The Ugly American

Starring:Marlon Brando, Eiji Okada, Sandra Church, Pat Hingle, Arthur Hill, Jocelyn Brando, Kukrit Pramoj, Judson Pratt, Reiko Sato, George Shibata, Judson Laire, Philip Ober, Yee Tak Yip, Carl Benton Reid, Simon Scott, Frances Helm, James Yagi, John Daheim, Leon Lontoc, Bill Stout
Director: George Englund
Studio: Universal Studios
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

A spotlight on THE APPALOOSA, only
A meeting of classics for the true lovers of the seventh art !
The Greatest Actor Ever in Four Obscure Films!
A 4pack of brando which packs a punch
Great price - BUT - three out of four already on DVD...

Marlon Brando 4-Movie Collection (The Ugly American / The Appaloosa / A Countess from Hong Kong / The Night of the Following Day)
Starring: Marlon Brando
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Marlon Brando Collection (Julius Caesar / Mutiny on the Bounty 1962 / Reflections in a Golden Eye / The Teahouse of the August Moon / The Formula )
The Chase
The Fugitive Kind
Morituri
The Men

ASIN: B0007RTBA6
Release Date: 2005-05-31

Customer Reviews:

A spotlight on THE APPALOOSA, only.......2007-06-13

Matt Fletcher (Marlon Brando), is a tight-lipped loner who returns from the Civil War to his surrogate family in the border town of Ojo Prieto to settle down. When Matt's prize Appaloosa stallion (played by Cojo Rojo) is stolen by bad banditos and spirited away to Mexico, he goes after them with a vengeance. Somewhat slow, and the title character isn't in the movie all that much. However, since it's the only way to get this movie on DVD, the boxed set is recommended.

Staci Layne Wilson

A meeting of classics for the true lovers of the seventh art !.......2006-08-31

I imported this collection because in Brazil we aren't respected by the Universal Home Video, and here we only have access to the "poor titles", releasing for the mass public. However, the Amazon site is a "oasis" for us, fans of the cult films on the whole world. I'm a Marlon Brando's admirer, and this product was extremely satisfactory for me. An obligator item for collectors, which deserve captive place in my videoshelf! Recommended for the latin public, therefore the four films have subtitles in Spanish. But not in Portuguese, unhappyly... (Bad luck for the Brazilians, one more time!)

The Greatest Actor Ever in Four Obscure Films!.......2006-04-09

Here's a list of the 4 films featured in this collection:

1.) THE NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY (1968 -- 93 minutes): This is an ultra-realistic crime drama featuring Brando as one of four professional criminals who kidnap a girl (a young Pamela Franklin) and hold up at a beach house in France. Richard Boone stars as the fiendish member. Jess Hahn plays a likable loser, the brother of the pathetically drug addicted Rita Moreno. Filmed in France. At the time of this picture Brando was 44 years old and NEVER looked better physically -- very trim and blond. Brando didn't start getting fat until the later-70's when he was well into his 50's. In other words, people need to quit envisioning Brando as some fat dude; most of his life he WASN'T. Most men in their 40's would kill to look as good as Brando did at the this age. Personal Rating: 4/5 Stars.

2.) THE UGLY AMERICAN (1963 -- 2 hours): This is another ultra-realistic film, an impressive political drama featuring Brando as a new American diplomat in a Vietnam-like SE Asian nation that is painfully struggling between capitalist & communist factions. Eiji Okada plays the country's revolutionary leader, a previous best-friend of Brando who has become brainwashed by the communists. Shot on location in Thailand. The ending expertly depicts how the average American is unconcerned with the political conflicts of other nations. Personal Rating: 3.5/5 Stars.

3.) A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG (1967 -- 108 minutes): It's fun to see Brando in an atypical role in this silly slapstick romantic comedy. Sophia Loren stars as a Russian countess who stows away in a rich American's (Brando) stateroom on a cruise liner to escape a life of forced prostitution. Teppi Hedron is also on hand. This was director Charlie Chaplin's last film; he went into a depression after its box-office failure. The problem I have with this flick is that it's completely set-bound on the cruise liner; in fact, practically the entire film takes place in Brando's quarters. Personal Rating: 2.5/5 Stars.

