Brando.

I'm taking a film studies class right now, and watched Apocalypse Now. I haven't really gotten Brando's character Kurtz out of my head since. Honestly, he's even been in my dreams a few times. I didn't know a lot about Brando before i saw A.N.- only that he was widely considered the best actor of his generation, and that he hid himself completely from the public, and he got HUGE. So, the last few days I've watched more of him, just out of curiousity. Godfather is probably the role he's most famous for. But I want to encourage all of you to watch "On The Waterfront". I just finished it, and although it's a little long, it's marvelous.

Based on the title, I figured it would be about being 'on the waterfront' in a cabin or something. Like golden pond or something stupid like that, where everyone reminisces about the good old days and getting older and learn to accept each other. But, no no. On the waterfront has got everything a good movie needs- the mob, a badass priest, a pretty blonde girl, and Marlon Brando. Watch it, please. Father Barry has a few monologues that are really on point. I think we like to discredit things that old. Not intentionally- but I never really expect to get something personally significant out of an old movie, particularly from a spiritual perspective. But Father Barry and Terry made me reconsider what it is to be brave and honest.

Marlon Brando is a fascinating guy. I'm not going to write a biography on here- there's a lot I don't know. But here's a few thigns about Marlon Brando that I'm glad I've learned.

• His sister's name was Dodie. I don't know if it's prnounced Dotty or Doody. I certainly perfer the latter. She wore trousers before it was acceptable for women to wear such things.
• He was expelled from Liberty High School in Libertyville (the best name for a town), Illinois for riding his motorcycle through the halls. Talk about every guys dream. And the fact that Brando actually did it makes me feel like a pussy.
• The Triumph Thunderbird 6T he rode in "The Wild One" was his. Not a prop. He brought his own motorcycle for the filming. And Triumph got upset, because Brando made the thing look too rebellious. Only Marlon Brando could make a motorcycle look too edgy.
• When Filming Apocalypse Now, Brando was supposed to show up skinny and having read Apocalypse Now. He did no such thing. Because he weighed upwards of 230 pounds, Kurtz is usually shrouded in darkness. Brando was paid 1 million dollars a week, and most of his lines were improvised during filming. After filming, Coppola wanted him to stay another week to film the last scene in which Kurtz Utters "the horror... the horror..." Brando agreed to do it, for another $75,000.
• Marilyn Monroe reportedly cheated on JFK with Marlon Brando.
• He bought and lived on his own 12 island atoll in Tahiti.

Marlon Brando, everybody.

-jake