Marlon Brando 4-Movie Collection (1963)

Brando's C-team

There are currently three Marlon Brando boxed set film collections on the market and this is the weakest of three. None of the four films collected on this set- save perhaps "The Ugly American"- would rank within the great actor's 20 best films even if you eliminated Brando lite delights like "Superman" and the Brando lite but Brando essential "Apocalypse Now."

The other sets available each contain definitive or iconic Brando performances. The Columbia set contains "On the Waterfront" and "The Wild One" and the Warner set features "Julius Caesar" and the stunning "Reflections in a Golden Eye" and both are essential for the serious film scholar. This collection though is strictly for Brando die hards like myself and even for me it's pretty rough going. Unintentionally, the compilers have gathered three of the least compelling of all Brando performances and films in this set.

Although the '60s was a varying time for Brando, he was still doing quality work in stuff like "The Chase" and "Golden Eye". However, in all but the "Ugly American" he was mishandled on every one of the films here. All except "Night of the Following Day" had a legitimate pull for the actor. "American" was political commentary. "A Countess from Hong Kong" was Charlie Chaplin's return to direction after a lengthy absence. The "Appaloosa" was directed by a then voguish director. All except "American"(a box office flop but critical fave) were both critical and popular failures.

"Ugly American" features a very solid portrayal by Brando of a man who learns to question what he once knew for sure. The film also predicts the Viet Nam quagmire. However, it is is slowly paced and light on action.

"Night of the Following Day" is an ok kidnapping mystery with a twist ending and a decent albeit unspectacular scenery chewing villain performance by Richard Boone. Brando however just walks through his role with no attempt at interpretation. He is at his physical peak though. Donning a blonde wig, slim and sporting Kowalski like muscles, he is a thing of beauty.

"The Appaloosa" is burdened by a very slight script. Mexican Jon Saxon steals Marlon's horse and Marlon tries to get it back and then get revenge. Characterization is at a minimum and Brando (who again looks great after he shaves) reacts well to his fellow actors but the role does not give him anything to work with. Director Sidney Furie's burst of crazy camera angles (shooting through bottles, shooting the character's feet etc.) doesn't help him although Furie does get off a few beautiful images particularly the opening of Brando riding his horse past a beautiful Utah sunset. There is also a fairly interesting sequence where Brando and Saxon arm wrestle with scorpions on both sides of the table.

"A Countess from Hong Kong" is a complete disaster. Chaplin's script is trite. Sophia Loren plays a deposed Russian countess, now hooker, who stowaways in Marlon's ship cabin so she can get to the US. They fall in love. Chaplin's direction is flat as every actor stands in their own space and waits for the other to finish their lines without much interaction. There is no attempt at visual composition. It's like a high school play. It is a shame to see the degradation of a great talent but even more of a shame to see what he did to Brando. Chaplin sapped Brando of all his natural vitality and charisma in a performance so rigidly formalized that it is a slap in the face to everything for which the great actor represented. He is dead like everything else on screen. Chubby and wearing a series of unflattering tuxedos and robes, he doesn't even look good. Sophia Loren on the hand is gorgeous and her natural beauty and adequate performance are the film's sole virtues. The film is also burdened by a bargain basement look.

The transfers here are very good with sharp images and sounds. The colors are muted and washed out at times and there's some damage on the films but Universal often used lesser film and color processes than many of their competitors in those days.

There are trailers for each film included but the only real extra is an audio commentary by Director Hubert Conrnfield for "Night of the Following Day." Cornfield is on a voice box, which at times can make it a tough listen, but it's worth it as he has a lot of dish particularly about Brando who was kind of a cad during the filming. The presence of this audio commentary helps make up a bit for the lesser quality of these films.

That commentary is also avaialable on the individual issue (although it's not listed) of "Following Day". All these titles except "Appaloosa" are available on individual discs. Since the product specs are exactly the same, if you want these movies you'll probably want this set because it's about the same as buying all three and you get the "Appaloosa." It is worth noting that this edition features two sided discs. Two sided discs generally damage easier.

The absence from this set of "Bedtime Story" which Brando also made for Universal around this time is a mystery. As the prototype for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", it turned out to be a somewhat important film. The box which lists Brando as playing a con man, his role in that movie but in none of the movies actually listed here, indicates that it was, at one point, considered for the set. Its inclusion would have definitely made this a more interesting set.

As it is, this a niche set. If you love Brando and want everything, I would say go this route. It's a good product in that it gives you four films at a decent price and "The Appaloosa" is a DVD rarity. If you're just an interested film fan you can pass this up.



June 6, 2008

Amazing!!!!!

I bought this to give as a christmas gift. It's in perfect condition, and arrived here super fast. December 12, 2007

2 Winners, 2 Losers

Four 'minor' Brando films, each with its own reason for watching. Night of the Following Day is a good suspense thriller during the shooting of which Brando and the director were constantly at odds. In spite of that both men were professional enough to turn out a film not quite like any other of its noir genre. Recommended. -- The Appaloosa is directed by Sidney J. Furie at a slow deliberate pace that delivers the desired emotional impact at the right times. Furie always knows what he is doing (check his body of work) and handles his cast with skill and patience. -- The Ugly Amerrican is a relic of cold war days, but does show off Brando's very real talent. -- The Countess from Hong Kong is that venerable Broadway standby, the bedroom farce. In the hands of any other director but the aged Çhaplin it might have worked as well as, say, Pajama Tops. A comedy such as this depends on impeccable timing, which regrettably here is just enough off to scuttle the film. Nevertheless, at the price, worth buying. July 22, 2007

A spotlight on THE APPALOOSA, only

Matt Fletcher (Marlon Brando), is a tight-lipped loner who returns from the Civil War to his surrogate family in the border town of Ojo Prieto to settle down. When Matt's prize Appaloosa stallion (played by Cojo Rojo) is stolen by bad banditos and spirited away to Mexico, he goes after them with a vengeance. Somewhat slow, and the title character isn't in the movie all that much. However, since it's the only way to get this movie on DVD, the boxed set is recommended.

Staci Layne Wilson
June 12, 2007

A meeting of classics for the true lovers of the seventh art !

I imported this collection because in Brazil we aren't respected by the Universal Home Video, and here we only have access to the "poor titles", releasing for the mass public. However, the Amazon site is a "oasis" for us, fans of the cult films on the whole world. I'm a Marlon Brando's admirer, and this product was extremely satisfactory for me. An obligator item for collectors, which deserve captive place in my videoshelf! Recommended for the latin public, therefore the four films have subtitles in Spanish. But not in Portuguese, unhappyly... (Bad luck for the Brazilians, one more time!) August 31, 2006

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