Morituri
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Movie Reviews of Morituri
Movie Review: The quest to steal Hitler's rubber...
Summary: 4 Stars
It's thought by many that Marlon Brando was probably one of the greatest actors to grace the silver screen, if not one of the weirdest (at least later in his life). Based on that alone (his acting, not his weirdness), I purchased Morituri (1965), having heard little to nothing about the film. The fact it also stars Yul Brynner didn't hurt either. Regardless, I am glad I picked this one up, as it's really quite good.
The title, as far as I can tell, is Latin meaning `for those about to die', which seems apt after watching the film. Directed by Bernhard Wicki, someone I've never heard of, probably because he was an Austrian who mainly directed German films, the film stars Marlon Brando and Yul Brynner. Also appearing are Janet Margolin (Nevada Smith), Trevor Howard (The Third Man), and a German actor I've never heard of named Martin Benrath who I thought was quite good.
The film, set during WWII, begins with German Captain Rolf Mueller being given charge of a cargo ship, leaving Japan and destined for occupied France, one that contains critical raw materials, mainly rubber, important for Germany's war effort. He's none too happy with his assignment, as some of the crew is made up of undesirables and political prisoners destined to be tried upon arrival (I would guess they wouldn't be to eager to reach their destination). The Allied forces, on learning of the contents of the ship, approach Robert Crain, a German demolitions expert and ex-patriot hiding in English ruled India, for the purpose of getting him on the ship, not to blow up the ship, but to disarm the scuttle charges (apparently German ships contained explosives so that if they were to get captured, the captain was to detonate the explosives and `scuttle', or sink, the vessel to keep it out of enemy hands). The Allies want the contents of the ship, not only to hinder Germany's war efforts, but also to assist their own. With assistance, Crain does get aboard the ship, under the guise of an SS security officer named Hans Kyle. Members of the SS, it seems, were not entirely popular by any one's account, especially not by other Germans (think the police and their dislike for their own internal affairs division). This creates complications for Crain/Kyle, as he must secretly search the ship for an unknown number of explosive charges, disarm them, within a certain amount of time, all while keeping the captain and the crew `in the dark'. Not only that, but the ship is forced to take on a group of American prisoners for transport. Things are getting hairier by the minute...
Most of the film takes place on a cargo ship, providing for a very claustrophobic, tense atmosphere throughout. Brando plays his role in a very subdued manner, but it works well. I thought his German accent a bit odd, not entirely bad, just odd, but I got used to it, especially since the movie runs about two hours. Not only did Brando have the acting chops to pull off his character, but he also had the physique, as he had to run, climb, swing and crawl to get around the ship to disable the explosive charges. He seemed very within character, especially the parts when his character discussed his feelings against against war in general. Brynner was also very good as a non-party German, who, while maybe not believing in his leaders political motives, wasn't a traitor either. I really liked the diverse complexity, including compassion and kindness, of his character, the sailor committed to his duties, forced to captain this particular ship with a questionable crew. There was a great deal of character development throughout, which served well to really display the differences among the German people in general with regards to their feelings and loyalties towards their leadership and/or their country. I thought the direction of the film to be really good, as the camera always seemed position in such a way to capture the best possible point of view for that particular scene. The story moved along well, although some will say it was too slow, but I didn't think so...I found myself pretty much glued to the screen, enjoying all aspects of the movie. One of my favorite scenes was when Crain/Kyle is confronted in closed quarters by two German officers from the submarine, which delivered the American prisoners. His ability to play on their own sense of paranoia as they questioned him about his reason for being on the ship was very intelligent and interesting to watch. The plot is complicated, but if you can watch with no distractions, you should be able to follow it along well.
