Morituri

Back in April 2001, I saw Last Tango In Paris and I've been on a Marlon Brando kick ever since. I read Peter Manso's Brando biography, which states that the film was panned and I really don't understand why.

The film boasts two commanding performances by Brando and Yul Brynner.

Brando plays a German man who's blackmailed by British Intelligence to pose as a NAZI officer on a German ship commanded by Brynner. Brando's German accent was full on the whole way through. And after seeing various Brando films, it was really cool to see Brando play a double agent that was light on his feet, sneaking in and out of rooms on a German ship, in an attempt to sabatoge the ship. The supporting performances are solid all the way around. Trevor Howard has a nice cameo at the beginning of the film as a British Intelligence man.

I've always known about Yul Brynner, but this is the first time I see one of his performances. I can see why he's a legendary actor. The guy has tons of personality and has the acting ability to go with his charisma. And watching him work with Brando was an absolute pleasure. Now I definitely have to go and rent more of Brynner's stuff.

Brando's career presumably took a dive in the 60s, but Morituri is definitely a good movie with excellent performances by its two leads and it boasts some of the best camera work I've ever seen.

On a scale from 1-10, I'd give the film at least an 8.

An interesting and rather dark war story that takes place aboard a German merchant vessel during WWII. The black and white filming adds to the generally drab and realistic ambiance of the ocean crossing. Marlon Brando's expatriate is trapped into a scheme of espionage/sabotage, and his grim, softly sneering coolness gives the character of Robert Crain an added dimension. Yul Brynner plays the captain of the ship, out of favor with the Nazi party and under surveillance, yet still "pragmatically patriotic" to the Fatherland. Brynner is an oft-underrated actor because of the larger-than-life roles he played, but this film better showcases the subtlety he was capable of, and at times his performance excels. This is a complex and tense war movie that views both sides through a curtain of ugliness, yet captures moments of honor and loyalty and even kindness, a facet that other war movies in this genre often lack. The realism of the shipboard action is crucial--you could get a flutter of seasickness just watching--and all of the characters show depth and detail. No spoilers here; try to find this flick at the video store and watch it a couple of times. It's worth the search.

The highlight of this movie set on a German cargo ship during the Second World War are the superb performances offered by Marlon Brando and Yul Brynner. Brando plays a German expatriate (disguised as a Swiss national) who's living in British ruled India in 1942. He ends up being drafted (very much against his will) by the British to go undercover as SS agent Keil to divert the cargo ship (which is carrying a very valuable - to both sides - cargo of rubber) into American hands. Brynner plays Mueller - the ship's captain - a man with a drinking problem trying to regain his reputation after having a ship torpedoed out from under him while he was drunk, but a man who's also no fanatical Nazi.

Both are very believable in their roles. There's also a strong performance from Martin Benrath as First Officer Kruse - who is a fanatical Nazi, who doesn't trust his captain, and who's as happy to have an SS officer on board as the captain is unhappy about it.

The movie is always interesting. It's not an action movie in the modern sense of the word, but it's increasingly tense as suspicion grows about Keil, and as the ship awaits a report from Berlin about him. As good as Brando and Brynner and even Benrath are, though - and as tense as the movie becomes about whether Keil's real identity will be uncovered - the most powerful part of the movie might have come in a scene featuring Janet Margolin. She played a Jewish medical worker who was taken prisoner along with a number of American sailors when their ship is sunk by a U- boat. Speaking with Keil as he tries to convince her that he's on her side, his SS identity notwithstanding, she recounts - in surprisingly and uncomfortably (even for today, and so shockingly so in 1965) graphic detail - her abuse at the hands of the Gestapo. Without going into detail, the words "hour after hour after hour" are haunting. It was a truly sobering scene. You can't watch it and not find yourself in sympathy with a character who otherwise really isn't that central to the overall story.

This is, overall, a very good movie with a very strong cast. (8/10)

This is a remake from a German film, it was made seventeen years prior to this movie, and it was the first German film made after the war which was about the Second World War. This enjoyable WWII film has a brilliant script , original, precise, forceful , with intensity difficult to perceive . The title "Morituri" is Latin which can be translated as "we who are about to die", from the traditional salute of Roman gladiators in the arena, "Morituri Te Salutamus" , We, who are about to die, salute you! . World War II, espionage, adventure and human lives have never before been combined so explosively . It deals with a German called Rober Crain (Marlon Brando) living in India during World War II is blackmailed by the English (Trevor Howard along with Brando appeared in Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962 and were to appear again years later in Superman) to impersonate an SS officer , he aboard a freighter captained by Mueller (Yul Brynner) with a dangerous assignment . His mission is to locate and disarm the scuttling charges in order to prevent Mueller from scuttling the gunboat and its cargo upon interception by the British fleet . As the allied spy attempts to persuade German boat captain to surrender his vessel .

It's not the ordinary World War II spy movie , has an interesting as well as gripping screenplay without mannerisms , though is sometimes slow-moving and overlong . The improvisations throughout history , traps the writer to throw , the short dialogues and surprises rise the action . Sensational interpretations , where all the characters are equally evil in their intentions . Brando plays a Nazi soldier in this film as he had done so in the earlier ¨The young lions¨(1958) for 20th Century Fox, both movies being filmed in black-and-white and both being for made for the same studio. Yul Brynner -is no surprise- magnificent , the film's marketing boasted the surname alliteration of Brando and Brynner . A very support cast such as gorgeous Janet Margolin as Jewish Esther , Trevor Howard as Colonel Statter , Martin Benrath as Kruse , Hans Christian Blech as Donkeyman and William Redfield as Baldwin and Wally Cox as Dr. Ambach

Atmospheric cinematography in black and white by Conrad Hall ("Road to Perdition" 2002, "In Cold Blood" 1967,) . Evocative as well thrilling musical score by the great Jerry Goldsmith (Planet of apes , Patton) , full of nuances and details make a lovely movie. The motion picture was professionally directed by Berhard Wicki . He was a notorious stage actor , producer , filmmaker and secondary player . Wicki, who was clown before he became a soldier, stole food for and entertained his French prisoners while they waited to find out if they would be executed. He imprisoned for ten months at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp because of his earlier affiliation with the communist party. Started directing films from 1958 . Best known for his anti-war film ¨The Bridge¨ (1959) and subsequently ¨ Morituri¨. This movie bombed at the box-office upon initial release , it is believe that the film's title was not understood by the public . As such, when re-released, the film was re-named "Saboteur: Code Name Morituri"

I don't mean to be repetitive but I stumbled onto this film at my local video rental store just like one of the other reviewers wrote. I'd never heard of it before. A movie with both Yul Brynner and Marlon Brando. A war movie at that. And I'd never heard of it. Not that I'm a super movie buff but at least I think that this is one I would have come across at some point.

Anyway, it's a great film about the conflicts between duty and beliefs. Each character is on a mission not of their making or preference. Each actor does a great job of portraying the difficulty in taking on a task one would rather not have to do.

This one is worth watching. I give it an 8.