Oh my god! Those were the first words that came out of my mouth when Brando's charactor started beating the horse in the woods.
Did anybody start crying when they saw this scene?
PS: the scene when brando gets whipped is shocking too.
I felt sorry not only for the horse, but for Brando's character also. The way he contorted his face after he'd beaten that horse spoke volumes to how deep he had sunk as a man.
The enemy of art is the absence of limitations. Orson Welles
I wonder? Did Leonora know her husband was homosexual? I mean it was quite obvious he was. That scene where he talks about the enlisted men and how he envies them, how they shower together is so FLAMING, but all Leonora did was stare at him with anger in her eyes...that's it. Why didn't she leave him?
shareI think she was too much of a ditz to recognize the fact that he was homosexual and I think the reason she stayed married to him was because she knew he was weak and impotent and easy to control. By being married to him she was able to get away with alot of things most women couldn't and most men wouldn't stand for--I mean beating your husband in the face with a whip and all the while he stands there taking the beating without attempting to restrain you--he was weak. And of course he didn't leave her--because he wanted to try to conform to society somehow. But I am curious about the scene where he tells her that she disgusts him and she proceeds to undress and this angers him to the point that he begins threatening her--why not just walk away and ignore her? I guess because he wants everything to be organized and this creates disorganization--I mean why become upset because she isn't wearing shoes and as a result say she looks like a slut--when she is fully dresssed?
The enemy of art is the absence of limitations. Orson Welles
I'm sorry to say, I missed that scene, I started watching the movie when he was in the bedroom with her; helping her take off her stockings - wait a tick? was that all in the the same scene?
"The only thing I owe my public is not to bore them." - Marlon Brando
No, this is an earlier scene. While she and her housekeeper are in the kitchen preparing the food for the party, Brando is in his study doing--"work" I guess--and the wife and housekeeper are raising such a raucous that they are distracting him from his work. He goes in the kitchen and tells her to put on some shoes, she walks past him--ignoring him and tends to the fireplace as he follows behind her. He tells her she needs to put on some shoes because she's walking around looking like a slut--she makes some of colored remark and he tells her "You disgust me". That's when she proceeds to disrobe and then walks up the stairs to the bedroom--for some reason he breaks down--grabbing onto the banister and threatening her saying "I'll kill you, I will--kill you". I've seen this movie 4 or 5 times and I can never understand his reaction.
The enemy of art is the absence of limitations. Orson Welles
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Yeah, the ending was quite bizarre--but I guess it is in line with the film which is an oddity in itself. I hope this film comes to DVD with commentary by Roger Ebert (who gave this film 4 stars and ranked it as one of the best films of 1967) or someone with some insight into this film. It needs to be properly restored and released on DVD-What is Warner Bros. waiting on?
The enemy of art is the absence of limitations. Orson Welles
Since I made a VHS tape of R.i.a.G.E. years ago, a DVD release would be nice, but not of urgent concern. I began looking for a soundtrack recording right after I originally saw the picture; Toshiro Mayuzumi's score deserves to be recorded. The runaway horse scene is in itself a masterpiece. Maybe a DVD would have the score isolated. Now that would be a special feature!
Dale
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Can you explain the ending? It seems to me that in the movie as Williams sneaks in Brando fixes up his hair as if he thinks Willismas is sneaking in to see him. Then Brando realizes that Williams is sneaking in to see his wife. It is at this time that Brando becomes enraged as if he fully realizes that he is a homosexual and also that he is frustrated at his wife being chosen over him. So he shoots Williams.
Oh no! We broke Mom's favorite vase playing basketball in the house!
- Darth Vader
MooreLord:
His disire 2 "be done with her" has
Got 2 have something 2 do with total control.
He's got control issues
& she is wild
Like [I think]
He wants to be
getting the audience 2 think is never easy
This definitely made me think
I might even watch it again
I'm gonna come at you like a spider monkey. --Texas Ranger
I think his reaction is a combination of a lot of things. It's not as obvious in the movie, but in the story, it is implied that he was chosen for her by her father as a husband. She doesn't find him attractive at all, nor does she like him, and being selfish and sadistic, she enjoys torturing him. She strips down in front of him to insult him. He tells her she looks like a "slattern" (gotta love that word) for being barefoot, so she takes it one step further. "Oh, my bare feet bother you? Well, get a load of this!"
The look on her face says it all, that little smirk. He reacts violently, yelling that he'll kill her because he desperately wants to do just that, but he knows that in fact, he can't. He's a discipled military man, unemotional & strong--not one to be pushed around by a mere woman. But he can't do anything about her behavior, and he can't tame her. She has won again. (And don't forget, he knows he's being cuckolded by his wife and his superior officer.) He just loses it. He hates her with every fiber of his being.
He beats the horse because the horse mirrors his wife's wildness. He tries to tame the horse and the horse "insults" him by running wild, just like his wife does. When he realizes what he's done, he is horrified by his loss of control. And realizes that no matter how hard he tries, she will always win. So he goes back to the party and accepts his defeat by allowing her to beat him.
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Hey, thanks Amirah.
sharei think she knew, when she said that firebird was a stallion or when she undressed she was clearly taunting him,.
shareI didn't cry but I was very moved. It's one of Brando's best and most underrated performances.
"Why Martha! Your Sunday chapel dress!"
Yes, this is a tough scene to watch. Horses have been mistreated throughout the history of cinema as some films show horses being hurt in such a way that no animal trainer could have created an illusion otherwise. Examples would be Dr. Zhivago when the horses slide across the ice on their side, the original Ben Hur and scads of war and western films. At least this horse's treatment was just eluded to off camera and we imagine it to be true.
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its very difficult to watch, even to the point of feeling that i wasnt supposed to be seeing it- very fly on the wall..... thats what brando could do he always managed to make his work so "private" that the audience cant help but feel something towards his characters.
share