Marlon Brando

Warrigal

Warrigal

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Location
Sydney, Australia
I've watched two Marlon Brando movies in the past week.

The first was "The Godfather" which I've always thought was a brilliant film.
Last night I was up late and a very old black and white movie came on called "The Men".
It was about WW II vets made paraplegic in combat and was mostly set in a rehabilitation hospital.
Brando was just compelling to watch and I stayed awake for every frame.

He was so beautiful then, incredibly so when you remember how he was later in life.
It made me reflect on how fleeting is youth, and how precious.

Does anyone else enjoy watching old movies just to see familiar actors as they once were ?
 

I am a old movie fanatic, have been since I was a kid.

I liked the young Brando, but I liked the old one too. He's like Orson Welles, they both must have loved a good meal.
 

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Old movie buff here also from the time I was a kid. I never thought I would like Betty Davis, as probably the first thing I saw her in when I was young was "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane". She was so horribly made up and gravelly voiced, almost like a caricature. Then I saw one of her old movies and was hooked. Guess I've seen about everyone of them now. She was an actress who IMO had great talent, she could play everything from an old spinster to a beautiful diva. I don't think she matured well though.
 

I appreciated Brando more in later movies for some reasons, he seemed a bit of a poser to me in 'our' youth and played the type of blokes I'd have run a mile from. Moody and mysterious ain't my go, too high maintenance. A few voice lessons may have helped too, he seems to have founded the Sylvester Stalone School of Elocution.

My grandmother was totally smitten by Brando. She was a serial pest at the local cinema when one of his movies was playing. She was old enough to be his grandmother too but she never let that get in the way. She had a thing for Paul Newman too. She spent a fair bit of time at the movies back then.

I don't watch many really old movies, especially not B&W old. I'll always be up for the Mag 7 and a couple of other classics but no particular actors I want to revisit. Too sad usually, but mainly because ones I've liked have aged normally and they are as they are and I like that. George Peppard I'll suffer the sadness for but not too many others.

I had odd taste in movie stars I'm afraid, not the usual pin ups, and some big favourites I couldn't stand a bar of. Like the poor ole Duke. The only thing Dad and I were sympatico on when it came to movies was that we both detested John Wayne and Bette Davis. We saw them as shameless hams I'm afraid. I still won't watch a movie either of them are in. But I don't miss many Steve McQueen or Charlie Bronson are in so there's no accounting for taste.
 
Just not my type, sorry. Didn't even find Newman all that attractive heart throb wise, but he sure was eye candy. The only 'pretty' one I would've made the trip for was George Peppard, I thought he was just goooorgeous.:love_heart:
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I read long after he died a quote/quip he had made about his ex. "She was the best lay in Hollywood, ask anyone."
That's my kinda guy.
 
...Di, I'm with you on 'the duke'..what a phoney baloney. I guess I'd have to go with Newman on the old sexy stars.... you know those blue eyes.
 
I try but I just can't watch old movies any more .... modern production techniques are so much better, the acting much more natural cf. the stilted stuff in the old shows. Of course, there is a mountain of modern crap out there. :(

PS: Exception: Anything with Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire might get me interested although I generally steer clear of musicals.
 
rkunsaw said:
I agree about John Wayne. No matter what movie he was in he played the same character...John Wayne.

I do like to watch some of the old movies, B&W or color.
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I spent a lot of time writing movie reviews over the years and I always referred to that style of acting as "The John Wayne Syndrome", where no matter what the movie, what the character he portrayed, he was always John Wayne.

But I loved him in The Searchers, one of his best roles.
 
One thing that really turns me off to the old movies is the stupid background music, admittedly, they are the REALLY old ones, but still..

I used to like Robert Mitchum too....remember that cool walk he had and the ever present cigarette smoke.
 
I'm a film noir fan.
You can't do better than a good noir, cheesy dialogue, men in suits and hats, femme fatales and everybody smoked up a storm, and a sucker couldn't catch an even break. Then you have all the great old cars.

The world really went to hell when men stopped wearing fedoras. I miss the 1950's. Wah!!!!!
 

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