Customer Reviews

Marty [VHS]

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I just noticed that a scene is missing from the DVD that was in my previous VHS version. The scene that I am refering to is right after Marty takes Clara home there is a short scene where she tells her parents about her date and how happy she is. This scene lasted about a minute or two. I don't know what's wrong with MGM lately. They forgot to include the original subtitles in "Spinal Tap" they butchered half the "Bond" films with either missing scenes or non existent subtitles and now this. I think we as consumers deserve better than this. We've had to endure MGM's blunders for far too long. Let them know that you're not satisified at all with the quality of their DVD's.

Written by the gifted Paddy Chayefsky, this is a memorable film, deftly directed by Delbert Mann. That it has a stage-like, theatrical feel to it is not surprising, considering that it was first a made-for-television play that was later augmented for the silver screen. This element of theatricality, however, does not detract in the least from this gritty, thematically complex film.

Ernest Borgnine plays the role of Marty Piletti, a stocky, thirty-four year old, lonely Italian butcher living at home in the Bronx with his mother. He is the last of the Piletti brood still in the nest. Physically unattractive and a bit doltish, he is a socially awkward, lumbering lummox of internal pain and angst. His mother wants him to get married, or so she thinks, until the reality of what such might ultimately mean for her sinks in. She takes her cue from her sister, Marty's Aunt Catherine, who is living with her son and daughter-in-law and making their lives hell. Consequently, she is going to move in with Marty and his mother.

Marty spends most of his spare time with his friend Angie, as well as with a bunch of other losers. Unloved, unmarried, and unable to get a date, Marty has all but given up on finding Miss Right, when he meets a twenty-nine year old high school teacher, also from the Bronx, Clara Snyder (Betsy Blair), at the famous Stardust Ballroom. Clara, a well educated, nice plain-Jane, is there as part of a pity double date arranged by her brother-in-law. Unfortunately, her date turns out to be a total cad who unceremoniously tries to fob her off on anyone he can, so that he can get some action going with a hot babe he knows. Marty feels Clara's pain, so he asks her to dance, not knowing that he is meeting his feminine counterpart and soul-mate.

As the film peels the layers from Marty, the viewer meets the sensitive, kind man who lives within the unattractive exterior. The viewer really gets to feel his pain, as well as that of some of the other characters in the film. One senses the feelings of alienation and loneliness in Clara, as she is dumped by her caddish date. One senses the fear that Mrs. Piletti has at the reality of what Marty's getting married might mean for her. Aunt Catherine's ouster from her son's home, as the older, unwanted woman with few options in life, also makes an impact on the viewer. The angst of Aunt Catherine's son at having to cleave to his wife, rather than to his mother, is also palpable, as is that of Angie at the thought of the possibility of no longer having Marty around to share his own social isolation.

The themes in this film, such as loneliness, isolation, alienation, and fear are all themes still relevant today. The only real anachronistic note is struck by the fact that Mrs. Piletti and Aunt Catherine both appear to be in their late sixties or early seventies, but I found to my complete surprise that Aunt Catherine is supposed to be fifty-six, and Mrs. Piletti is her younger sister! Trust me when I say that, nowadays, women in their fifties do not look like that.

All in all, this is an excellent film. Those who enjoyed this film should also seek out another Paddy Chayefsky film, "The Catered Affair", starring Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine, which is a bitter sweet film about another Bronx family.

Starring Ernest Borgnine, this 1955 film adaptation of Paddy Chayefsky's original television drama won four academy awards. Filmed it black and white, it is a character study of an awkward Italian-American Bronx butcher in his thirties who would like get married but has trouble meeting women. It's a simple story but it is so real that I felt I knew Marty personally. I felt his struggle to make a phone call to ask for a date only to get a brush off. I saw his annoyance and embarrassment when his customers all scolded him for not being married. I sensed his boredom and frustration of another Saturday night hanging out with his buddies in a futile quest for something interesting to do.

