Tag: Marlon Brando

Should a hero be a Brando or a Martin Freeman?

Marlon Brando in The Young Lions
Marlon Brando in The Young Lions

Superhero or Everyman?

I woke up this morning wondering what to blog about and I decided the best post would be about the subject of my pondering at the moment; what makes a good hero?

Everyone (well, in the West anyway) will know who Marlon Brando is, possibly the greatest and certainly one of the greatest actors of all time. Martin Freeman plays Bilbo Baggins in the recent Hobbit films.

I am as big a fan of Bilbo as anybody, and nobody can deny Bilbo is the hero of The Hobbit. What is more, he is an ‘everyman.’ What that means is that everyone can identify with his situation because he is just a normal guy. Brando, on the other hand, rarely plays normal guys; from The Wild One to Superman and Apocalypse Now, nearly all his characters are superhuman or out-and-out rebels; men on the edge of society. Continue reading “Should a hero be a Brando or a Martin Freeman?” →

Which are Your Favourite Film Stars?

Quick post today and off-subject but I am in the mood:

A poll:
Which is your favourite film actor in a War Movie:

I have assigned my votes now so please add yours (10 for best down to 1)
Update: I have had a slight rethink. there are not enough Korean and Vietnam movies and also I forgot how good Brando is in The Men. At first I though yeah – well he is good but its about wounded men in USA trying to recover from war. But then I thought well actually that is exactly what war is about. So I am adding it. This has changed my voting by moving Burton’s performance in Bitter Victory down one and all my lower entries. Here is the list: Continue reading “Which are Your Favourite Film Stars?” →