The anamorphic wide screen picture on this DVD looks pretty good, but I did feel it could have been cleaned up a little. There were some very minor flaws visible every once in awhile, but the main thing I noticed was the `softness' in the black parts when scenes were heavily shadowed. It's kind of hard to explain, but a bit more noticeable than the other flaws. As far as special features go, there's a teaser trailer for the film (I'm unsure who made this, but after watching the movie, I felt the person who did make it had no idea or even a sense of what the film was about, as it presented something other than what the movie was, at least I felt), and original theatrical trailer, and trailers for some other, older Fox war films like Crash Dive (1943), The Hunters (1958), and What Price Glory (1952). All in all, I thought Morituri was very decent, well made film rich with characters and a complex plot that rewards those with the patience to enjoy the more sophisticated side of films (I'm not trying to be snobby here, but I do feel this film hasn't gotten the attention it deserves, unduly so).
Cookieman108
Movie Review: An Excellent, Forgotten Film
Summary: 4 Stars
I remember enjoying this film in the movie theater as a kid. So I purchased it on DVD and watched it last night. It was an excellent film and surprisingly, little remembered despite starring 2 screen legends like Marlon Brando and Yul Brynner. The premise of this black and white film is that a German diserter living in India (Brando) is blackmailed by a British army Major (Trevor Howard) into getting aboard a German freighter carrying tons of rubber to the German military in France. Brando's job is to disable the freighter, but prevent the Germans from scuttling her. She will then be captured by the American Navy and the allies will get the all-important rubber. (It is interesting to note that the last time Brando and Trevor Howard worked together was in the 1962 remake of "Mutiny on the Bounty." Brando's obnoxious behavior on that film was legendary and when the budget zoomed out of control, he got much of the blame. Apparently Howard had very little use for him after that film. Now they were briefly working together 3 years later on a film about another ship that eventually culminates into another mutiny. I wonder if they got along better this time.)
Brando is absolutely great as the foppish German forced into this mission and Yul Brynner is as good as the anti-Hitler German commanding the ship. The mostly German supporting cast is excellent, especially Janet Margolin as a young female Jewish prisoner caught up in the plot. My only possible criticism is that Brando becomes a superspy a little too quick, disabling explosive charges, posing as a Gestapo agent and climbing all over the side of the ship during the explosive climax. There is no indication at all that he has any experience in this area and should be able to do any of these things. As a matter of fact, when we first meet him he appears to be an effete, foppish snob.
This film was a failure at the box-office when released in 1965, it was one of the many big-budget flops that almost put 20th. Century Fox out of business. Perhaps it was the confusing title which was later changed to "The Saboteur-Code Name:Morituri (really a not much better title.)Perhap it should have been made in color. Brando was in the period of making one flop after another when he made this one. He would not hit the big time again until "The G-dfather" and "Last Tango in Paris" in 1971. There are little extras on the DVD except the trailers for this film and 3 other trailers for largely-forgotten Fox war films.
Still this is a suspenseful and exciting film with outstanding performances from Brando and Brynner. And while largely forgotten today, you could do a lot worse than check it out.
Movie Review: Unique WWII thriller with Brando and Brynner
Summary: 4 Stars
Morituri is an underrated WWII thriller that is anything but your typical war movie. Living in India in 1942, German defector Robert Crain is living the life of luxury until he is blackmailed by British Intelligence into undertaking a dangerous mission. Posing as an SS officer, Crain will board a German blockade runner in Tokyo that is carrying 7,000 tons of rubber destined for the war effort. An engineer in his army days, Crain must defuse all the explosives that will be used to scuttle the ship in case of a run-in with Allied ships. Then, when the ship cannot be destroyed, the ship will float right into an Allied ambush. But right away, the ship's captain is suspicious of his new passenger. Can Crain complete his mission before anyone catches on? Filmed in black and white which adds to the tension in a way, Morituri is an excellent movie that has never received much recognition. The drama is exciting from beginning to end, aided by Jerry Goldsmith's score, somewhat similar to his Von Ryan's Express music. Definitely give this movie a try.
