?
Marlon's performance shocks you, scares you, and makes you extremely mad for being such a scumbag. It's brilliant. Again, such a realistic play for its time that deals with abusive relationships between Stella & Stanley and what's clearly a mental health problem from Blanche.
The Godfather (10/10)
I don’t think I need to talk about this movie. It's excellent.
Fun facts about Brando in the Godfather:
- Brando actually had to do a screen test for the role. Paramount Pictures would only let Coppola cast him if he auditioned for the role and do it for no money. Marlon Brando late in his career behaved very poorly in movie sets: not remembering his lines, calling in sick for days, etc. He didn't have a good reputation perse.
- Its unique color palette was made on purpose to hide Brando's makeup.
- Brando never learned the lines, well he almost never did in most of his movies, he read them from cue cards.
Guys & Dolls (9/10)
What a surprise I had when I saw Sinatra was in the movie.
This is a romantic comedy musical as they fabulously were back in the day. It's about gambling and this church lady that wants to take someone to god.
I loved it. It's funny. I don’t think Brando is a very good singer, I have no idea how he got cast, but it’s not annoying either. It’s enough. Ryan Gosling is better at singing...
The Wild One (7/10)
Marlon in this movie is the ultimate bad-ass-leather-wearing-biker that has a gang. They are respected/feared by the community and also has a rivalry with other biker gangs. At first, I thought the movie was just too basic and cliche. But before I made my verdict final, I asked my mom what was the whole fuzz about it. Turns out, when the movie came out Marlon was a symbol of rebellion that people needed in the 50's-60's. He was portraying somebody that people wanted to be, someone who doesn’t follow the rules and doesn’t live life according to others. He was at the right time in the right place.
With that in context, you get the appeal.
Julius Caesar (6.5/10)
This movie is based on Shakespeare's play. Marlon is portraying Marc Anthony whom later rules the republic next to Octavius after the murder of Julius Caesar. Et tu Brutus?
It's a good performance. But I feel like the movie wasn't an adaption of the play because they kept the same 'Shakespearean' language which can sometimes be difficult to comprehend making the movie a little tedious.
There's definitely more films from Brando that are worthwhile watching and discussing it, but for now, I just discussed the most 'notable' or popular from his work. I think it's a good starter pack for Brando.
You probably have heard his name somewhere or imitated his 'godfather' voice with an offer you can’t refuse. This is the Marlon Brando started kit to watch all the movies from one of the most iconic actors there is.
I got into Marlon Brando thanks to a Gilmore Girls' imitation and close captioning. And then I fell into the rabbit hole.
Marlon Brando is known for starting the technique of method acting, who learned it from Stella Adler an actress and acting teacher very known in New York. She was the only American actor who studied alongside Stanislavsky who created Method Acting. She was responsible for bringing it to America.
Method acting is what we know today as regular acting, basically is when actors do research for their part by finding facts, the backstory of their character, and pretending to live their life in order to immerse in their role so It can appear realistically and true to the character as it can get.
Method acting is what we know today as regular acting, basically is when actors do research for their part by finding facts, the backstory of their character, and pretending to live their life in order to immerse in their role so It can appear realistically and true to the character as it can get.
|
| Marlon living as an invalid in order to prepare for a role in The Men (1950) |
In movies from the '50s and '60s, you can notice a pattern on acting. A very theatrical and caricaturesque way of acting. It felt fake.
Method acting got rid of overacting. That's why Marlon Brando was so relevant in his time (and still is) because through method acting, Marlon disappeared in the character and you forgot it was an actor performing.
Method acting got rid of overacting. That's why Marlon Brando was so relevant in his time (and still is) because through method acting, Marlon disappeared in the character and you forgot it was an actor performing.
You see his movies and you don't see anything extraordinary at first because it feels normal to you for actors to feel real. If you have seen other movies from the '50s or '60s and compare it to one of Brando's, you will be able to tell the difference in a heartbeat.
On The Waterfront (100/10)
On The Waterfront (100/10)
It's a mob movie. The plot is about how the mob has control over the port and how a murder sparks anger on the people, where the priest and Edie, the sister of the dead man, take action to confront the mob.
Terry (Marlon Brando) is involved with the mob. After the murder, Terry starts feeling antagonized by the mafia. He starts to rebel against them.
Brando's character is intimidating but at the same time, you feel very empathetic towards him. It's this troubled young man who chose the mafia instead of his dream.
