In my performing arts project this term I will be creating a showreel, therefore I want to explore in my initial research acting methods. I have chosen to look at Marlon Brando and Apocalypse Now (1979) directed by Francis Ford Coppola, as Brando used this acting technique for this epic film.
Marlon Brando star of The Godfather films, is well known for using method acting. Today states; 'Drawing on inner torment What set Brando apart was the way that technique unleashed his inner conflict. The same qualities that made Brando a world-class actor also made him, by some accounts, a world-class pain.' (TODAY.com, 2004). Brando used the Stanislavski technique that he learnt as a young actor from his mentor Stella Adler who taught Brando emotional memory 'Adler, argued that the actor’s role was to use emotion to command the attention of the audience as much as possible.' (Kemp, 2022)
Method acting can be a gift and a curse, as essentially, the actor, becomes the person they are playing and this scenario went to extremes when Brando played Kurtz in Coppola's Apocalypse Now (Based on Joseph Conrad's book 'Heart of Darkness' (1899). Coppola's own vision for the character who is lost in the jungles of Vietnam was a "lean and hungry warrior" (Madden, 2022) . Brando had put on a lot of weight and refused to memorise his lines; 'Brando didn’t connect with what Colonel Kurtz..and decided to rewrite his entire character from the ground up..often talking about reformatting the character in his vision. Though they may not have had time to overhaul the entire story, Brando’s plans for Kurtz came entirely from improvised dialogue, often taken from those rambling tangents that happened to be filmed in between takes.' (Coffman, 2023). The film itself became a nightmare, the budget began at 12 million and became almost 30 million and much of this was Coppola's own money, Coppola faced financial ruin if the film was not completed, and 'the calamitous shoot gave Coppola an epileptic seizure, and on three separate occasions, he threatened to commit suicide' (Madden, 2022) Brando also refused to work with Dennis Hopper who was always high on cocaine and insisted on a continuous supply on these. Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack and nearly died probably brought on by the very stressful conditions of the shoot and Coppola's 'manipulative directing style '(Madden, 2022) Coppola wanted the actors to become the characters he envisioned, however, Brando had resolved to become the character he envisioned and through the method acting of Brando many actors wanted to follow his lead; 'He [Brando] changed the idea of the type of person male actors wanted to be. They to be visceral, not polished; they wanted to be masculine; they wanted to be intense.' (Kemp, 2022).
Apocalypse Now was a metaphor for the times, and this highly intense and now classic film has stood the test of time just as Conrad's Heart of Darkness, I leave you with some words from Conrad:
“I don’t like work--no man does--but I like what is in the work--the chance to find yourself. Your own reality--for yourself not for others--what no other man can ever know. They can only see the mere show, and never can tell what it really means' (Conrad, 1899: from Bookroo)
References
TODAY.com. (2004). Marlon Brando redefined acting. [online] Available at: https://www.today.com/popculture/marlon-brando-redefined-acting-wbna5354214.[Accessed 26/10/23]
No comments:
Post a Comment