[lbo-talk] Re: Brando on DVD

BklynMagus magcomm at ix.netcom.com
Thu Nov 3 13:38:14 PST 2005


Dear List:

A while back we spoke of Marlon Brando.

Four of his films are coming out on dvd on Tuesday.

Here is my handy homo-guide to the releases:

THE FUGITIVE KIND (1959) -- Joanna's favorite (if I remember). Presented in 1:66 original aspect ratio, the acting is fine, as is Sideny Lumet's direction and Boris Kaufman's cinematography. It is the last Brando performance before he pivots even further toward strangeness, which will produce great results in the late '60's/early '70's, but some clunkers along the way.

BURN! (1969) -- Alas, we are presented with the cut/ dubbed version rather than the complete original. You get Brando's voice but little else.

THE MISSOURI BREAKS (1976) -- The last film of that intense '70's loose trilogy: THE GODFATHER; LAST TANGO IN PARIS and this Arthur Penn film. Brando seems to be acting outside of the movie -- almost in aesthetic dialectic with it -- Penn admirably holds it together and Jack is game, but Nicholson's plot- resolving action seems motivated by the dictates of both the narrative and Brando's anarchic performance. Undervalued at its time of release, this film is ready to be rediscovered (along with Arthur Penn's other great '70's film recently released on dvd -- NIGHT MOVES (1975) -- a film noir to end all films noirs.

A DRY WHITE SEASON (1989) -- Brando's last important performance before flesh and caricature immobilized him, A DRY WHITE SEASON is also the first Hollywood studio film to be helmed by a Black woman -- Euzhan Palcy. Brando thought the film important enough to do for free (and was rewarded with an eighth and final Academy Award nomination), but the role is small -- only two scenes at the center of the film that serve as a hinge between the halves of the story. But what a pair of scenes! For a final time Brando summons what made him so watchable and effortlessly conveys his mastery to the audience.

Brian Dauth Queer Buddhist Resister



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