Marlon Brando: Five Films for Newcomers
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Today, Marlon Brando Jr. would have turned one hundred years old. This year also marks the twentieth anniversary of his passing. It’s undeniable that he is one of the greatest actors of all time. A student of acting teacher Stella Adler and the Stanislavski system of experience-based acting (which would ultimately become what we now know as “method acting”), Brando’s rise to fame caught the tail end of the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was one of a few method-based names who represented a new era that was to come. In that same breath, he was present for the New Hollywood movement as well, embracing all the risks that the generation had to offer. Needless to say, it appeared as though Brando could do it all because of these shifts (and, of course, his raw talent).
On the topic of contexts and change, a lot has happened since Brando’s passing. As much as he was cherished as a hyper-realistic actor, much has come out about the more unfavourable working conditions. His stubbornness would often get in the way of production (from refusing to memorize lines well into his career, to neglecting set requirements). To laud Marlon Brando in this day and age is to also acknowledge the many faults of his career, particularly the last few decades of his life which were marred with awful projects and horror stories relating to Brando (one that comes to mind is The Island of Dr. Moreau. Nonetheless, it also feels futile to only focus on these blemishes, but they need to be addressed nonetheless (alongside the most glaring of them all; more on that shortly).
In his prime, Brando felt untouchable as an actor. So much of his performances were internalized, and you would be left wondering what was on his mind (a whole new dimension of how acting could be fulfilled seemed possible). You didn’t watch Brando: you felt him. You knew everything he was experiencing even through his thick drawl. You saw his eyes wander and would try to decipher what he was fixated on. As motion pictures were evolving, it would appear that acting had endless possibilities ahead with an actor like Brando on the rise. From typical Hollywood bad boy and stage presence to a complicated mind that not even he fully figured out. Here are five films for newcomers of the works of Marlon Brando.
5. Julius Caesar
Brando fit the scope of the Old Hollywood epic quite well as Mark Antony in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s Julius Caesar (or William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, as it seems). There wouldn’t be many films in Brando’s career quite like this one as he would subsequently focus on smaller-scaled character studies (outside of a few exceptions, of course) which are far more his speed, to be fair. Having said that, it’s clear that Brando would have fit right in with the biggest films of the Golden Age had he done more of them. All we have is this glimpse, and, in ways, it’s enough.
4. Last Tango in Paris
It’s virtually impossible to discuss Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris without going into the nightmarish conditions on set. Brando’s exquisite performance as a grieving widower trying to expel his personal demons has been stained by the circumstances surrounding the notorious “butter” sequence (where young star Maria Schneider was forced into partaking in such a traumatizing scene against her will by both Brando and Bertolucci). Brando has other taboos surrounding this film, including the refusal to memorize lines (as was sadly not a new instance for the actor by this point) and other forms of stubbornness and exploitation. It’s a damn shame because Brando delivers a performance as vulnerable as any you may ever see. Just approach this film with caution, and maybe be prepared to fast forward or skip the butter scene altogether (I wouldn’t blame you).
3. A Streetcar Named Desire
One of the strongest villainous characters of the Golden Age of Hollywood and of the stage (for anyone yelling out “Stella!” as if it’s romantic, do yourself a favour and check this film or play out because you’re only looking foolish by celebrating an abusive character), Brando’s take on Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire (directed by Elia Kazan) is truly horrifying. The gaslighting and manipulation present in Brando’s performance is one that you notice more and more each time you revisit the film. It’s Brando’s breakthrough role and it’s easy to see why: already there was such complexity and nuance to someone who could have just been a carbon copy villain from out the gate. Oddly enough, the film won Oscars for every acting category but Best Actor (and Brando); he’d get two trophies later on, so this isn’t all that depressing.
2. The Godfather
It feels a bit on the nose to include Brando’s turn as Don Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, but that’s because it feels like a must. I’ve always viewed the film as Michael Corleone’s — as we watch the ushering-in of a new head of the family — but Brando still steals the show whenever he’s on screen (if anything, scenes without him still resonate his booming presence). If you did the math, Brando isn’t even in The Godfather as often as you’d imagine, but you sense the size of his performance as if he’s in every single shot. An early example of truly transformative acting that sent shockwaves through Hollywood, Brando would never take on a role quite as unique as this one before or since. Brando helped turn Don Vito into one of the most cherished characters in all of film history, and that’s impossible to deny. Additionally, on the topic of Coppola, I’m not including Apocalypse Now only because of how briefly he is in the film, but consider his harrowing turn as a colonel gone rogue an honourable mention.
1. On the Waterfront
For me, there’s only one place to start in Marlon Brando’s career. I consider his work in Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront to be one of the best performances of all time (quite possibly in my top ten list if I were to ever make one; if not, it’s damn close). As we follow Terry Malloy after he threw his entire boxing career away, we see a broken longshoreman whose agony we can feel even before we’ve heard a single word out of his mouth. Every word is used precisely by Brando. Every shot of him swims in mental ambiguity as we try to ascertain which side of the line his tortured thoughts rest in now. This is a masterclass in acting that I think any aspiring thespian must watch, as it changes how words on a page will appear to you. This is a glorious performance that took the already-rising Brando and made him one of the greats. Amidst all of the problematic parts of his career, a performance like Brando’s as Terry Malloy reminds he of his talent as uncomplicated as it ever was.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.