On M List of Movie Reviews
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Morituri (1965)
Rate:
4
Viewed:
12/15
12/15:
Upon seeing the DVD cover of Morituri, the thought of Marlon Brando and Yul Brynner in black and white seemed
exhilarating to me.
Unfortunately, it's not a good movie. Nothing much makes sense. The script is hard to follow, and the running
length has me equally frustrated, too.
Marlon Brando had always been beautiful in black and white, and his acting ability was there. But his talent got
wasted. Forced to promote the film, Marlon Brando once said at a press conference, "You will be unable
to proceed in life unless you see Morituri." Afterwards, he was banned from doing any more. At least, Brando tried.
His co-star, Yul Brynner, looks worse in comparison. Having nothing much to work with, his character is ineffective and
not interesting. Both actors had expressed admiration for each other with Yul stating Brando was his
favorite actor while Brando said the following in his autobiography:
"Yul did something in that picture that impressed me. In one scene, I thought his acting was very stagy and artificial, but
when I saw the scene on film, it succeeded because the lighting was effective, and I learned he had suggested to the lighting
man how to light the scene. I had never paid much attention to lighting, and it made me realize that the man who sets it up
can do a lot for your performance or break your neck if he wants to. With lights, he can add drama to your face, make it dull,
or put you in darkness. From then on, I began checking with the lighting man before doing a scene, using a mirror to see what
effect different lighting gave my appearance and performance."
It's a sound advice, indeed. That's how it worked out for him in Apocalypse Now, and it's the best performance
of the film. Also, you can see how it was effective for Yul Brynner in Kings of the Sun which
is a brilliant piece of acting on his part.
All in all, it's hard to argue with Marlon Brando when he explained his reason for doing Morituri: "You see, I have
three households to support, and I pay alimony to two women."