Songs My Mother Taught Me (1994) - Plot & Excerpts
Oh I am a big Marlon Brando fan but he's always been such a mystery to me. And for a long time knowing that there was a bio written by him was just enough. The thought of reading it one day was enough. But recently I decided that I had waited long enough. I needed to break the ice and really know this man.Marlon Brando was something else. Close to fearless, conniving, even cruel but so complex. He had countless women fawning over him, but for some reason he never treated them all that well. There's a lot of psychological issues that go into his issues with women, but I think these issues made him weary and never really allowed him to fall in love or open himself up completely.He was ridiculously beautiful in his prime, dangerously charming and a man that was no stranger to getting what he wanted. He despised acting, the very thing that made the world fall in love with him, and in a way, he seemed to resent that love. A very complicated man indeed.As a child he had a very troubled relationship with his father which would continue in his later years. He was man who adored his mother despite not being much of a mother to him in the first place. She might just be the only person he ever truly loved. Marlon Brando is no farce. He's every inch of what the public see. Extremely witty , sarcastic and mysterious. Attributes that made him irresistible. He has always been rebellious. Examples come to mind when he rode a motorbike in school and got expelled. Yup. Figure Marlon Brando to do just that.He talks about those affairs, friends and those he disliked, some more discreetly than others, but one thing he does not talk about are any of his wives and his children. I respect him for it.Even when I think of his story I can't help but smile. He was a you - see - what - you - get and don't - fuck - with - me kind of guy. What makes this book so memorable is his distinctive voice. Marlon seems too look back on life with a lot of humour. Sure at times the bitterness creeps up in his voice but there's a lot of happiness, irony and good times there. He lived life the way he wanted to. There's no denying that. He was one of the first actors who didn't compromise, who wasn't pushed around but stood his ground. He was a tough guy and a hell of a actor. That made him one heck of a commodity. Let's just say Marlon Brando is not a legend without reason.
I've discovered that-through my admiration of certain musicians, actors, and fictional characters-I have a type. I like the proverbial "bad boy"s who are scarred and tortured beneath their tough facades. I'm fascinated by what makes them tick, by what motivates their actions, especially in regards to their relationships (or lack, thereof). So, naturally I was highly intrigued to read this book, which Brando penned(with some help) in the latter years of his life. I was interested to see what his opinions of his past would be. The book did not disappoint. Brando unveils the meaningful pieces of his childhood, acting career, and philanthropic endeavors.He talks about how his lack of love and acceptance as a child affected his opinion of himself, as well as his relationships with women, which was particularly insightful. Being someone who is monogamy-minded (for lack of a better term), I was intrigued by the lifestyle that he assumed, of a different woman in his bed every night, or juggling as many as four of five "relationships" at once. There was a method to the madness, and much of it rooted in deep hurt. I also found his thoughts on Hollywood, acting as a career, and our society's obsession with fame and famous people, refreshing. It's sad to me that, with the many beautiful films he participated in, that he so loathed himself as an actor. However, his candor towards the lifestyle and his disdain for the glorification of the profession is admirable.I'm just crazy about Marlon. I saw him in one particular film, and it was all over; his performance was so moving. Often I have been drawn to particular actors due to a film and later see them in an interview and really dislike them as a person. Judging my his words, Marlon was a charismatic, unique, and thoroughly likeable individual though.
What do You think about Songs My Mother Taught Me (1994)?
If you are a Brando fan- buy this book. It's what he wanted YOU to know about him. It has fantastic photographs of his family friends and career. I will tell you this "auto biographical" is more like the G rated Disney version of who Brando wanted you to think who he was. And from what I remember when he was dictating it on the telephone he would edit what and how things were said. This book is a labor of love and necessity for Brando. Nonetheless, true or fiction or edited truth it's still Brandos book on his life. Anyone that considers themselves a Marlon Brando fan should own it. The proceeds from the book were to go to a charity. .. Forgive me, I don't remember which charity he chose. My dad worked for MB.
—Ana Reza
This book contributes little to the world's large and unsatisfying trove of literature on motion picture's greatest actor, but at least it is good enough to give a reader hints of its inspired mediocrity throughout. It never pretends it is going to say very much new about its subject, and best of all, its subject announces in its opening pages that his memory is unreliable and much of what he believes happened probably didn't. It's a curious and altogether honest introduction to a book that reports a large number of events that likely didn't happen.Too, Marlon Brando's contempt for movie-making and acting is somewhat refreshing. He does not regard his profession as a very important one. He admits quite casually that he knew exactly what he was doing when he left the stage for the movie set: He was pursuing a quicker buck. Brando's most refreshing concession of all might be this one:If I had wanted to be a great actor, I agree that I should have played Hamlet, but I never had that goal or interest. (p. 214)Brando does not take acting seriously as an art form, and yet he was, by most appraisals, its most influential American practitioner. What to do with the millions who have pursued the craft since Brando and not been good as him at it? Why, declare them avaricious idiots, of course:In Hollywood they congratulate you on your ability to transfer currency from the pockets of the audience to theirs because that's their only measure of success. Any picture that makes money, no matter how stupid, vulgar, childish or inane, is embraced as a triumph. (p. 422)This is not an original commentary, but it is an amusing one because of its source. Brando saves what he considers original thoughts for things like the plight of Native Americans and the importance of psychotherapy and advances in DNA mapping. It's weightless stuff, cliche-riddled and airheaded, but sincere from start to finish. Brando's greater concern for these ideas than his profession says lots about him, and maybe even a little about how mysterious genius can be to a genius. True genius, of course, is distinct from IQ; it is a creative component that touches few but inspires many. Brando was not a very bright man, but he may well have been a genius.There are better treatments of Brando out there. And worse ones too.
—Bart
براندو را از کلاس های بازیگری می شناسم. از تحسین ها و ستایش های فراوان و از کنایه ها به پسر یاغی و بد هالیوود بودن. تنها ترین فیلمی که از براندو دیده ام پدر خوانده و آن دن کورلئونه معروف است اما در باره غالب فیلم هایش و حوادث زندگی اش اطلاعات کلی دارم.منتها براندوی این کتاب نه شباهتی به دانسته های من دارد و نه تشابهی با آن پسر بسیار خوش تیپ توی فیلم هابراندوی کتاب بیشتر پسربچه ای است با هوش سرشار و روحی لطیف که تا آخرین دقایق عمر زخم طرد شدگی از سوی مادر را در دل دارد. گاهی به نظر می رسد که او با هوشمندی منحصر به فردش در طی روایت نه تنها به خودش که به جامعه ی آمریکا،خانوا ده اش،سینما و ...از دور نگاه کرده و چنان با ظرافت و با بی رحمی نقص ها را نشانه رفته که قابل چشم پوشی نیست. سخنان تندو تیز او در مورد تبعیض نژادی سیاهپوستان-سرخپوستان در جامعه ای که خود را داعیه دار دفاع از حقوق بشر می داند و در کنار آن هجو هالیوود و بی اهمیت جلوه دادن سینما و نیز حمله پنهان به مراسمی چون اسکار و... از براندو برای من نه یک اسطوره بازیگری که بیشتر یک دوست ساخت. حقیقت این است که از خواندن این کتاب خوشحالم. از شناختن این براندو خوشحالتر حتی.اسفند 92
—Masumeh