In the lead role, Marlon Brando gives a very strong performance as Robert Crain, a German defector blackmailed into completing a suicidal mission for British Intelligence. Crain doesn't believe in war, no matter what the cause or end result, and only works so hard to complete the mission to increase his odds of surviving. Yul Brynner is equally good as Captain Mueller, the German captain of the ship suspicious of Crain's actual motives. Mueller is loyal to a cause that he doesn't truly believe in, a true soldier/sailor who follows his orders no matter what. Trevor Howard has a brief but good appearance as Colonel Statter, the Intelligence officer who confronts Crain in India. War movie buffs will surely appreciate Hans Christian Blech's part as Donkeyman, a great supporting role of a political prisoner forced to join the ship's crew. Some of the rest of the supporting cast includes Janet Margolin, Martin Benrath, Wally Cox, Max Haufler, Rainer Penkert, and Oscar Beregi Jr.
The DVD is a good purchase overall with a good-looking widescreen presentation in its original black and white format. Special features include two trailers, one short teaser and one regular theatrical trailer, along with three trailers for three somewhat similar war movies from Fox Flix. Not often talked about with WWII movies, Morituri has slipped through the cracks somehow, but don't miss this movie with great performances from Brando and Brynner, check out Morituri!
Movie Review: Neglected masterpiece
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie came out amid a spate of World War II remembrance movies in the early 60s, I think, and by then people were getting tired of the genre. That's a pity, because this is a really remarkable piece of work. There are parts of it that seem almost directed by Orson Welles, particularly the extraordinary camerawork below decks as Brando tries to defuse the bombs that would sink the ship. The script is one of the most searchingly intelligent you'll ever come across, and the whole thing explores the theme of loyalty and lying and expediency with a brilliance you just don't see in movies anymore. It's like Kafka at sea. There are splendid scenes where Brando, using an exaggerated German accent, makes himself into an SS agent, then has to backtrack to present himself in another role to Yul Brynner (who is also excellent in this film) like an instant chameleon. Then he has to act another way for the crew. Then he has to act another way for the woman. Then he has to act another way for the German officers. I've never seen Brando do better. There is a sort of hall-of-mirrors strangeness and refined characterization in this film that makes it quite unique. The DVD presentation is crystalline and the play of shadows and light over the decks and underdecks is quite astonishing. Jerry Goldsmith, who must have been very, very young when he did this, did the score. It reminds me strongly of "The Third Man," with virtual zither-like effects. I don't want to make this sound too academic and hypercritical, but this odd little movie is one of the smartest, most intelligent, artistic things I have seen in a long while. It makes all the John Wayne movies about Marines taking beaches and saving China from the Chinese, look very, very stupid. Exquisitely written, exquisitely acted, exquisitely filmed. This is the best movie you never saw.Movie Review: A Salute From the Dead
Summary: 4 Stars
Marlon Brando plays a German engineer trying to hide out WWII in peace and security in India. He has no interest in the war and could not care less who wins as long as he doesn't have to do anything to risk his precious hide. In his world view, all war is bad and is never justifiable.
Yul Brynner plays the captain of a German cargo ship in Japan. He is an honorable man who despises the Nazis but he is a patriot. His mission is to get a cargo of badly needed rubber back to Europe for the German war machine. In doing this, he is plagued by a true believer Nazi for a 1st officer and by his reputation, tarnished by a previous sinking. Whatever happens, he is not to let his cargo fall into the hands of the Allies who need it just as badly as the Nazis.
Trevor Howard plays a British intelligence officer in India. He learns of Brando's identity and manages to force him through coercion to take an assignment posing as a Nazi agent traveling back on Brynner's ship. Brando's mission is to prevent the German's from scuttling the ship, if attacked, so that the Allies can get the rubber.
The principle characters cordially detest each other but come to respect each other. Each undergoes changes as they are more exposed to vehement National Socialism. Brando even comes to learn that there are some things worth dying for. The title comes from the Latin for the old gladiator's salute: "We who are about to die, salute you." Before its over, the main cast learns what is worthy of such a salute.
There are no big battles sequences nor is there a lot of action. Instead, this is a human drama taking place in wartime as the characters learn about each other and themselves.
This is a pretty good film for one that has such a well known group of stars and is so little known.