Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful biography, very funny, very sad...
Review: If there is a moral to be found in this recap of Brando's life, it's that the psychological wounds one suffers as a child never quite go away. Both his parents were alcoholics, and his father was a bully. Brando and his siblings were neglected and abused. As a result he had a lifelong problem dealing with any kind of authority and his personal life also suffered. The main flaw in this book is that Brando refuses to discuss his marriages and his relationship with the children he fathered. It's ironic that a good deal of his time was spent on various liberal causes and not being involved with his kids. This is an assumption on my part; however, that's the impression one gets from the tabloids.
Rating:
Summary: RIP - the man who knew real tragedy...
Review: ...and wasn't afraid to be real...
____________________________________I found this to be a wonderful read. And I would particularly encourage those of you who might have dismissed MB as a has-been, or as just a pretty face from the Wild One period. He is real, he is huge, in ever way... This man held life by its balls, and wasn't afraid to take risks. He made mistakes, he was human, and he showed it to the end. This book tells of a certain part of his life. It is romantic, and sad, and very well written, in my opinion. Yesterday [4/7/04] he finally left, he packed up and moved on... Let's hope we can again, one day, experience someone who has even half the gall, talent, humour, and fiery passion, of this great actor. Enjoy it, and revel in his life... it was very REAL.
Rating:
Summary: A most intresting, intriguing and fascinating man
Review: Brando:Songs My Mother Taught Me is about Marlons life;from his early recollections of his childhood through to the 90's. At the beginning of the book, it has some lovely pictures of him of his childhood, right through to his adolescent years as a very, very handsome young man. Marlon talks about how he saw life through his eyes throughout the years; how his mother, father and sisters made an impact on him emotionally; why he had so many women in his life; his experiences of acting and movies; his outlook on other cultures; and his relationships with friends and lovers. Throughout the book, there are some beautiful pictures, and some funny ones. Especially of the one of him making a grimace face on the movie set of,"Guys and Dolls". The reason I am giving his book, 5 stars is because its the most intresting book I have ever read. Some of the things he mentions that happend in his life is unbelievable!(e.g. Women who have stalked him. If you want to know the reasons why they stalked him, then please read the book!). Having read this book, it gave me a picture of the life of the most magnetic personality in the world, Marlon Brando.
Rating:
Summary: The GODFATHER of Biographies
Review: Have been waiting to read this book ever since it was published. It was totally worth the wait.
The reader gets an insight into the mind of the greatest actor of all time and relishes every moment of it. It is endearing, amusing, thought provoking and is a budding actor's guide on what to do and what not to do, told by GOD himself.
Marlon Brando it seems is sitting next to you and telling you his life story, the writing style is easy going and warm. He does not hold his punches. His views about the causes he suppourts and why he did so shed light on his personality and make him a bigger individual.
He downplays his achievements and admits that if not for acting he would have been a con man. He disapproval of authority and being controlled was the ruling force which motivated him.
His huge salaries for his movies are now legendary but his acting in a DRY WHITE SEASON for free and then when not happy with the end product offering to pay for reediting it, the offer being rejected out flat by the studio and the producer, make the reader wish that he had charged his fee for acting in it.
His affairs and how he manipulated himself out of tight situations make for hilarious reading. But one realises the essence of the man when he talks about his island in Tahiti. He was at peace then and the reader is transported to the island where they can share the joy of living on the island with BRANDO.
All in all from the movie anecdotes (Brando worked on some of the greatest ever), his views on acting/actors, his social causes, his sisters/mother/father, make you want to meet the man and salute him for having the guts to call a spade a spade and making our lives a whole lot better.
To sum it up, a great read about the greatest actor of all time.
Rating:
Summary: An intense moment of litterature
Review: In this autobiographic book, Marlon Brando unveils himself, confides - with and without a sense of modesty - in an almost analytic quest and a certain innocence. His strengths and his weaknesses, his victories and his defeats, his childhood, his adolescence, his actor's career, his joys and his pains, all in this book - deep and heart-rending - invite you there to share them. During its reading, we understand better, we guess better - should I write - the character, the actor, the "star" because it is necessary to qualify Marlon Brando (his true name) of this aura. One of the best American actors certainly deserved a work on his outstanding personality. This book is not in any case a cinematographic biography, a litany of boring anecdotes found on movies' stages. It carries away you since the first line of the first chapter in the universe of Marlon Brando, about his questioning, his research of an equilibrium, his thirst to live and to withdraw from the world (he possesses a private island close to Tahiti). It comes to light between every line of this book an immense regret: a childhood wasted by the alcoholism and the disputes of his parents. Quite, in the all life of Marlon Brando has been guided by this wreck and this emotional lack. As consequences: his existence and his career will only be a palliative to try to compensate the irreparable... At the end of this book - when you definitely close it - you have only one desire, on dream: meet him and continue the conversation.