Terry (Marlon Brando) is involved with the mob. After the murder, Terry starts feeling antagonized by the mafia. He starts to rebel against them.
Brando's character is intimidating but at the same time, you feel very empathetic towards him. It's this troubled young man who chose the mafia instead of his dream.
On The Waterfront is a critically acclaimed movie. It got Brando his first Oscar. He made his character multidimensional. Terry could've easily fallen into the cliché mob character category. But Brando made him real. Terry's not 100% bad or a 100% good–he's both. You hate him and you love him. Just how life is.
It's a really good plot and it doesn't end up being as cliché as you might expect with mob movies. The movie feels very modern for its time. That's why he was so groundbreaking as an actor, he broke the mold.
It's a really good plot and it doesn't end up being as cliché as you might expect with mob movies. The movie feels very modern for its time. That's why he was so groundbreaking as an actor, he broke the mold.
I recommend this movie 100%. It may be old, but I promise you, you won’t be bored and it feels up to date.
This is the most famous scene in the movie. It's pop culture.
But, my favorite scene is this one...
A Streetcar Named Desire (10/10)
Turns out this movie is from a successful Broadway play and from what I understood Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando (leading roles) were doing the play beforehand, and it got so popular that it got made into a film.
What makes me jump my seat in movies are two things: doors closing abruptly out of nowhere and people who shift their mood in a blink of an eye, suddenly with an anger that causes them to throw shit around the room. And that's exactly what happened.
Stanley (Marlon's character) represents a blue collar worker who eludes hyper-masculinity. A macho character with a toxic and abusive personality; in other words, an asshole. The relationship Stella has with Stanley is the typical abusive relationship when the abuser (in this case Stanley) behaves at two extremes: when he's good, he's the best person you could meet, but when he's bad he turns into an abusive monster. I was really surprised they would show domestic abuse in such times (1954). You can see how Stanley suddenly feels guilty and screams for Stella to come back like his world wouldn't be the same without her. And Stella does come back to him. You see how these two characters have this sexual tension between them where they can't be apart from each other, but he's basically destroying her as well.
Stella in this film is the third character. Because the other lead is Stella's sister: Blanche (Vivien Leigh) who is a pathological liar. You end the movie feeling bad for Stella. What kind of person has such bad luck to have such a crappy family?
Marlon's performance shocks you, scares you, and makes you extremely mad for being such a scumbag. It's brilliant. Again, such a realistic play for its time that deals with abusive relationships between Stella & Stanley and what's clearly a mental health problem from Blanche.
The Godfather (10/10)
I don’t think I need to talk about this movie. It's excellent.
Fun facts about Brando in the Godfather:
- Brando actually had to do a screen test for the role. Paramount Pictures would only let Coppola cast him if he auditioned for the role and do it for no money. Marlon Brando late in his career behaved very poorly in movie sets: not remembering his lines, calling in sick for days, etc. He didn't have a good reputation perse.
- Its unique color palette was made on purpose to hide Brando's makeup.
- Brando never learned the lines, well he almost never did in most of his movies, he read them from cue cards.
Guys & Dolls (9/10)
What a surprise I had when I saw Sinatra was in the movie.
This is a romantic comedy musical as they fabulously were back in the day. It's about gambling and this church lady that wants to take someone to god.
I loved it. It's funny. I don’t think Brando is a very good singer, I have no idea how he got cast, but it’s not annoying either. It’s enough. Ryan Gosling is better at singing...
The Wild One (7/10)
Marlon in this movie is the ultimate bad-ass-leather-wearing-biker that has a gang. They are respected/feared by the community and also has a rivalry with other biker gangs. At first, I thought the movie was just too basic and cliche. But before I made my verdict final, I asked my mom what was the whole fuzz about it. Turns out, when the movie came out Marlon was a symbol of rebellion that people needed in the 50's-60's. He was portraying somebody that people wanted to be, someone who doesn’t follow the rules and doesn’t live life according to others. He was at the right time in the right place.
With that in context, you get the appeal.
Julius Caesar (6.5/10)
This movie is based on Shakespeare's play. Marlon is portraying Marc Anthony whom later rules the republic next to Octavius after the murder of Julius Caesar. Et tu Brutus?
It's a good performance. But I feel like the movie wasn't an adaption of the play because they kept the same 'Shakespearean' language which can sometimes be difficult to comprehend making the movie a little tedious.
There's definitely more films from Brando that are worthwhile watching and discussing it, but for now, I just discussed the most 'notable' or popular from his work. I think it's a good starter pack for Brando.
