Customer Reviews

Reflections In A Golden Eye

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"One of a kind" is a somewhat inadequate phrase to describe John Huston's 1967 Southern Gothic about sexual repression, homophobia, and insanity in an army fort. The plot of the film is so bizarre as to be stupefying. Marlon Brando plays a grotesquely closeted army major who teaches war strategy at a Southern military school, while his silly wife (Elizabeth Taylor) engages in a causal affair with the colonel next door (Brian Keith), whose wife (Julie Harris) spends her days in a darkened room being entertained by her Filipino houseboy while she recovers from her breakdown after the death of her infant daughter... during which she cut off her nipples with gardening shears. (As Anna Russell used to say, I am not making this up, you know.) Meanwhile, Brando stalks a handsome enlisted man at the fort (Robert Forster), who sneaks in to Taylor's bedroom late at night to spy on her while she sleeps, and who also loves to ride the base's horses in the nude. Ouch!

All this sounds pretty ridiculous, but through the terrific use of cinematography and pacing to convey the heady, dreamy atmosphere of the fort in late summer, Huston somehow makes it all work. The film is pretty suspenseful--you know someone's going to be murdered from the film's opening title but you don't know who or why or by whom, and the suspense keeps you guessing until the end (where Huston unfortunately undoes most of what he's accomplished before by a ludicrous repeated pan back-and-forth of the killer, the corpse, and the figure in between them). The film was originally released in an unusual gold wash that was replaced with standard Technicolor one week into the film's release after poor box office results, but as you can imagine from the description nothing could have saved this odd neither-fish-nor-fowl movie in commercial terms. This recent DVD release restores the original tints, but they are not quite as beautiful as they have been legendarily reputed to be over the decades: they impart a muddy wash to some scenes that makes it difficult to discern details in the complex and crowded compositions onscreen. I was more impressed with the film visually--perhaps heretically so--when I first saw it in standard Technicolor years ago at a repertory film theatre in Cambridge, MA. Despite this disappointment, I still felt the film's unique conveyance of atmosphere and appreciated its fine performances, particularly from Brian Keith as the confused and likeable husband of Harris.

Adapted from the novel of the same name by the Georgian writer Carson McCullers and directed by the great John Huston, REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE stars Marlon Brando, an army officer on a military post somewhere in the South, and Elizabeth Taylor as his bored wife. There is a lot going on here. Brando plays a latent homosexual who is being cuckolded right under his nose by another officer Brian Keith who is married to a fragile mental case, Julie Harris. Ms. Harris, who has just cut off her nipples with scissors when the movie begins, is cared by by an effeminate Asian houseboy. Add to this mixture a young soldier (Robert Forster) who has a propensity for riding horses bareback and with a bare backside.

I have seen this movie three or four times now and can never decide if it's me or the movie; but I never get all the parts fitted together. This film certainly is worth watching and has an erotic mystery about it. Elizabeth Taylor repeats a part she had done before of the beautiful Southern woman and does a credible job with her Southern accent. But by far the best thing about this movie is Marlon Brando. He of courses acts in every frame and is perfect as the army officer about ready to go to pot who struggles with his forbidden desires.

I do not remember what kind of reviews this movie received in 1967, but Brando gives one of his best performances here. The critics should have so stated.

Reflections in a Golden Eye is a film based on the Carson McCullers novel of the same name. It surrounds the lives of Major Penderton (Brando) a repressed homosexual married to an unsympathetic, emasculating woman-Lenora (Liz Taylor), who is having an affair with Lt. Langdon whose wife Alision, has descended into self-mutilation-cutting off her nipples with garden shears-unable to come to terms with the loss of her child. As the movie begins the audience is greeted with an eerie musical score and is introduced to Private Williams a loner who seems to have a predilection for horses-among other things.

Major Penderton is aware of the affair between his wife and Lt. Langdon but is unconcerned. His wife Lenora taunts him constantly, making fun of his viriliy-or lack thereof, and even calls him "prissy" one night after he tells her she "looks like a slattern" (a slob) and that she disgusts him. In response, she disrobes and silently taunts him. After which he suddenly breaks down and threatens her. At this, she inquires if he'd ever been thrashed by a naked woman-knowing that she is fully capable of causing him bodily harm, his body grows limp in defeat.

