Brando: A Life in Our Times - Softcover

Schickel, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 156025291X ISBN 13: 9781560252917

Publisher: Da Capo Pr, 2000

Synopsis

Marlon Brando might be the most influential actor in film history, a pioneer of a new method of theatrical self-presentation who changed the standards by which we judge performance. Brando traces the career of the actor from his birth in the mid-west to alcoholic parents, to his discovery of his talent at Stella Adler's acting school in New York from the early triumphs of A Streetcar Named Desire and On The Waterfront, to The Island of Dr. Moreau. This new biography, fully illustrated with 125 black and white photographs, sets the man and his films in context, drawing sharply observed connections between his life and developments in the motion picture industry, and in the social history of the last half of the 20th century. It is a rich, witty, and affectionate portrayal of one of the few, true icons of our age.

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Review

It is quite a task to write the biography of an actor who has always been immensely private--and who has become increasingly reclusive in recent years--but Richard Schickel is well up to the challenge.

Brando is a well-researched companion to the career of one of Hollywood's most enduring legends. Although there are more-detailed biographies available (Marlon Brando by David Shipman) and a far more personal account (The Autobiography Songs My Mother Taught Me by Brando himself) Schickel's contribution to Brando lore certainly has its own merits. The biggest of these is the large format of this new edition, providing ample space for a treasury of photographs which together constitute a remarkable pictorial record of the actor's screen career.

With photos peppered throughout the main text, the volume looks appealing--indeed its simplicity invites the reader further into the story of this man's life. The writer, we can surmise, is a fan, but luckily not a fawning one. The text centres primarily on Brando's career, and while Schickel draws on his previous experience as a film critic, he does not over-intellectualise. Instead, his prose is accessible--a dry wit presides over proceedings and is never far from the surface; and the reader is presented with the beginnings of a well-argued insight into how the hidden mind of Brando might work.

Of course, the life of Marlon Brando will continue to spawn new theories about his motivation and career, and it would certainly be a weighty biography which included them all. Instead, Brando balances its beautiful images and informative text with care, rendering Richard Schickel's effort a fine selection for anyone seeking an introduction to this most elusive of actors. --Helen Lamont

About the Author

Richard Schickel has been reviewing movies for over thurty years, including for Time magazine and Life. He has written many books, including The Disney Version, His Picture in the Papers, and Schickel on Film. His critical-biographical study of Marlon Brando complements similar volumes on Cary Grant and James Cagney. He is also a writer-director of television documentaries.

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Pr
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 156025291X
• ISBN 13: 9781560252917
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192