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... View MoreEasily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
... View MoreIt is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
... View MoreThis is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
... View MoreBefore Clint Eastwood, there was Sam Peckinpah. Before Peckinpah, there was Sergio Leone. But before Leone there was Marlon Brando and One- Eyed Jacks. It is impossible to think of Unforgiven, The Wild Bunch, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, or even The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance without One-Eyed Jacks. Here is a film which Peckinpah couldn't realize and one that Kubrick abandoned. It was Brando's destiny to produce, direct and act in it. The result was a commercial disaster. It was also in many ways the end of a remarkable phase in Brando's acting career. For anyone interested in studying his stellar career, it is essential to divide it in two phases i.e. career before and career after One-Eyed Jacks. After the failure of the film, Brando ceased to be the actor he once was. The fascination for cinematic art got replaced by cynicism and although he would go on to deliver unforgettable performances in movies like The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris and Queimada, his charming innocent side would permanently be lost. In order to truly appreciate the complexity of One-Eyed Jacks one will probably have to watch at least a dozen other Westerns. Here is a film that marks a departure from the tenets and values established by the Classic Westerns of John Ford and Howard Hawks. The characters here aren't necessarily good or bad and perhaps that's what makes them more relatable. Take the case of Brando's Rio who is arguably one of the genre's foremost anti-heroes. He isn't beyond cheating women or shooting his adversary in his back and yet he has certain heroic qualities. He is willing to take the bullet for his partner. Similarly, Dad Longworth isn't all evil. He has his own share of virtues unlike the Classic Western villains.On a whole, One-Eyed Jacks is one of the greatest Westerns ever made. The performances are topnotch: be it Brando, Karl Malden, Ben Johnson, Katy Jurado, or even Slim Pickens. Groundbreaking and far ahead of its time, One-Eyed Jacks is a testament to Brando's commitment to the cinematic artform before he suffered from disillusionment. Thanks to the brilliant restoration supervised by Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, One-Eyed Jacks looks just as refreshing today as it would have looked in the good old days of VistaVision. If you are a Western fan or appreciate good cinema, here is a film that you just cannot afford to miss.For more on the world of cinema, please visit my film site "A Potpourri of Vestiges".
... View MoreI loved this film,seen it at least three times. I could kidnap western fans, starve them, then force them to watch this classic. Afterwards they would probably reward me for what they went through. The film has everything, a great script, top notch acting, and a very believable story.
... View MoreThis is the only film that Marlon Brando directed. It's easy to understand why no producers would let him get near a camera afterward. It's expensive to expose film, and while Brando the director would argue with Karl Malden the actor, the cameras would roll philosophically along, exposing the rehearsals, the arguments, the conversations about the weather, the new styles in men's clothing, and the conundrum of mind/body dualism. It cost a fortune -- and the result is a long, colorful Western with a conventional revenge plot. By "conventional", I mean that the usual fallacies apply. Whose gun is faster than whose? A clip on the jaw or a whack on the head renders a man unconscious for as long as the plot requires. A dozen men galloping after two fleeing bandits fire their pistols wildly although they're a quarter of a mile behind their quarry.It's not a BAD movie. It's just hard to assess. The location shooting around the Monterey Peninsula in California is rich in texture and exquisite, as is the location itself -- or was, before it turned into Disneyland. Hugo Friedhofer's romantic score is appealing if overused. Brando must have had the cast improvising all over the place and in every instance it seems obvious and awkward. You'll notice the scenes when they come around.The story, briefly, is that Brando is betrayed by his fellow bank robber, Malden, in Mexico. After five years in the Sonoran pen, Brando escapes and seeks revenge on Malden, who has now become civilized and is a popular sheriff with a nice Mexican wife and stepdaughter in Monterey. They shake hands, both faking. Brando spitefully seduces and impregnates the stepdaughter, Pina Pellicer. And when the opportunity presents itself, with the townspeople behind him, Malden reveals his barbaric side, bull whips Brando, and smashes his gun hand. A final shootout resolves some of the issues, but not all.It's far from Brando's best performance. He says little, glowers a lot, and blinks reflexively. When he's facing someone down, his feet are in the first ballet position, and when he walks he puts one foot in front of the other. He must leave not two parallel sets of footprints but a single trail of two prints, one on top of the other.And when you get right down to it, he's a pretty rotten guy. He lies to most of the people he meets, and for the worst of reasons. In the last scene, he rides off romantically into the white dunes of Monterey, leaving behind a winsome young Mexican girl whom he has knocked up out of spite for someone else. And this in a culture where there are only two kinds of women -- Madonnas, who bring their hymens to the party, and whores, for whom anything goes. "I'm off to Oregon but I'll be back for you some day -- maybe, if I find it convenient. So long, baby."Slim Pickens gives a good performance as Lon, "you tub of guts," "you gob of spit." But the best performances are turned in by Karl Malden and his family -- Katy Jurado as the wife, and Pina Pellicer as the slender and beautiful stepdaughter. Much of their dialog is in Spanish. (Both actresses were from Mexico City.) Pellicer, in particular, is bewitching.The movie may have wasted a lot of money but it's by no means a complete waste of time. You'll have to judge for yourself.
... View MoreSee it. Where are all those people who said Marlon Brando couldn't play a cowboy? This is a long epic western, unlike anything you've ever seen before. It's the Ben-Hur of westerns. Believe it or not, Marlon Brando is incredible as a cowboy. And this movie is incredible. The only film Brando ever directed, this is a tale of treachery, anguish, and revenge. It has a great script full of unforgettable quotes that will stick with you forever. And just to clarify, the character's name is not "One Eyed Jack." The meaning is much deeper. In a sense, we are all two-faced, and one side is ugly and eye-less. We are all one-eyed Jack's. Pretty deep for a western. Now for the part you really care about. The action is spread out because the movie is long. It is a little slow toward the middle, but there are multiple gunfights and plenty of danger and suspense throughout. This movie really has it all, and I highly recommend it.
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