One-Eyed Jacks. (PG.)
Directed by Marlon Brando. 1961
Starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Pina Pellicer, Katy Durado, Ben Johnson, Larry Duran, Sam Gilman and Slim Pickens. 142 mins. Fully restored version released on Dual Format Blu-ray/ DVD edition by Arrow Academy on June 12th.
One-Eyed Jacks isn't one of the really great movie titles, but it is a pretty good one and it has shown considerable staying power over the years; bobbing on down through the decades, being the name of the brothel in Twin Peaks, and managing to accrue a level of mystique and intrigue that Brando's western probably doesn't deserve. There is something about the idea of One-Eyed Jacks that transcends the actual film.
The only film Brando ever directed is a grand folly, that isn't that grand or that much of a folly. It is though pure Brando: posy, preening, ponderous, yet kind of magnificent. It showcases all his limitations and foibles, while demonstrating why after all his self-destructive attempts to throw us off his trail, we still can't find it in ourselves to give up on him.
The film is famous for its calamitous, over budget and long winded production. Started in 1958 it wasn't completed until 1960; at various stages Peckinpah was its scriptwriter and Kubrick was to be its director. As it was being made by Brando's own production company, and after months of costly pre-production disputes – with lucky old Malden was getting paid a full salary to wait around for the film to start – in which he felt out with most of his potential collaborators, he ended up directing it himself.
The film has Brando and Malden as Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett, though after numerous re-writes the story had been completely twisted around. Brando's name is Rio, not Billy, though he is often called Kid by his partner in crime Dad (Malden). The pair are fast friends at the start of the film, but after a betrayal leaves Rio languishing in prison for five years he comes looking for revenge. His former outlaw pal though is now a sheriff and gone all respectable.
One-Eyed Jacks is supremely uneven film. It blows hot and cold; one minute it's the High Chaperel, the next it's David Lean. It's a little film that sometimes thinks its epic, and an epic that can sometimes act really small. The epic aspect probably went largely unnoticed before in the shoddy prints shown on TV; this new restoration, by Scorsese's Film Foundation, really does full justice to the beautiful images conjured up by Brando and his cameraman Charles Lang. (This was last film made in Vistavision. I don't know what Vistavision was either, but on the evidence of this it was damn good.) There is a stunning early shoot out at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley but it is the bits beside the seaside that really wow. One of the great myths about the film's making is that Brando would spend hours sat next to the ocean waiting for the waves to look their most magnificent. Well, the waiting was worth it because the shots of the ocean are one of the film's most potent elements, the pictures that will stay with you.
Elsewhere though you do wonder what the hell it was that got people so excited about the project; it's just a really straightforward western. Critics and fans will rave on about all the symbolism, but most of the symbolism isn't really worth a spit. Brando and Malden go at it, and give it their method best, but this often equates to fevered beating around the bush and taking forever to get to the point, all in the name of naturalism. Personally, I can never take Malden seriously in a period setting. But then I couldn’t really take him seriously in any setting. He's a perfectly fine actor, there just doesn't seem to be a place or setting where he looks appropriate. Possibly the same could be said of Brando with his great big oversized bonce, but he was such a force he could make the surroundings to bend to his will.
Extras.
The extras, as usual with Arrow, are extensive and high quality, but are focused all on Brando rather than the film. The main piece is a documentary on Brando made for Channel 4 in the 90s by Paul Joyce. Joyce (no relation) did some splendid work around that time and Arrow seems to have bought a job lot of them. Their Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia disc made use of his film on Peckinpah, and had a whole extra disc of the full interviews conducted for that programme.
Here we just get 45 minutes chats with Francis Ford Coppola and Arthur Penn. Very interesting, but it's a little infuriating that there's so little about the film itself when the story behind the film is so fascinating.
All we get on the film itself is a short introduction by Scorsese, whose Film Foundation performed the restoration. Scorsese loves everything, so his enthusiasm is of limited value really.
