Burn! (1970)

A Caribbean island in the mid-1800's. Nature has made it a paradise; man has made it a hell. Slaves on vast Portuguese sugar plantations are ready to turn their misery into rebellion - and the British are ready to provide the spark. They send agent William Walker (Marlon Brando) on a devious three-part mission: trick the slaves into revolt grab the sugar trade for England...then return the slaves to servitude. Gillo Pontecorvo the acclaimed director of The Battle of Algiers explores colonialism and insurrection in the searing epic Burn!. Both visually and narratively stunning Burn! glows with the fires of Pontecorvo's unique filmmaking genius. Genius is also evident in Brando's complex intelligent portrayal of a man who is both gentleman and scoundrel revolutionary and colonialist. And Ennio Morricone's (The Untouchables The Mission) haunting music memorably underscores the almost overwhelmingly powerful story.System Requirements:Running Time 112Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 027616125354 Manufacturer No: 12535 Product Description

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As always, Amazon has provided excellent service in handling my recent purchase of the DVD, Burn. Package arrived in excellent condition and service was fast. I know the students in our Spanish class will find this quite interesting. Thank you very much. December 3, 2007

flawed but viewable take on colonialism and imperialism.

I see the main characters and setting of this film as purely symbolic. The island has a fictional name:Queimada, which refers to a once popular European spicy alcoholic drink. As part of its preparation, it underwent burning, which supposedly scared away evil spirits. This strongly relates to the film story. It is said to be a former Portuguese colony in the Caribbean. The Portuguese were once among the most ruthless colonialists, but they stayed clear of the Caribbean. Thus, the Portuguese connection is purely symbolic. Brando's character, William Walker, is the namesake for perhaps the most fanatical conquistador the US ever produced, whose ultimate ambition in his last years was to annex most of Central America, Cuba and maybe even more parts of Mexico, to be admitted as slave states, to bolster the flagging political power of the South in its competition with the North. Thus, he represents the unbridled ambition of Europeans to rule and exploit the other peoples of the world. The alluded to previous wholesale burning of the island's native vegetation and dramazied burning of much of the island's sugarcane and laborer villages symbolizes the total disregard of most colonialists for the physical environment of these foreign lands and for the well being of native and imported laborers. I believe Walker's ultimate demise represents the ultimate withering of colonialism, despite its apparently unshakable entrenchment the world over. The brief interlude showing Walker brawling in a slum in Britian only makes sense if it is saying that most colonialists were basically degenerate bullies, whether at home or abroad.
We can read further symbolism into the script, if we wish. Jose Doloris and the other rebels might be seen as representing those Negroes and their white supporters in the US who had recently fought and sometimes died to achieve true racial equality. Ditto for similar events in other countries. We might also see the Portuguese as stand ins for the French and the British as representing the US in the Vietnam situation, current when this film was made. The changing relationship between Walker and Doloris might be seen as symbolic of a similar change between the US and China during WWII vs. afterward, for example. A more recent example is the change in relationship between the US and Sadam Hussein.
I don't like Brando's general arrogant demeanor, nor do I like the his slovenly speaking style. Perhaps these were appropriate for this film.
The initial slave revolt, their transformation into free laborers and their subsequent realization that there was little practical difference between their former and present status was treated far too superficially to be satisfying to the viewer. Perhaps there was more about this in the 20 min longer version of this film. The person who played Doloris was not a professional actor and appears to lack the charisma that a successful rebel leader would need. I did enjoy the scenes of native festivals and village life, although they were sometimes too long.
You may have noticed that my name is William Walker, which is the initial reason I chose to see this film. I own a biography of "the" William Walker, written by Albert Carr. I understand another film was made: "Walker", which also alludes to the imperialist dreams of this facinating man. Unfortunately, this again was not a serious attempt to chronicle the real story of Walker, but was rather a political satire, relating to the then involvement of the US in the political struggles within Nicaragua as a follow up on Walker's long ago meddling in the politics of this country. Apparently, it portrays the critical relationship between Walker and Cornelius Vanderbilt as being the exact opposite of their true relationship! William Walker was a facinating enough man that his life deserves a straight treatment, without becoming a caricature of a message film.
August 18, 2007

the ugly englishman

the decade before "the godfather" was a long period of fallowness for marlon brando, but a viewing of this legendary flop might lead one to try to re-assess the period. in this at times too stridently obvious parallel to our then imperialist foreign policy (thank god we dont get involved in stuff like that any more ...) brando plays a politician / businessman / pirate who serves as both liberator and enslavor of a poor country. while the production values vary greatly, it is still worth checking out for anyone interested in how stanley kowalski morphed into colonel kurtz. April 18, 2007

Poor Quality and Edited!

Three complaints about this DVD sum up my review:

First, we've got the short, 112 minute version as opposed to the uncut original 132 minute version.

Second, the negative is in terrible shape. If you've seen any of those public domain DVDs of spaghetti westerns and such, you know exactly what I am talking about. Washed out colors, grain, scratches, the whole deal. Yuck.

Third, and least important, there are no special features on this disc - not even a trailer.

SHAME ON YOU MGM!!! March 6, 2007

Riveting tale of colonial era

I bought this movie because I am an Ennio Morricone completionist, but I was totally unprepared for what an absorbing movie it would be.
One might think from the pedigree and the cover of the DVD that it is another Spaghetti Western of sorts, but that would be a grave injustice. The producer, Alberto Grimaldi, is indeed the long time Sergio Leone collaborator, and the opening titles could be straight from one of the dollars movies, but the film is something quite different.
The tale surrounds Marlon Brando as an Englishman sent to a Portuguese colony in the Antilles - his role, to manipulate an uprising against the Portuguese, in order for the area to be opened up to British trade, for the lucrative sugar market. His relationship with the slave who becomes a rebel leader under his guidance underpins the movie, and it is a fine performance from Brando, even if the accent is somewhat effected.
The atmosphere of the colony is brilliantly portrayed, authentic through its use of non actors in key roles and in background colour. Not least, the atmosphere is conveyed by Ennio Morricones fantastic score. This is as equally idiosyncratic as his spaghetti western scores, but with a different flavour altogether, using tribal rhthyms and organ music to make unlikely bedfellows.
Be warned, the DVD itself has no extras, and is painfully washed out and flickers from time to time. The dubbing is not as bad as some spaghetti western lovers may be used to, but still comes across a bit strange at times. Although this would benefit from a restoration, this is a movie with a message and with character which belie the limitations of the print.
Buy this for an undiscovered Brando performance, and a terrific political tale, as long as you can thole the dubious quality of the DVD transfer itself.
February 14, 2007

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