Steineded How sad is this?

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Ben Larson Ennio Morricone's haunting music provides an outstanding background to what is probably Marlon Brando's greatest performance. Of course, there will be those who vote for On The Waterfront, or Apocalypse Now, or The Godfather, but they probably have not seen this film. One of the greatest actors of all time, he is superb here in this role.Brando himself said in his autobiography that he did the best acting he ever did in this film.Director Gillo Pontecorvo (The Battle of Algiers) was also superb, and gave us a classic film showing how colonial powers foment revolution to their own ends, and how their plans often backfire.Evaristo Márquez, who died this year, was an illiterate herdsman before he joined Brando and Pontecorvo. H was magnificent as Jose Delores. Renato Salvatori was also very good as Teddy Sanchez.This review is based upon the 152 minute director's cut.

dougdoepke Seldom has a movie set in an earlier century displayed such contemporary relevance. Brando plays a British version of the CIA sent to wrest a Carribbean island away from the Portuguese empire and its slave-holding planters. It all seems rather noble, until we discover that he is to deliver the emancipated Africans into a fresh form of slavery: the wage slavery of the global sugar market. The machinations fly fast and furious as Brando double-deals a British company into the reins of power. His character proves a sometimes fascinating study in professional pride versus grudging respect for the darkskinned foe. Film-maker Pontecorvo (Battle of Algiers) is particularly alert to the many subtle and not-so-subtle modes of European domination, and I like the way he lingers over African crowd scenes, neither romanticizing nor denigrating their presence. Small wonder this film disappeared quickly from American screens. It's a no-punches-pulled, heady stuff even for the rebellious 1960's. Brando was always an anti-imperialist, and I suspect this film amounted to the one he long hoped to make, despite many years of bad choices. The movie itself remains an insight into the ugly realities behind the dressed-up facade of history books, proxy armies, and cosmetic governments. And although, not Brando's best performance (dialects never brought out his best), the screenplay stands as a testament to a political conviction which, despite the early years of McCarthy red-baiting, never wavered and even smouldered to artistic heights during that same period. ( Disregard Leonard Maltin's characterization of the film as "muddled"-- his staff apparently failed to follow the twists and turns of the power struggle, which, despite Maltin's myopia, pursues a reasoned course on all sides.) Then too, catch up with the uncut European version if you can.

moonspinner55 A 19th century British diplomat instigates a revolution on the island of Queimada in the Caribbean between the black slaves and the Portuguese colonials in order to break Portugal's hold on the sugar market. An odd bit of political rabble-rousing and quasi-history from director Gillo Pontecorvo, who also worked on the story but seems far more comfortable gazing at the vistas and landscapes of the region rather than staging a riot. Marlon Brando (grizzled, and with a precarious accent) gives a necessarily unsympathetic performance and has some amazing bits and pieces, yet the picture really only comes to life during the montages, sweeping panoramas as scored by Ennio Morricone (whose work deserves the highest praise). United Artists, afraid of offending the Spanish movie market, changed the nationality of the villains from Spaniards to Portuguese in an eleventh-hour move designed for box-office; it was a misguided decision, particularly since U.A. hardly distributed the picture after the critics' reviews were less than enthusiastic. It has only recently acquired a cult following, mostly due to Morricone's majestic music. ** from ****

thinker1691 There are perhaps a dozen films which constitute the benchmarks of Marlon Brando. Reading his biography, I learned this movie " Queimada ' or "Burnt" was among his favorites. After seeing this movie and studying his role with interest, I have to agree his acting was superb! Brando plays Englishman (convingingly) Sir William Walker a young snobbish, aristocratic, adventurer sent from England to the islands conquered by the Spanish and Portugese. His task and that of his government is to incite discontent, insurrection and ultimately revolution. Selecting at random, an ignorant, but potentially educational native called José Dolores (Evaristo Marquez) Walker sets about to teach him how to not only win his freedom, but to eventually overthrow the Portugese and their government. The film story in shown in nearly historical chronologically as it purports to show how the two men change over the years. Distrustful of one another at first, they become fast friends over the decades, until the inevitable happens. The country which was once plagued with racism, injustice and slavery evolves. Yet, twenty years later with Walker returning to visit the country, all of it has returned. Brando's acting is so convincing I believed Fletcher Christian, not Walker had landed in Queimada. Renato Salvatori plays Teddy Sanchez another student of Walker is cautiously curious as to Walker's future plans for him. The movie is a political statement of the suffering plight of many native countries as Europeans arrive with lofty ideals and leave only desolation, death and ruins. This film may be among the best of Brando, but it's also a monumental Classic for his fans. ****