One-Eyed Jacks (1961)

The uniqueness of this film is what separated it from most other films. I first sawit as a young child with my parents on the big screen back in 1961 - when you might say that it was at the summit or the height of Brando's career. As a 5 year old kid, this was incredibly awesome. Brando took over the directing when a young Stanley Kubrick walked out and Brando took over the Sam Peckinpaw script and shot some remarkable scenes and from what I understand, used a Geneis Book of World Record on color film just to get it to his satisfaction. The movie ran over the budget and Brando funded it out of his own pocket because he believed in the movie and making a masterpiece. It is indeed a masterpiece from a character, action, scenic, and plot standpoint. This is a must for any movie buff to watch. I hope someday it is remastered and put on Blue Ray with all of the facts about it. A true gem.

A seriously underrated film, Marlon Brando again brings his characteristic masculine energy to the screen with superb acting, playing the part of a bank robber named Rio - another character which stirs the mind into a state of cognitive dissonance, an anti-hero blurring the line between the good and the bad. The supporting actors also give a great performance, and the cinematography is notably good. Directed by Brando himself, the plot presents a variety of characters who have much more depth than they may at first seem to possess. It is a brilliant example of a Western, which not only embraces the genre but excels within it's medium. Sometimes perhaps the pacing could have been better thought out, but overall this is a film that is definitely worth watching.

Marlon Brando's first - and only - directorial debut, which was originally slated to be over 5 hours long! I'm glad it was cut down to just a little over 2 hours, and even then that was overly long for a Western movie in my opinion. Kudos to Brando for efforts to create a different backdrop of scenery like ocean waves crashing against the coastline with a beach house in the background instead of the usual dusty and grassy plains or desert that one usually associates in the Western genre. The score by Hugo Friedhofer is fitting, though not of the unforgettable category like, say John Williams' in Jaws or Indiana Jones or Ennio Morricone's soundtracks in The Good The Bad and The Ugly. On the other hand, the plot appears to be somewhat disjointed - it appears that in whittling down the original 5-hour to the present, some vital elements were inadvertedly removed, such as the main character Kid Rio escaping the Sonora prison chained to his Mexican cellmate, fleeing on foot through arid country with the nearest town hundreds of miles away - and the next scene shows they are resting in the shade of rocks liberated from each other. How did they manage to break the leg chain without any visible tools or aid from other people? Brando's method acting is plainly seen, his mumbling sweet-nothings in the ears of pretty women and his animal magnetism that is almost primitive permeates throughout the film, faintly reminiscent of the character Kowalski that he played in A Streetcar named Desire, one can't help feeling some disgust at the way he lies and wheedles his way into women's hearts yet be mesmerized. His amateurish attempts to direct, however, can be clearly seen as in too much time,was wasted on the coastal beach scenes where Rio and his gang relax and recuperate at the Chinaman's beach hut. Also, it is not explained why a sheriff would choose to live in an isolated, albeit beautiful home near the coast away from the main town that he is policing, wouldn't it make /more sense for him to live closer to town for easy availability should emergencies arise? Also how Rio manages to trick the odious yet dimwitted deputy Lon into releasing him from his cell with an empty gun makes for a questionable if comical highlight of the film.

It is is Blu-Ray. Not perfect, but 80% superior to the umpteen USA DVD VERSIONS. I own two of those which like all goo were inexpensive, but not free..In the USA "public domain" means BS. That is why Criterion Collection has very few Americam films, but to be fair nor the main reason... I ignore and prefer not to refer to this version. Just tell you that the source was "Paramount France". Do your navigation...It is is Blu-Ray. Not perfect, but 80% superior to the umpteen USA DVD VERSIONS. I own two of those which like all goo were inexpensive, but not free..In the USA "public domain" means BS. That is why Criterion Collection has very few Americam films, but to be fair nor the main reason... I ignore and prefer not to refer to this version. Just tell