home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
PCGUIA 10
/
PC Guia 10.iso
/
database
/
shared.dir
/
01505_Field_20.cap.txt
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1996-03-14
|
3KB
|
156 lines
@
Born in Nebraska,
the son of a
salesman and a
frustrated
actress, Marlon
Brando was
catapulted to
stardom at the
age of 23. His
performance as
Stanley Kowalski
in the 1947
Broadway
production of A
Streetcar Named
Desire revealed
the intense
combination of
brooding menace
and vulnerability
he was to project
in his best films
#
Brando was the
most famous
exponent of
"method" acting,
in which the
actor becomes
his character
instead of merely
acting a part. He
had taken classes
with the leading
US teachers of
the "method", Lee
Strasberg and
Stella Adler at
New York's
Actor's Studio
#
His fourth film,
The Wild One, in
1953, gave
Brando one of his
most famous
roles and won
him an Oscar
nomination for
Best Actor. As
Johnny, the
inarticulate but
powerful leader
of a biker gang,
Brando became an
icon for the young
rebels of post-
war America
#
In 1954 Brando
won the Oscar for
Best Actor in On
the Waterfront.
He was now a big
star, powerful
and wealthy
enough to choose
only roles that
attracted him. He
had played
Napoleon (in
Desiree), Mark
Anthony (in
Julius Caesar)
and a biker;
continuing to
extend his range,
his choice of
films was
idiosyncratic
#
Brando developed
a reputation for
being difficult to
work with. He
minimised the
conflicts in 1960
by setting up his
own production
company and both
directing (he
replaced the
original director,
Stanley Kubrick)
and starring in a
visually stunning
psychological
western, One-
Eyed Jacks
@
The Mutiny On The
Bounty, filmed in
1961, almost
ended Brando's
career. Bored with
fame and success
and unchallenged
by his role as
Fletcher Christian,
Brando disrupted
shooting wherever
possible, leading
to huge over-runs
on the budget and
confirming his
troublesome
reputation
#
In the Sixties, Brando's films were, with a few exceptions (The
Chase, Queimada), unremarkable. He spent his free time in seclusion
on his Tahitian island, and supporting civil rights activists: here he
attends the funeral of Black Panther member, Bobby James Hutton
#
The Godfather, made in 1971, thrust Brando back into the Hollywood
mainstream, won him an Oscar for his portrayal of the 70-year-old
Don Corleone, and earned him an estimated $20 million
#
Last Tango in Paris was Brando's best performance in more than a
decade. However he later lapsed into old habits, causing problems on
the set of The Missouri Breaks (1976), and beginning a run of
high-paid but undistinguished cameo roles with Superman (1978)
#
The magnetic
intensity of his
early film
performances
turned Brando
into a star so big
that his
status survived
25 years of
largely mediocre
work. His huge
fees now attract
more interest
than his acting,
and the only real
drama with which
he is associated
occurs not on
screen but in his
private life
@