The Wild One Blu-ray Review
After seven years of horrific death and unspeakable violence on television’s Sons of Anarchy dealing with a present-day motorcycle club, the shenanigans of the Black Rebels in this film seem very mild in comparison (though in its day, the film shocked many and was banned in some locations around the world). They get drunk, ogle passing women, become very raucous in the bar/café and the adjoining beauty shop causing some damage, wreck a couple of motorcycles and cars, and get into a street fight among themselves and stand up to and even intimidate passing townspeople. So, John Paxton’s screenplay though filled with incident doesn’t have much of a plot and even less intricate characterization. We long to get some revelation into Johnny’s psyche: such a rebellious, tortured soul must have come from a horrific background, but there is nothing forthcoming to explain his rebellious nature. We want to know what broke the Black Rebels into two different clubs with Chino as the leader of the splinter group. The script does slightly better in conveying Kathie’s restlessness with her quiet hometown and her dreams for some man to rescue her from it (she couldn’t leave on her own?), but with only seventy-nine minutes of screen time, very few minutes seem available to delve into anyone’s subconscious very deeply. Director Laslo Benedek commandingly stages the earlier scenes as the motorcycle club barges its way into a road race and later into the nearby town they eventually terrorize, and he captures the malaise of the village as these strangers seemingly begin to take over. There are also a couple of well shot and paced chases with Brando trying to escape on foot from some men after him followed by his fleeing on his bike from the vigilante mob closing in from all sides.
Though Marlon Brando’s Johnny is tortured and obviously troubled, without the benefit of Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, John Steinbeck, or Budd Schulberg, the actor is pretty much left to his own devices in etching this picture of a young man without goals or dreams. He’s still a captivating presence on screen, dominating every scene and every inch the leader his gang constantly looks to for their own motivations. Mary Murphy is a fetching but rather mopey Kathie. With less natural acting talent, she’s really at sea constructing a rounded character though she does have her moments especially early-on when she stands her ground with Johnny and sees him for what he is. Robert Keith offers strong support as the weak sheriff foiled by good intentions but a lack of backbone while Jay C. Flippen is even better as a neighboring sheriff who arrives late to sort out the ruckus. Yvonne Doughty as a former girl friend of Johnny’s who longs to return to him despite his lack of interest is pitiable and quite effective. Lee Marvin presents one of his earliest performances as the madcap Chino, ready to embrace you or just as eager to punch you out. Hugh Sanders, Ray Teal, and Will Wright make solid impressions as infuriated townsfolk. Among the bikers you’ll see familiar faces like Jerry Paris and Alvy Moore.
What a tremendous first half dozen years in his movie career did Marlon Brando enjoy! From playing a paraplegic to recreating his iconic Broadway role in Streetcar Named Desire, acting three real-life men (Emiliano Zapata, Napoleon, and Mark Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar no less), playing a singing gambler, and winning an Oscar in one of the most gut-wrenching performances ever committed to celluloid, Brando scaled many mountains twice becoming one of the top ten box-office attractions in those first six years of movie stardom. And then there is his performance as Johnny Strabler in The Wild One. Without the benefit of great writing or a celebrated director, Brando managed to etch another indelible portrait, this time of a rebellious child-man whose future seems doomed before it even arrives. The movie has its problems, but Brando’s performance isn’t one of them.
Studio: Sony
Distributed By: Mill Creek
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA
Subtitles: English
Rating: Not Rated
Run Time: 1 Hr. 19 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray
keep caseDisc Type: BD25 (single layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 03/17/2015
MSRP: $14.98
The Production Rating: 3.5/5
After seven years of horrific death and unspeakable violence on television’s Sons of Anarchy dealing with a present-day motorcycle club, the shenanigans of the Black Rebels in this film seem very mild in comparison (though in its day, the film shocked many and was banned in some locations around the world). They get drunk, ogle passing women, become very raucous in the bar/café and the adjoining beauty shop causing some damage, wreck a couple of motorcycles and cars, and get into a street fight among themselves and stand up to and even intimidate passing townspeople. So, John Paxton’s screenplay though filled with incident doesn’t have much of a plot and even less intricate characterization. We long to get some revelation into Johnny’s psyche: such a rebellious, tortured soul must have come from a horrific background, but there is nothing forthcoming to explain his rebellious nature. We want to know what broke the Black Rebels into two different clubs with Chino as the leader of the splinter group. The script does slightly better in conveying Kathie’s restlessness with her quiet hometown and her dreams for some man to rescue her from it (she couldn’t leave on her own?), but with only seventy-nine minutes of screen time, very few minutes seem available to delve into anyone’s subconscious very deeply. Director Laslo Benedek commandingly stages the earlier scenes as the motorcycle club barges its way into a road race and later into the nearby town they eventually terrorize, and he captures the malaise of the village as these strangers seemingly begin to take over. There are also a couple of well shot and paced chases with Brando trying to escape on foot from some men after him followed by his fleeing on his bike from the vigilante mob closing in from all sides.
Though Marlon Brando’s Johnny is tortured and obviously troubled, without the benefit of Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, John Steinbeck, or Budd Schulberg, the actor is pretty much left to his own devices in etching this picture of a young man without goals or dreams. He’s still a captivating presence on screen, dominating every scene and every inch the leader his gang constantly looks to for their own motivations. Mary Murphy is a fetching but rather mopey Kathie. With less natural acting talent, she’s really at sea constructing a rounded character though she does have her moments especially early-on when she stands her ground with Johnny and sees him for what he is. Robert Keith offers strong support as the weak sheriff foiled by good intentions but a lack of backbone while Jay C. Flippen is even better as a neighboring sheriff who arrives late to sort out the ruckus. Yvonne Doughty as a former girl friend of Johnny’s who longs to return to him despite his lack of interest is pitiable and quite effective. Lee Marvin presents one of his earliest performances as the madcap Chino, ready to embrace you or just as eager to punch you out. Hugh Sanders, Ray Teal, and Will Wright make solid impressions as infuriated townsfolk. Among the bikers you’ll see familiar faces like Jerry Paris and Alvy Moore.
Video Rating: 4.5/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 4/5
Special Features Rating: 0/5
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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