It doesn’t have to be his best performance, but movies you loved he was in.
-On The Waterfront
-Last Tango In Paris
-The Godfather
-A Streetcar Named Desire
Superman. Seriously. Watch Donner’s director’s cut of both Superman and Superman II, the way he originally intended. The scenes in the Fortress after Superman gives up his powers and discovers Zod’s atrocities really resonates emotionally with Brando’s Jor-El speaking with Kal.
I don’t suppose I have to spoiler it, but I will.
Jor-El’s manifestation reaches out and touches Kal on the shoulder and restores his powers.
I guess I’m not much of a Marlon Brando fan. I’ve seen all four of these, and they wouldn’t come within a mile of my Favorite Movie list.
I did enjoy his perfs in Superman and Apocalypse Now, but those aren’t Favorite Movies, either.
I liked him in one eyed jacks I know of him then actually seen a lot of his films.
The Freshman, with Matthew Broderick and Bruno Kirby. A rare comedic performance for Brando.
I kinda liked, “Mutiny on the Bounty,” but otherwise: PASS!
The one I think I like best is Don Juan Demarco, though it was a secondary part.
I also liked *The Godfather, On the Waterfront, Guys and Dolls, Apocalypse Now, Superman, * and The Freshman
I have no favorite movies with Mr. Brando.
I thought he was good in Julius Caesar (1953), The Ugly American (1963), Candy (1968, though a one-note performance) and Superman (1978, his best performance, imo). I thought Val Kilmer was better at imitating Mr. Brando in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) than Mr. Brando was.
The Godfather is number one but I do like The Young Lions.
1- Godfather
2- Streetcar
3- **Missouri **Breaks. A good although mean-spirited film, with great actors, and Marlon having a ball not giving a shit while being Crazy Brando. And pulling it off.
*Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?
Whatta ya got?
*
–The Wild One
That movie comes to mind every time I drive through Hollister on my way to/from Pinnacles A bar on the main strip (Johnny’s) has a nice mural featuring Brando and a cut-out statue of the Wild One himself out front.
My favorite movie that Brando was in has to be The Godfather. The most perplexing movie he was in has to be Guys and Dolls. How could Sinatra ever be second banana to anyone?
The top of the list:
The Godfather
The Freshman
Last Tango in Paris*
Further down the list:
The Wild One
Mutiny on the Bounty
One-Eyed Jacks
A Streetcar Named Desire.
Honorable mention:
The Young Lions
Another odd-appearance one:
As George Lincoln Rockwell in Roots: The Next Generations. (Of course that came from the real life decision at Playboy to send Alex Haley to interview the head of the American Nazi Party. So let’s make that weird event weirder by casting Brando against James Earl Jones.)
- And that’s more for the stunning visuals than his acting. Bertolucci knew how to make a film.
Try the original, with Charles Laughton and Clark Gable. It’s just a ***wee ***bit better…
The Godfather
Superman
I’m not really a Brando fan, but On the Waterfront is my sixth favorite movie (I numbered my top 10 - I’m weird that way).
A Streetcar Named Desire is a favorite, but quite a way down on the list - if I had one.
Other than that there isn’t much. And I like the Clark Gable version of Mutiny on the Bounty better.
Testify!
Is the Mel Gibson/Anthony Hopkins version worth a glance?
It is, but it’s not the same thing – the two earlier versions were based on Nordhoff and Hall’s “Mutiny” trilogy of books. The Mel Gibson/Anthony Hopkins version (which also has Liam Neeson!) is based on Richard Hough’s book Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian, which is a revisionist take. The Screenplay is by Robert Bolt (A Man for All Seasons, Lawrence of Arabia)!
The Island of Dr. Moreau
I’m joking!
My faves have already ben listed:
The Godfather
The Freshman
Don Juan de Marco*
*written and directed by the same guy who wrote Creator, both book and movie, Jeremy Leven
Another vote for Don Juan DeMarco