MovieChat Forums > Classic Film > What's so great about Marlon Brando?

What's so great about Marlon Brando?


His acting style is so over-the-top and theatrical. All his lines, facial expressions and body language are so forced.

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[deleted]

Seriously????? Different strokes for different folks. He is one of my all time favorite actors. I've seen all of his films, starting with Sweet Bird of Youth.

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I agree. He was foisted upon us by Media. The remake of "Mutiny on the Bounty" nearly drowned him. But, he got straightened out by what, his hour of "Godfather?"

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[deleted]

This had to be a troll post. Brando over-the-top, theatrical, forced facial expressions??
I think Brando had only 1 facial expression more than Clint Eastwood.

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Roo, don't forget his part in "Teahouse of the August Moon", where he was a Japanese interpreter assigned to Glenn Ford during Ford's time on Okinawa. He hardly stopped prancing around and grinning for the whole movie. Not a bad flick, that.

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STELLA!!!!!!!

(Don't forget his cameo in Superman!)

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Cameo?? He got top billing!

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There's only been one time that I've been impressed by Marlon Brando's acting. It was in "Sayonara" (1957).

It's in the scene where he goes to visit his buddy, Joe Kelly, played by Red Buttons, who has been refused permission by the US Army to marry his Japanese sweetheart. He goes into the house, and discovers that Kelly and his intended bride have committed suicide and are lying together in bed. His body language and facial expression, devoid of any histrionics, was very moving. It made that scene very memorable.

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You are entitled to your own opinion of course, but I think Marlon Brando was brilliant in “On The Waterfront”, I think one of the top ten greatest films ever made. It has a lot to do with his performance though others were good as well, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J Cobb, Rod Steiger.

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On the Waterfront is a classic, and he was great. He was also great in Streetcar and Bounty. People who have only seen his end career cameos would have a very different opinion. He was not very good in Apocalypse, and was irrelevant in Superman. Also, in the Freshman he was playing a caricature, because the whole thing was making fun of his role in The Godfather.

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Newbie here. I always get a kick out of posters who feel the need to state that "you are entitled to your opinion of course." Well, yes we are and that's why we're here, isn't it?

It's true Marlon Brando was an OK actor and has had some memorable roles in a few of his movies. But outstanding? No. I've never been able to understand why Marlon Brando is so over-rated. How about his role in The Godfather? Any good actor could have filled that role and probably better than he did.

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