.
Directed by Marlon Brando. 1961
Starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Pina Pellicer, Katy Durado, Ben Johnson, Larry Duran, Sam Gilman and Slim Pickens. 142 mins. Fully restored version released on Dual Format Blu-ray/ DVD edition by Arrow Academy on June 12th.
One-Eyed Jacks isn't one of the really great movie titles, but it is a pretty good one and it has shown considerable staying power over the years; bobbing on down through the decades, being the name of the brothel in Twin Peaks, and managing to accrue a level of mystique and intrigue that Brando's western probably doesn't deserve. There is something about the idea of One-Eyed Jacks that transcends the actual film.
The only film Brando ever directed is a grand folly, that isn't that grand or that much of a folly. It is though pure Brando: posy, preening, ponderous, yet kind of magnificent. It showcases all his limitations and foibles, while demonstrating why after all his self-destructive attempts to throw us off his trail, we still can't find it in ourselves to give up on him.
The film is famous for its calamitous, over budget and long winded production. Started in 1958 it wasn't completed until 1960; at various stages Peckinpah was its scriptwriter and Kubrick was to be its director. As it was being made by Brando's own production company, and after months of costly pre-production disputes – with lucky old Malden was getting paid a full salary to wait around for the film to start – in which he felt out with most of his potential collaborators, he ended up directing it himself.
The film has Brando and Malden as Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett, though after numerous re-writes the story had been completely twisted around. Brando's name is Rio, not Billy, though he is often called Kid by his partner in crime Dad (Malden). The pair are fast friends at the start of the film, but after a betrayal leaves Rio languishing in prison for five years he comes looking for revenge. His former outlaw pal though is now a sheriff and gone all respectable.
One-Eyed Jacks is supremely uneven film. It blows hot and cold; one minute it's the High Chaperel, the next it's David Lean. It's a little film that sometimes thinks its epic, and an epic that can sometimes act really small. The epic aspect probably went largely unnoticed before in the shoddy prints shown on TV; this new restoration, by Scorsese's Film Foundation, really does full justice to the beautiful images conjured up by Brando and his cameraman Charles Lang. (This was last film made in Vistavision. I don't know what Vistavision was either, but on the evidence of this it was damn good.) There is a stunning early shoot out at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley but it is the bits beside the seaside that really wow. One of the great myths about the film's making is that Brando would spend hours sat next to the ocean waiting for the waves to look their most magnificent. Well, the waiting was worth it because the shots of the ocean are one of the film's most potent elements, the pictures that will stay with you.
Elsewhere though you do wonder what the hell it was that got people so excited about the project; it's just a really straightforward western. Critics and fans will rave on about all the symbolism, but most of the symbolism isn't really worth a spit. Brando and Malden go at it, and give it their method best, but this often equates to fevered beating around the bush and taking forever to get to the point, all in the name of naturalism. Personally, I can never take Malden seriously in a period setting. But then I couldn’t really take him seriously in any setting. He's a perfectly fine actor, there just doesn't seem to be a place or setting where he looks appropriate. Possibly the same could be said of Brando with his great big oversized bonce, but he was such a force he could make the surroundings to bend to his will.
Extras.
The extras, as usual with Arrow, are extensive and high quality, but are focused all on Brando rather than the film. The main piece is a documentary on Brando made for Channel 4 in the 90s by Paul Joyce. Joyce (no relation) did some splendid work around that time and Arrow seems to have bought a job lot of them. Their Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia disc made use of his film on Peckinpah, and had a whole extra disc of the full interviews conducted for that programme.
Here we just get 45 minutes chats with Francis Ford Coppola and Arthur Penn. Very interesting, but it's a little infuriating that there's so little about the film itself when the story behind the film is so fascinating.
All we get on the film itself is a short introduction by Scorsese, whose Film Foundation performed the restoration. Scorsese loves everything, so his enthusiasm is of limited value really.
.
