Reason.com
Marlon Brando, RIP
Marlon Brando died yesterday at the age of 80. At his best, he was one of the greatest there ever was, and there's not much I can say about him that everyone else isn't already saying. Better just to watch his work: one of his terrific collaborations with Elia Kazan, A Steetcar Named Desire or Viva Zapata! or On the Waterfront; or his other iconic role, as Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather; or perhaps one of the lesser-known cult movies that benefited from his talents, from the quirky western One-Eyed Jacks (which he directed as well as starred in) to the '90s comedy The Freshman (which proved that no one did a funnier Marlon Brando impression than Brando). The acting speaks for itself.
Most Popular Stories
- St. Louis Cops Worry That In-Car Cameras 'Are Being Used Against Them' (5.23)
- Here Are the 15 Senators Who Voted to Stop Armed FDA Agents From Conducting Warrantless Raids on America's Farmers (Not One of Them is a Democrat) (5.24)
- Reason "Hero of Freedom" Larry Flynt's Latest Stunt? Photoshopping a Penis into Mouth of Conservative Pundit S.E. Cupp (5.24)
- When Government Privileges Trump the Rights of Citizens (5.25)
- Plastic Bag Ban Will Put Los Angeles In Landfill (5.23)
Reason RUPE: Public Opinion Survey
- Reason-Rupe: Wisconsinites Favor Increasing Public Union Retirement Contributions to Address Budget Deficit (5.25)
- Reason-Rupe Poll Finds Support for Public Union Reforms (5.25)
- New Poll: Obama Leads Romney In Wisconsin, But Gary Johnson Could Impact the Race (5.24)
- Wisconsin Recall: Walker Leads Barrett 50-42 Among Likely Voters (5.24)
- Reason-Rupe Poll: Walker Leads Barrett 50-42, Obama Leads Romney 46-36 (5.24)
advertisements
Reason on Facebook
Reason on Twitter
Reason on YouTube
Reason RSSGet Reason E-mail Updates!
Manage your Reason e-mail list subscriptionsSite comments/questions:
Media Inquiries and Reprint Permissions:
(310) 367-6109
Editorial & Production Offices:
3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 391-2245
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment or disable your ability to comment for any reason at any time.
|7.2.04 @ 1:03AM|#
I guess that's three.
Can we stop dying now, please?
|7.2.04 @ 1:33AM|#
Makes me want to write "fuck" on my airplane.
|7.2.04 @ 2:04AM|#
Interesting to me that for the role of Don Corleone he spent time with Boss of Bosses Frank Costello. He also stuffed toilet paper into his cheeks to get the inflections just right.
And he was damn good at it.
|7.2.04 @ 2:16AM|#
I read that Kazan initially wanted Brando to shrink with fear when his char.'s brother pulls the gun in the car in "Waterfront"...Brando intuitively knew, and suggested, that the scene would work much better if he reacted the way anyone would if your own flesh and blood betrayed you. Kazan went w/ Brando's gut and filmed one of the 5 greatest scenes in the history of cinema.
|7.2.04 @ 2:34AM|#
His role in Last Tango in Paris was the greatest screen performance in film history.
|7.2.04 @ 2:55AM|#
"I guess that's three.
Can we stop dying now, please?"
Um, forty thousand men and women every day...
|7.2.04 @ 2:57AM|#
Roland Barthes wrote an excellent essay on Brando as Mark Anthony in Julius Caesar - he noted, correctly IMHO, that Brando was more convincing in the role than the shakespeareans who played Julius and Brutus (rex harrison, alec guiness ? ) were in theirs. Great perfomance.
|7.2.04 @ 5:00AM|#
He was at the top of his game as Antony, though he never got as much credit for that role as he should have gotten. No doubt because there's a certain snobbery about Americans playing Shakespearean roles (esp. in the U.S., go figure). In any case, I'll never forget him pounding out the famous eulogy for Caesar. Makes me want to hunt down Brutus and Cassius just thinking about it--those danged "honourable men".
|7.2.04 @ 5:36AM|#
Um, forty thousand men and women every day...
Another forty thousand coming every day . . .
|7.2.04 @ 5:39AM|#
Um, forty thousand men and women every day...
Sorry. I meant people that matter.
Reagan, Ray Charles, Brando. Game over.
|7.2.04 @ 5:58AM|#
Let's not forget his greatest line:
"What are you rebelling against?"
"Whaddya got?"
THE WILD ONE
|7.2.04 @ 11:58AM|#
Um, "iconic" role, right?
Jesse Walker|7.2.04 @ 12:00PM|#
Oops! Yes, that's what I meant to type. Thanks; I just fixed it.
Jeff|7.2.04 @ 12:22PM|#
He was Jor El. He was Dr. Moreau. He was Colonel Kurtz. He was Marc Antony.
|7.2.04 @ 12:37PM|#
The horror!
|7.2.04 @ 12:38PM|#
Mistah Kurtz, he dead.
|7.3.04 @ 3:34AM|#
The Freshman was one of my all time faves. Bert Parks doing "Maffie's Farm" was a treat as well.
|7.3.04 @ 5:04AM|#
I thought his greatest line was "hey John Friendly..."
|7.3.04 @ 11:40AM|#
Brando's greatest line was "Is that the one where I was bald?" when an interviewer asked him about Apocalypse Now.
I liked his work a lot, but it's gotta be said: Lee Marvin walked all over him in The Wild One.
finance personal|11.1.04 @ 1:06PM|#
In your free time, check the sites dedicated to credit reports score | credit reports score | http://www.credit-reports-score-4u.info/ | irwin mortgage | irwin mortgage | http://www.irwin-mortgage-e-bank.info/ | tax preparation software | tax preparation software | http://www.tax-preparation-software-advisor.info/ | auction | auction | http://www.auction-e-site.info/ | card credit low rate | card credit low rate | http://www.card-credit-low-rate-4u.info/ | send flower | send flower | http://www.send-flower-leading-site.info/ | cash loan quick | cash loan quick | http://www.cash-loan-quick-e-bank.info/ | hampshire mortgage new | hampshire mortgage new | http://www.hampshire-mortgage-new-e-bank.info/ | advice debt | advice debt | http://www.advice-debt-advisor.info/ | credit federal union | credit federal union | http://www.credit-federal-union-e-bank.info/ | collection debt | collection debt | http://www.collection-debt-e-site.info/ | - Tons of interesdting stuff!!!
0 apr card credit|11.5.04 @ 1:47PM|#
Please check the sites about income tax software | income tax software | http://www.income-tax-software-advisor.info/ | houston mortgage | houston mortgage | http://www.houston-mortgage-advisor.info/ | bank loan | bank loan | http://www.bank-loan-e-site.info/ | debt reduction calculator | debt reduction calculator | http://www.debt-reduction-calculator-consultant.info/ | mortgage suntrust | mortgage suntrust | http://www.mortgage-suntrust-advisor.info/ | real estate financing | real estate financing | http://www.real-estate-financing-ebanking.info/ | owner finance | owner finance | http://www.owner-finance-ebanking.info/ | irwin mortgage | irwin mortgage | http://www.irwin-mortgage-e-bank.info/ | canon camera | canon camera | http://www.great-camera-esite.info/ | fossil watches | fossil watches | http://www.best-watches-deals.info/ | apply for credit card | apply for credit card | http://www.apply-for-credit-card-4u.info/ | ... Thanks!!!