Text/Ghost Feet Seven
In 1951, Marlon Brando starred in the classic "A Streetcar Named Desire". Although he didn't get the best actor in the end, it was still enough to make him a Hollywood superstar. Two years later, Brando received another Oscar nomination for Mankiewicz's "Caesar," and in 1954, "On the Piers" finally made him the best actor. In this resume, the "Flying Bikers", also in 1953, is often ignored intentionally or unintentionally. However, the interesting thing is that when we open the web to search for pictures of Brando, we are introduced to the first page of our eyes. There's bound to be that classic photo of Brando leaning over his motorcycle in a chain jacket and hat slanted. The source of this widely disseminated photo is actually the "unknown" "Flying Bikers".
The film is only 79 minutes long, and the story is very simple: Johnny, the biker, led his motorcade to the town. It was just a stop, but Johnny stayed because of the sheriff's daughter Kathie. However, the behavior of these young people in the town eventually attracted hostility from the residents, and Johnny naturally became the target of the target. Although he proved his innocence under the guarantee of Kathie and the sheriff, he could only choose to ride the motorcycle and continue on the road.
I believe that everyone who chooses to watch Bikers does so for two reasons, either because of Brando or because of motorcycles. These two just make up the most basic quality of the film: the masculine masculinity that is floating and unsupported, but full of expressiveness. The period of rebellion experienced by the postwar generation has been parsed too many times, growing up hearing legends of heroes, but not being able to gain the same social identity themselves. Motorcycles, alcohol, promiscuity and drugs became their most convenient weapons against tradition and mediocrity. At the beginning of "The Bikers", Brando led the crowd on a motorcycle roaring past, and the restlessness of youth was fully revealed, and the whole film is 70 minutes long, and the smell of gunpowder belonging to that unique era and unique age is everywhere. Brando fights for a stolen trophy. In fact, what these prodigal sons who seem to be indifferent to the world care about most is such a simple but shiny trophy, what they want most, It is nothing more than the recognition of himself by the residents of this small town in front of him. This need to be respected has been turned into ambition, violence, and love, and is constantly being inspired by young people of any age. Even this "rebel without a cause" has been repeated on the screen countless times. Shaped into different postures, from Ma Xiaojun's sunny days to the cruel stories of youth under the lens of Nagisa Oshima, uninhibited things are always stirring. The overly inflated teens and twenties are stretched to a length that we have to bear with all our memories, and the end of youth is either a long journey or death. Brando finally disappeared at the end of the town on a motorcycle. He left not only because of misunderstanding and prejudice, but because of stubbornness. Youth must be on the road again and again, even if there is love behind him that indulges him. The small town is just a fetter, all the people who run fast can't turn back, they can only wander on the edge of society and can't integrate - in fact, they also refuse to integrate. This kind of self-marginalization yet yearning for some form of identification is undoubtedly the most fundamental contradiction in the existence of that generation of young people, or it is also possible that it is their greatest tragedy.
The best image spokesperson for this group of prodigal sons, except for James Dean, who died early, hardly anyone in Hollywood can be better than Brando, and if Brando's long-term influence and wide popularity are further counted, the two "prodigal sons" The owner of the word is undoubtedly Brando. When we look back at "The Bikers", we find that the classic image in our memory is so simple and even rough, riding a triumphal motorcycle, a dissatisfied scowl, a buzzing nasal sound, and a cheekbones. Scars, that's all. But Brando, who is nothing more than that, is even more difficult to surpass. Let's take a look at the photo of Leonardo imitating Brando in full motorcycle outfit on the cover of "DETOUR" magazine. It is difficult for Leo to describe Brando's conceited and reckless air. There is no doubt that "The Bikers" is unrepeatable, and the biggest reason is precisely because Brando is unrepeatable. Johnny in the film is passionate about dreams, but indulges in love, and the slightest emotional changes are elusive and unpredictable. looming. In a scene in the suburbs, Kathie told the truth in one sentence "I'm not afraid of you now, but you are afraid of me". The young prodigal son was not afraid of anything, but panicked in front of love and was speechless for a while. At this moment, Brando has a childish but frightened look in his eyes. Who dares to surpass today's male stars?
Having said that, it's not the point that "The Biker" was released in 1953 and only got no awards. It's not a film good enough to win. The front and rear male actors were eclipsed. The beauty and arrogance of Marlon Brando is not the point. The point is that Brando has been in the film for decades and has become a classic in the minds of movie fans, and the embarrassing story in reality also proves that this Hollywood prodigal is not a false name. From nobody to movie star, to box office poison, and even Firebird reborn, leaving behind 6 suicidal mistresses, 25 children, and £11 million in debt. Brando is inseparable between holiness and evil, but it also makes people unable to extricate themselves. "The Bikers" is not Brando's most wonderful film, but it is ironically the most symbolic. On the screen, it is the rebellious era that hates being loved by others, and it is also the arrogant and unruly Brando in the history of film.
Although there are heroes of each era, when looking at Brando again after half a century, he is still intoxicated no matter how cool or handsome he is. At the end of the film, Johnny let go of his stubbornness and returned to his lover alone, leaving a full smile, and we were still moved. Although there are prodigal sons in an era, when Johnny is gone, we know that he will never look back, honor and shame are irrelevant, as long as the machine roars, they will be on the road forever.
Originally published in "Watching the Movie", June 2013
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