Marlon Brando is a legend and was so when he was still alive. Despite passing away in 2004 he’s still very much the iconic figure that a lot of people still look up to and try to emulate more often than not in various ways. He was something of a mimic in his own right as he started this habit when he was a young child and developed it into something that would help him out later in life as an actor. Marlon didn’t have a very satisfying home life as his mother was an alcoholic and his father didn’t often have a kind word for him apparently, but he persevered all the same considering that he grew up and developed an astounding movie career that took him quite far in life. Throughout his many movies he had some good ones and some bad but there are obviously those that can be counted among the best since he played a role that people never forgot.
Here are some of the best movies from his legendary career.
5. Last Tango in Paris
Marlon acted in some truly messed up but strangely enticing movies since in this one he plays a widower that falls for a younger woman that’s engaged and starts a sexual relationship with her. When they decide not to exchange names or even the smallest bit of information the red flags should have been flying high and strong but obviously in a movie things must go this way in order to push the story forward. When he does tell her about himself however she feels the relationship sour and when he comes into her apartment again she shoots him and then starts telling herself that she didn’t know him and that it was self-defense.
4. The Island of Dr. Moreau
A lot of people might argue with me on this one and they’d be justified since it did need a lot of help and could have been much better, but the idea of the movie is sound since it deals with a scientist that, escaping from the world of humankind, decided to make his own world in the image he saw fit. The only trouble with blending humans and animals is that both share traits that are hardly amenable to a mixed breed such as the animals found on the island. While he was a kind of there and gone figure in the movie Brando still sat as a figurehead that was needed in the film so as to give a face to the true antagonist.
3. A Streetcar Named Desire
It seems like a bad situation all around since Stanley isn’t the nicest guy but shows remorse after he’s done something stupid, and Blanche isn’t the sanest woman on the block but she certainly acts like she is. It’s a rather big case of the pot calling the kettle black when it comes to Stanley and Blanche, and poor Stella is caught in the middle since she loves her husband and her sister both but doesn’t want to get caught up in all the drama. When Stella’s baby is born Blanche is about to be committed to a mental hospital and after a while Stella goes up to her neighbors place and states that she won’t be going back to Stanley.
2. Apocalypse Now
When anyone in the military goes rogue it tends to look bad for the whole organization and damage control needs to be performed in order to solve the problem and salvage the image of the US armed forces. Kurtz is a man that bought into the hype that was fed to him and became a demi-god in the eyes of those that followed him. Willard was the poor guy that was sent in to take Kurtz out and in the process he was captured, tortured, and then forced to listen to Kurtz talk about his ideals and way of life. Eventually however Willard ended Kurtz’s life before making his way home, no doubt greatly changed by the experience.
1. The Godfather
Vito Corleone did not seem like a violent man in this film, and in fact the exploits that are spoken of seem as though they might have been done by a man much younger and with more ambition than this version might have been capable of. But make no mistake, the moment the Godfather spoke, people were listening and things were happening as he intended. At this point in his life he wasn’t the violent mob boss that sought retribution against anyone and everyone, but he did not forgive easily, if at all, and he certainly knew how to play the long game against those that dared to move against his family.
Marlon Brando was a legend in the business. His passing was a sad day, but at least we’ve got a great many films to remember him by.
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