The Various Columns

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Check This Out: Upcoming Showtime Documentary "Listen to Me Marlon" to Follow Brando in His Own Words

Marlon Brando
To a generation, Marlon Brando was the greatest living actor. With a resume that includes everything from the defiant The Wild Ones to the political On the Waterfront and of course The Godfather, his work continues to be studied and admired. Yet what makes him an even more compelling artist is that his career wasn't as smooth sailing as some would believe. He turned his win for The Godfather for Best Supporting Actor into a political moment about the treatment of Indians. He became an activist as well as a conflicted voice of a generation. This is why it is interesting that coming next month to Showtime is a special biopic on the deceased actor - wait for it - in his own words called Listen to Me Marlon.

There isn't any way to summarize the impact that Brando had on film culture. His realistic acting style and deep accent made immediately iconic. He managed to work with the right people to produce some of the most recognizable works in history. While I know very little about the documentary, I am looking forward to its very conceit that it follows the career of Brando's career from his own words. While historians have talked to death about the actor's most famous moments, we'll get to hear them spoken with his opinion in a way that will hopefully shape him for the better.

Check out the trailer below:


While this isn't technically going to end up on the Oscars circuit, I feel that it is worth checking out for fans of old time film. While some will choose to remember Brando as an enigmatic force (I don't blame you), it will be interesting to see where this goes and to see if the gimmick can actually be pulled off. Can listening to an actor talk about himself sound like more than self-serving mumbo jumbo? We'll just have to wait and see. However, Showtime's first trailer for the documentary looks to be pretty promising, and I cannot wait to check it out.


Listen to Me Marlon premieres on Showtime on July 29 (check local listings).

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