4.) THE APPALOOSA (1966 -- 98 minutes): This is Brando's 'spaghetti western,' released at the height of this sub-genre's popularity. John Saxon stars as the villain who steals Brando's horse after severely beating him up while in a drunken stuper. Ajanette Comer plays the babe. The Southwestern scenery is spectacular! The best way I can describe this film is to imagine one of Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns as if it were actually any good in terms of story. Let's face it, although Leone introduced a cool new style to the western genre, his film's STORIES were honestly quite unmemorable. If you disagree, try sitting through "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" in one sitting without falling asleep. Or how about the two "Dollars" movies? I've seen them both a couple of times and can't remember anything about their actual storylines. "The Appaloosa" is essentially a revenge tale entailing Brando's trip to Mexico to get his horse back and kill Saxon. I wasn't all that impressed with the story the first time I saw it, especially since I understandably compared it with Brando's western masterpiece "One-Eyed Jacks" (a powerful precursor to the spaghetti western). The story in "The Appaloosa" is rather slow-paced and uneventful, with few action scenes. I saw it again recently and it dawned on me: The director and writer were NOT shooting for a run-of-the-mill western. In the mid-to-late 60's it became fashionable to make films as gritty and ultra-realistic as possible (disregarding Sergio Leone's westerns, which often contained goofy elements). Such was the case with "The Night of the Following Day" listed above (and to a lesser extent "The Ugly American"); this is also the case with "The Appaloosa." What would happen in REAL life if a man went to Mexico in the late 1800's and tried to retrieve his stolen horse? This picture shows exactly what might happen. Consider, for example, the cliched confrontation-in-bar-leads-to-fight scene; we naturally expect it to end in a brawl or shoot-out. It doesn't. In other words, it boldly sneers at western conventions. Or how about the final shoot-out with Saxon? Some have complained that it's uneventful. Yet, isn't that often the way such death-duels end in REAL life? I'll put it this way, don't expect "The Appaloosa" to play like a Hollywood blockbuster or typical spaghetti western with corny one-liners and unrealistic or goofy action scenes. Personal Rating: 3.5/5 Stars.

Despite the fact that none of these films rate 5/5 Stars, I rate the collection itself 5 Stars because it's a fantastic assemblage of fairly obscure Brando works (I never saw ANY of these pictures prior to getting this 4-pack).

Most people rave about Brando's famous films "A Streetcar Named Desire," "The Godfather" and "Last Tango in Paris." Personally, I'm not a fan of any of these overrated pictures, even though I admit "The Godfather" is a good film and can see why some regard it as great. In my view, believe it or not, every film in this 4-pack collection (with the possible exception of "A Countess from Hong Kong") is better than these.

If you want to witness how incredibly charismatic Brando was as an actor, check him out in any on these magnificent pictures: "Apocalypse Now" (the original 1979 version), "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962), "One-Eyed Jacks" (1961) and "The Young Lions" (1958).

A 4pack of brando which packs a punch.......2005-10-11

This dvd should be bought for it brings to life brando's overlooked movies.

The ugly american is a great political drama and brando is brilliant as the well meaning american ambassador to a country in south east asia. A good solid film which failed when it was released but deserves to get a second look.

The appaloosa is goood taught western and brando is in great form. Has some great lines and is very ably supported by the menacing JoHn Saxon. The arm wrestiling match with scorpions is a must watch.

The night of the following day has brando looking great and acting even better. This movie is an average kidnap drama which has its share of tense moments.

A countess of hong kong starts off well and then meanders away. brando is very good in some cominc moments and Sophia loren looks voluptous.

All in all there could have been some extra features in all the dvds about the movies, behind the scenes etc.

But this 4 movie collection highlights the fact that brando did not make trash in the 60s. none of these movies can be called ouright bad, infact 2 out the 4 here are good solid movies. But then the critics of the time were comparing everything brando did in the 60s to the stuff he did in the 50s which is not possible coz that kind of magic happens only once. He displayed that magic again in the 70s. which highlights the fact that brando was the greatest ever, period. The studios should get all his work on dvds with extra features and they will make a killing.

amen to that.

Great price - BUT - three out of four already on DVD..........2005-07-04

Universal is to be commended for releasing theme collections (how about W.C. Fields Vol. 2 please!!!) but this set really lets down the Brando fanatic that already purchased three of the four films in this set already (and now have to buy those three titles AGAIN because it's the only way you can get THE APPALOOSA.) Why didn't they include BEDTIME STORY - another obscure, underated Brando title in their vault?