There's real drama here and it's not just Marty who has problems. There are his young married cousins who are feeling the frustrations of living in a cramped apartment with their baby and widowed mother. There is Marty's mother who is afraid of living her own old age alone. There are his buddies who are as equally bored as Marty. But most of all, there is the wallflower schoolteacher, played by Betsy Blair, who is just a mite to pretty for the role. When Marty meets her at a dance where she has just been dumped by a blind date, he finds they have a lot in common and they both enjoy the evening immensely.

In spite of the film being made more than 46 years ago, it was still fresh and real. Paddy Chayefsky was a master with dialog. For example there is the exchange between Marty and his friend Angie. "Hey Marty, what do you feel like doing tonight?" "I don't know Angie. What do you feel like doing?" These lines get repeated a few times. And the audience just "gets it". Another famous line is when Marty says to the young woman who has just been crying on his shoulder. "Hey, you're not as much of a dog as you think you are."

This film is about people. It's about family and love and simple things in life. The acting was so real that I forgot they were actors. I loved it and give it one of my highest recommendations. See it if you can.

This has been one of my favorite films for years, and my admiration for it only increases on repeat viewings. It's a plain film about plain people. The story goes beyond the surface of gloss and superficial beauty to the heart beating underneath. Ernest Borgnine gives the finest performance of his career as the lonely butcher, Marty Pilletti. It is one of the most multi-layered performances in the history of film. We see Marty as he appears on the surface, then Mr. Borgnine peels away layer after layer, like an onion, revealing the real Marty deep inside. He calls himself "a fat, ugly man" but he has the most beautiful heart in the world. The supporting cast is first rate, especially Betsy Blair as the plain-jane Clara Snyder. The film explores so many issues, how people can ruin another person's happiness, how ideas and perceptions can change everything in a person's life. I cannot imagine this film being made today. Whenever they try to make films about "plain people" they end up trying to make Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino look plain. It just doesn't work. This is a film of beauty, heart and soul, and I've never seen it equaled, and certainly never exceeded.

MARTY is as revelant today as it was in 1955, when the film was originally released. Based on a brilliant teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky, that aired as an episode of the "Philco Television Playhouse" in 1953, MARTY is the type of story in which almost anyone can relate.

On the surface, MARTY seems to be merely a sweet little story about a lonely man named Marty Piletti (Ernest Borgnine) who all but has given up on love. However, beyond its sweet exterior, the film reveals how cruel and shallow people can be. An excellent example is an early scene in which Clara (Betsy Blair) appears at a night club. She's fixed up on a blind date with a man that looks like a younger version of Richard Nixon or Bob Dole. What he does to her is vicious.

The later scenes involving Marty and Clara ring so true in their simplicity. Although fully clothed and with sexuality tame by modern standards the main characters are emotionally naked. You really feel like you are eavesdropping on real people and not watching a movie.

Chayefsky, who also wrote the feature length film, wisely added a series of subplots to add depth and texture to the story. One involves rising tensions between Marty's cousin (Jerry Paris), his wife and his mother that all live under the same roof. Another involves Marty's business aspirations.

The result is a multi-layered film that also has a powerful emotional kick. It's hard not to be emotionally moved by this film. MARTY is straight forward filmmaking at its best.

When director Delbert Mann recreated the television version of Paddy Chayefsky's MARTY, he could not have guessed that he was also creating a masterpiece that spoke volumes about the self-imposed walls of loneliness that dispirited people erect around themselves. Ernest Borgnine has never been more believable than the 35 year old pudgy butcher who has been hurt so often by uncaring women that he has despaired of ever finding a wife. Marty is a caring, decent, if not attractive Italian man still living at home with his mother. Although the film starts out as Marty's cry of pain, it soon becomes apparent that he is not alone in his solitude. His mother is a widow who fears losing her son to another women. His aunt lives with her unwilling son and his wife and fears that if she does not boss them around, they will not pay attention to her. They, in turn, need their privacy but fear telling the aunt so. Marty's best friend, Angie, is a loser who wants only to make sure that he does not suffer alone. Marty meets Clara, a twenty-nine year old plain jane who has suffered plenty herself at the hands of superficial men. Each of them seems locked into a lifestyle that consists mainly of endless repetitions of "What are you doing tonight?" But this tiresome circle is broken at a neighborhood dance where several lives unexpectedly open and blossom. Clara is brought to the dance by a cad who promptly dumps her for another woman. Marty notices her distress and talks to her, first at the dance, then for hours at a soda shop. They talk, and talk some more, and discover that in Marty's words, "Maybe we are not the dogs that people call us." As they bond, Angie sees that he is losing his buddy sufferer and tries to break them up. Marty's mother sees the bonding and she tries to break them up as well. Marty discovers that solitude is a self-imposed blanket that can be discarded at will.

