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. Not 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 the 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 which was by far the best performance. Also, you
can see how it was effective for Yul Brynner in Kings of the Sun,
turning into 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."