Average customer rating:

Dated but interesting
Decent, but could have been a lot better
Thoughtful Classic
Misses the mark
Brando Loses The Cold War

The Ugly American
Starring: Marlon Brando , Eiji Okada , Sandra Church , Pat Hingle , and Arthur Hill
Director: George Englund
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Ugly American
Morituri
The Men
The Young Lions
The Chase

ASIN: B00009AOBP
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Customer Reviews:

Dated but interesting.......2006-11-06

I just watched it dubbed into Thai. There is a disclaimer on this version stating that although Thailand had just undergone a coup, this fictional country was not meant to be Thailand. Does that mean it was shot there and the Thai government requested the disclaimer? I do not remember it being on the US version but I saw that one over 40 years ago. I could not place the location as Thailand since the vehicles were left, rather than right hand drive. No indication as to the shooting location that I could find. Any ideas?
Dated story and a simplistic Cold War Hollywood view. I read the book in the 50s and was impressed by it as I was by "The Manchurian Candidate".
The film had more impact on me in '59 when I saw it than it did yesterday. Still, not a bad performance by Brando and probably an accurate view of the simplistic view most Americans had about French Indo-China. Ironic that he went on to play Col Kurtz.
It was worth the 19 baht (47 cents approximatly) that I paid for it. It would not have been worth more.

Decent, but could have been a lot better.......2006-05-26

In 'The Ugly American' we find Marlon Brando playing Harrison Mac White, the American ambassador to the ficticious Asian country of Sarkan. What we are presented with is a decent political plot, but one with significant flaws.

Brando stars opposite Eiji Okada who plays his old Sarkanese friend Deong, and herein lies one of the film's major problems. Okada's performance is limited. He does not appear convincing as the leader of his people, his fiendship with Brando appears lukewarm at best and he regularly stumbles over his lines. Brando puts in a quality performance, but this is not enough to stop the relationships between the characters from appearing somewhat forced.

The story itself is an interesting look at American foreign policy during the cold war, the ambiguous reasoning behind it and the reactions of those in the nations whom it effected.

Overall 'The Ugly American' is worth a watch, but those expecting a top notch, taught political thriller will be left disappointed.

Thoughtful Classic.......2005-09-02

This is probably one of Brandos best films. Considering the time frame when this was first released its amazing to see how on the mark it was for the early 1960s. The comparisons with Vietnam for the time are obvious. The film also provides a study in classic US foriegn relations to 3rd World countries during the Cold War period. US policy can be seen to be well meaning, but often mis-placed and heavy-handed. The lessons to learn here are valuable, and all the more so today. I consider this film a classic because not many pictures like this have ever been made. If one considers how recent the whole Cold War McCarthy syndrome was as well its all the more remarkable. Sure it has all the cliche touches of Hollywood films for that time, but there is still educational value for today from watching it. History teachers should consider showing it to their students. Good to see on DVD with a nice picture quality.
Recommended.

Misses the mark.......2004-12-31

Although this movie was/is touted as a political thriller, there's nothing thrilling about it. And although this movie is well-intentioned, the problem is that it offers too simplistic an account of US foreign affairs as they relate Asia. The poor direction, an inferior script, poor cinematography and coloration, generic looking setting, poor casting--and overall poor production sabatoged this film. Brando gives a good performance, but the lack of chemistry between he and his supporting cast--especially the actor who played the character Deong--is evident.

I especially did not like the allusion to Julius Ceasar--a movie Brando had done years earlier. I felt that it was a desperate act on the part of the writers to try to capitalize off of Brando's association with and the success of that movie. Although I agree with many of the sentiments espoused by the character Deong--I was not moved by his performance, nor the movie in general--I was not made to feel the plight of the Sarkanese people--and I should have been--this is a major failure of this film and one reason why it fails and misses the mark.

Brando Loses The Cold War.......2004-08-27

The Ugly American was an interesting film when it first came out in 1963 but it seems even more fascinating now when viewed with the benefit of historical hindsight. A political drama with slight thriller overtones that tells the story of an over-confident and somewhat reckless American ambassador appointed to a volatile Southeast Asian country, circa 1960. The ambassador was appointed on the strength of his friendship with a local opposition leader - a man of the people. But things have changed since they last met. Good intentions, political posturing, and a dash of naive stupidity combine to plunge the country into revolution - and open the door to the communists. Of course, the US must send in troops...

The Vietnam allegory is obvious and somewhat enlightening, and the film remains remarkably pertinent today. It tries to step back to be objective, but doesn't always succeed - which is a kind of blessing. The film's final scene illustrates the danger of public apathy.

As the ambassador, Marlon Brando has seldom been better. The rest of the cast is solid and all the more believable for being largely unknown. The script is taut and incisive, the direction straightforward and unobtrusive. I just saw this film again for the first time in many years and was surprised by how good it still is - the sort of film that engages the mind as well as the emotions.

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