MARTY is a superbly entertaining movie that is not as simple as one might think, given the focused intent on the breaking of these bonds. What Ernest Borgnine as Marty and Betsy Blair as Clara prove is that if people can isolate themselves from others, then they will stay isolated until they decide that enough is enough. Marty and Clara learn this. Angie does not. We in the audience certainly do.

Wow!!! If I had seen this years ago Ernie would've been my very favorite actor all these years.I'm only used to seeing him in "tough guy" roles. This movie which I stumbled over one day is a masterpiece. I always liked him as an actor but the acting Ernie does in this film is some of the best I've seen by any actor ever!!!It is a story about the eternal search for love and happiness and the pain of lonliness.Still the film is funny and enjoyable,not depressing at all.The story is about the average or perhaps homely person who feels handicapped at the outset by their lack of looks or by shyness.Watch Ernie particularly when Clara explains that she does want to see him again very much..wow it's touching.The last scene in the movie is the best acting I,ve seen anyone do ever!Watch Ernie's face as he listens to his brain-dead friends blather on. It's an unbelievable bit of acting. You'll have to see it to see what I mean.Get it today. You won't regret it.Ernest Borgnine will become YOUR favorite actor too!

Not many stars can convincingly call themselves and their supporting actress "dogs" and still win an Academy Award. Marty (Ernest Borgnine) has the normal desires of most men (of his day) -- to find a nice young woman and get married. This can only be achieved when he stops looking at women through the eyes of his friends or family. Borgnine delivers a powerful performance on lessons in non-superficial love.

Costar Betsy Blair's name appeared in the "Red Channels" during the McCarthy era, effectively ending her acting career in the early 50s. Against all odds she won the role of a lifetime in this 1955 cinematic classic MARTY after dance legend Gene Kelly, her husband of 17 years (1940-1957), threatened to stop shooting pictures for MGM if she wasn't allowed the lead part despite the blacklist. It is a shame that even with the award her movie career and marriage came to a close.

Movie quote: "You get kicked around long enough, you become a professor of pain."

I knew very little about "Marty" when I bought it for my Academy Award Best Picture DVD collection. I was very pleasantly surprised by a wonderful performance by Ernest Borgnine, and actor whom I have admired for a long time. He plays a very gentle, kind butcher, unlike some of his other tough guy roles in "From Here To Eternity" and "The Wild Bunch." The movie is only 90 minutes long, and it is a very simple story about how Marty meets a girl. It is very character driven, and I found myself identifying a lot with the prinicipal characters. Frank Sutton (Sgt. Carter from "Gomer Pyle") plays a small part in this movie.

The only complaint I have is that MGM didn't put a whole lot into this DVD. There wasn't even a program notes sheet in the DVD case.

"Marty" came out when I was ten, and still too young to think about dating, but this tale of how unattractive but decent people hooked up in '50's big city America still resonates with those of us who are not photogenic, slim, or sexy. Everything about this film is dated except for the fears of rejection and the hopes for love that the main characters display in every word, movement, or silence. This is a world in which to "date" did not mean to sleep with, and in which being Italian or Polish or Catholic or Protestant was one of the most important things about a person. It was also a world in which the opinions of one's parents and grandparents and extended family were powerful when it comes to choosing a life partner. Dating has certainly changed in the past half-century, but shyness and insecurity are still with many of us. People under the age of 50 may find "Marty" boring, but if they want to know how different "finding a mate" was for their grandparents' generation, this film will show them that, along with some powerful acting and crisp screenwriting.