Rating:
Summary: A deep thinker
Review: Lindsey (Brando's co-writer) makes no bones about the fact that Brando wanted plenty in this book - but some things (i.e. wives & children) totally OUT. This is made clear right up front, so let's not complain on that score.
What IS here is so enlightening, revealing and though-provoking that we can do without those family details. Brando's personal photographs, his memories of his childhood/parents/sisters, his view of his struggles with directors and producers, his insights into acting, actors and just about every single one of his movies, plus his endless searching for enlightenment all combine to give a vivid picture of this larger-than-life man. He was a much deeper thinker than you would have ever believed from the press reports of his doings at the time.
Despite this, the book is an easy read, and Chapter 26 (about his various pets, and in particular his pet raccoon Russell) is utterly hilarious. I defy anyone to read this without cracking up.
And if you think Brando himself was pretty good-looking, check the photos of his sister Jocelyn - she is drop-dead gorgeous!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing. Period.
Review: Marlon Brando is a rare man, a deep and churning soul, and his lyrical journey into self is vulnerable and honest. He lays himself open on these pages, discussing himself and his world intelligently and ardently. He doesn't merely touch on his celebrity journey; he takes us further and shows us his causes and passions, all the dimensions that make his life purposeful and valuable beyond playing make believe on the silver screen. Brando's avoidance here of his personal relationships with wives and children is admirable; he owes us no explanations and fully deserves to keep such intimacies as private as he chooses. I did not miss these details, so full was this chronicle, for he gives us something better: a thoughtful, sometimes raw look at the relationships which formed him. Parents, siblings, friends... these are the figures central to Brando the boy, who still seems to tremble not so far under the skin of Brando the man. It is impossible to review such a complicated man and his amazing, personal story in less than 1,000 words. The best review for "Songs My Mother Taught Me" is, in fact, "Songs My Mother Taught Me." It's not another cheesy celebrity expose'; it's a detailed gaze into the sensitive and firey soul of a rebel poet. It bears multiple readings, for this isn't just a book about a movie star. It's a book about a thriving and vital human being.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Enlightening
Review: Marlon Brando was not only a gifted actor but also a gifted story teller. Just as he moved the audience with his acting, he moves the reader with his autobiography. There are some wonderful pictures from the various stages of his life. From the beginning, he was an original personality, a beautiful child and very loveable. It's sad that such a promising child felt unloved due to his dysfunctional parents. After reading the book, you definitely have a much better grasp of what the "real Marlon Brando" was like rather than what the press made him out to be. He gives a good background on his acting career and how it started in the early days in New York. He writes about family, acting, girl friends, humanitarian causes and actors and directors that were in his movies. He also writes about his pet raccoon, Russell, who was colorful and got into mischief like his owner. The book reads fast because it is so interesting. I don't think any book could ever fully describe Brando but this book does give insight into this mysterious and captivating personality.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing talent, troubled yet incredibly warm human bein
Review: Marlon Brando will be a star remembered and revered for his amazing talent forever. This book gives an astoundingly honest review of his life and career. I respected and admired his decision to leave out any information having to do with his wives and children, that way making the book strictly about his amazing life. I see him as a man who had a rough childhood which shaped his outlook on life, and directly affected his successes and his failures. He talks about finding himself and coming to terms with his inner demons. It's truely a touching book! All I can say is that if you love Marlon Brando, love to act, and want to learn about life this book is all you need!!...
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Read
Review: Marlon Brando's biography is wonderfully written and hard to put down! You get to know all the facts about his personal life that he has never shared with the public. No, it doesn't talk about his wife and children but I think that it's understandable, it is his personal life. You do get to learn about all of the movies he's done, his sex life, his childhood, and what he thinks of actors such as James Dean. Great book to read from a very talented and intellegent actor!
|
