The only film directed by Marlon Brando, One-Eyed Jacks is a 1961 revenge Western set in Mexico, where bank robbers and best friends Rio (Brando) and Dad (Karl Malden) hide out after their latest heist. After Dad betrays Rio, landing the latter in a Mexican prison, Rio makes his escape and tracks Dad to a small town where he is now the sheriff. Brando hired Sam Peckinpah to write the script and Stanley Kubrick to direct before he himself took over, using “Method” exercises and improvisations to develop scenes with fellow Actors Studio veteran Malden, waiting for days to get the right filming conditions on location. The result is a vital Western in which the imagery is as powerful as the characters, who are violent and explosive, simmering with anger and resentment behind false smiles. Brando has a surly outlaw charm, mercenary but magnetic, and his confused mix of vengeance, love, brutality, and generosity makes for a more complex character than appears on the surface. One-Eyed Jacks was a flop upon its release, and was left to fall into the public domain, resulting in decades of poor copies on VHS and DVD. Newly restored in 2016, the film warrants re-evaluation, not quite as a masterpiece but as a fascinating portrait of friendship and betrayal. Extras include a new introduction by Martin Scorsese, new video essays, archival audio recordings made by Brando, and a booklet with an essay by film critic Howard Hampton. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)
One-Eyed Jacks
Criterion, 141 min., not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95 Volume 32, Issue 1
One-Eyed Jacks
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