Brando Rides Alone (Terra Nova Series) [Paperback]

Barry Gifford (Author)

Book Description

Series: Terra Nova Series | Publication Date: January 5, 2004

Part critique, part witty polemic, this revisiting of one of the 1960s' most tortured and misunderstood productions finds a flawed masterpiece that survived multiple writers (including Stanley Kubrick), an egomaniacal star with no previous directing experience, and a virulent critical reaction to become, in retrospect, a crucial rethinking of the Western genre. Included is an excerpt from a screenplay cowritten by Barry Gifford and James Hamilton that retools Brando's characters into the hapless inhabitants of a noir Old West.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Barry Gifford's novels have been translated into twenty-three languages. He has received awards for his work from PEN, the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Library Association, and the Writers Guild of America. The screen adaptation of Gifford's novel Wild at Heart directed by David Lynch, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1990. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit his website, www.barrygifford.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books (January 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556434855
• ISBN-13: 978-1556434853
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,884,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Horror!, October 4, 2005

By 

L. Shirley "Laurie's Boomer Views" (Huntington Beach,CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brando Rides Alone (Terra Nova Series) (Paperback)

This review refers to "Brando Rides Alone - A Reconsideration of the Film One-Eyed Jacks" by Barry Gifford

This is my 620th review. Of those 620 reviews, I believe I have only ever given a 1 star rating 3 other times. Two were for household products that didn't work as claimed, the other a classic film(that I loved) on a DVD transfer that was so bad, it ruined the film. Now here I am giving 1 star to a book, which I have never done, as I feel the Author's work and love of their story is always worth something. But to quote the author, who quotes Brando.."The Horror, The Horror!" Barry Gifford, uses this book to get fans of Brando's "One Eyed Jacks" to read his own mediocre screenplay("Black Sun Rising")..."THE HORROR!"

'A Reconsideration of the film One Eyed Jacks'..I don't THINK so Mr. Gifford. First we have some very short biographical info on the key players of OEJ. Anyone could have found this info at the Internet Movie Data Base. Finally we get to Part 2 titled "Brando Rides Alone". This is all of about 9 pages where Mr. Gifford, mostly talks about what other critics thought of the film when it first came out. The only statement Gifford makes that is remotely a consideration or response to the critics of the film is that(in speaking to finding art, even in a violent film), "In OEJ the violence is seldom sudden;neither is it inexplicable" DUH! I think anyone who is a fan of this film has probably viewed it many times... are you telling us something new Mr Gifford?

And so goes the first 37 pages of the book. The rest of the book, which is an "Epilogue" is Gifford's Western screenplay that he wrote with James Hamilton. The "epilogue" is 45 pages. More time then he gives to Brando or the one film that Brando fans can savour as his only directoral effort.

The reason I am going only one star, is because I felt duped into reading this. I am a big fan of the film. Brando does a wonderful directing job, and uses the beautiful California coastline as a character in the film(Gifford does make mention of this).I really thought I would read more on the filming of OEJ. I don't think Mr. Gifford told me any more then I would have learned by simply watching Robert Osborne's(who is always informative and entertaining) intro to the film on TCM.

A little more effort on the author's part, to actually discuss this film with it's fans, and MAYBE it 'coulda been a contendah!'

Laurie

1.0 out of 5 stars The shortest book in the world, March 8, 2011

By 

Joseph Fraley - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brando Rides Alone (Terra Nova Series) (Paperback)

This book is a joke.... it has no real information and is nothing more than a chance for the writer to make a buck off the title.

1.0 out of 5 stars Basically worthless and self indulgent, July 5, 2005

By 

R. Gale (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brando Rides Alone (Terra Nova Series) (Paperback)

I love the movie "One Eyed Jacks." I've seen it a dozen or more times, and had the good fortune to attend a screening in 1972 with the composer, who provided a lot of insight into the film's making, post production and history (none of his stories or anecdotes are included here). I therefore had great anticipation for this book. It turns out, the book is basically a padded-out excuse for the author to include a portion of his own unfinished western screenplay, as if anyone would care, and to vent about the critics that gave the film bad reviews. The amount of information actually about the film would fill less than a chapter of a normal sized book, and this is NOT a normal sized book -- it's a slight whisp of a book, with double spaced type and lots of blank space. There's not much new or unique in here about "One Eyed Jacks" that you haven't seen in a decent biography of Brando, Peckinpah or Kubrick. So save your money and save your time -- this book is a waste of both.