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Book: Brando Rides Alone
Written by Barry Gifford (North Atlantic Books)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz
The first question when examining Brando Rides Alone is simply 'why write this book?' Why devote so much time to the appraisal of "One Eyed Jacks," a western film that is over 40 years old, much out of fashion and an obscure effort at best? Sure, the Video Hound gives it 3 1/2 Bones, but that is largely for scenic reasons and, in summary, it finds nary a place on any critics list of acclaimed genre films. On the surface, the first and perhaps only reason cinematically is that "One Eyed Jacks" represents the sole directing attempt for screen legend Marlon Brando and triumphed despite a production history that would doom most films.
But a few pages in, the reader realizes that these surface observations aren't the only reasons to look at "One Eyed Jacks." What author Barry Gifford (Wild At Heart and Lost Highway) does when writing about film in Brando Rides Alone, maybe better than most others, is bring his analysis out of stuffy rarified air, into a viewer's common terminology. Rather than discuss players like Karl Malden and Stanley Kubrick in academic terms, he comments on the former's memorable proboscis and the latter's tyrannical approach with a fan's eye. He thoroughly enjoys the interconnectedness of film and his joyous writing style cannot help but inspire a dozen or more unexpected viewings.
The second half of Brando Rides Alone is a screenplay by Gifford and a strange one at that. It is part western war story and another, forbidden love between ranch hand and farmer's daughter. There are as many elements of "Shane" and "High Noon" as there are of "The Wild Bunch," a film the author uses to illustrate his book's thesis: the Western ethos once thrived, and it should do so again. Gifford's screenplay "Black Sun Rising" isn't a full length work and stalls with nothing resembling resolution; in fact, it breaks somewhere near the climax of Act II.
The work's being incomplete is beside the point though. Gifford has, in Brando Rides Again, an uncommon little slice of personal cinematic history and experience, minus posturing. While his work won't help finish that three script trilogy, or unlock the secrets of SoCal Babylon, it will make for an entertaining two hours' reading.
© 2004 - Erick Mertz