On one occasion Major Penderton joins his wife and Lt. Langdon on a horseback ride in the woods where they encounter Private Williams riding horseback nude. Lenora and Langdon find it amusing and impressive, while Major Penderton is both appalled and fascinated. Throughout, we see Major Penderton try to prove his manhood by barking out orders to subordinates, depriving Capt. Weincheck, a man who enjoys listening to classical music and playing the violin (something which is vaguely interpreted as homosexual) of a good evaluation on his efficiency report, and attempting to ride his wife's horse Firebird whom she describes as a "stallion" (another of his wife's taunts at his inadequacy as a man). After a feeble attempt at riding the horse, he beats the horse in anger and frustration-the look on Brando's face in this moment causes one to pity not only the horse but Major Penderton also-he becomes hysterical-it is as if he is laughing and crying at the same time. Of course his wife finds out about the incident and proceeds to beat Penderton about the face with her whip, in front of their guests-and all the while he stands-almost like a statue accepting the beating.

Eventually, Penderton becomes obsessed with Private Williams who seems to enjoy not only nude horseback riding but nude sunbathing in the woods and nude nature walks as well. Over time, Penderton grows in his obsession of Private Williams- stalking him, picking up a candy wrapper he has thrown on the ground. Seemingly, the Private is aware of Penderton's fascination and at times seems to play along.

In the finale, Penderton peers out of his window and finds Private Williams lurking around his home-he believes the Private is coming to see him-not knowing that the Private has been breaking into his home each night carrying out his strange fetishes with Penderton's wife. Probably one of the best scenes in the movie is when Brando improvises-primping himself by combing down his hair to prepare for what he perceives is the Private's visit. Tragic events will soon follow.

At the same time all these things are occuring, Lt. Langdon's wife is being cared for (mothered) and entertained by their VERY flamboyant Filipino house boy Anacleto, portrayed by Zorro David, a beautician and painter making his first and only screen appearance. On one occasion he paints a peacock with a golden eye, and explains that the peacock's golden eye sees clearly those things that are tiny and grotesque-hence the title of the book and film.

There is so many things going on in this movie that it could easily become the subject of a doctoral thesis. Brando gives a very brave and daring performance. It is the MOST underrated performance of his career and is truly one of his finest. His performance in this film deserves to be counted amongst his best. Liz Taylor is great playing her Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf characterization. Both Brain Keith and Juile Harris provide great support. Robert Forster makes an unusual screen debut as Private Williams. And Zorro David, the flamboyant Filipino house boy is indeed comical and extremely over the top-making a film with such a dark subject matter feel almost as if it were a dark comedy. At times I felt he needed to have been reeled in by director John Huston because he was so over the top. When this film debuted it sharply divided audiences and critics alike. And it's no wonder why-it is both bizarre and grotesque but also brilliant. Oftentimes I wondered if I were watching a thriller/horror film instead of a drama-because there were so many scenes in this film that were simply chilling.

Sadly, I don't know if this film will ever overcome the stigma attached to it. It is indeed a very strange film and not for everyone, but it is a brilliant film illustrating how perversion in society can happen in any setting-even in the most conformist and pristine and amongst the most unlikely of people.

The time is late 1948 and the setting is a U.S. Army post in Georgia, bordering on a forest preserve...

A Southern amoral wife called Leonora (Elizabeth Taylor) finds an outlet for her vital nature in an adulterous affair with Lt. Col. Langdon (Brian Keith), carried on almost openly...

Leonora gives aperture to her forcefulness and vigor in a passion for horses and riding... She is attached to a handsome white horse she calls Firebird and she provokes her husband by telling him that the animal is indeed a stallion and a beast with the soul of a gentleman...

Leonora's husband (Marlon Brando) is a devious, insecure, impotent Army major, a hidden homosexual preoccupied with an unsociable, lonely rider who canters around the field in the nude and whose sexual tension is released, secretively, at the bedside of the major's wife fondling her clothes and staring at her...

Private Williams (Robert Forster) is another lonely man fascinated by the fiery Leonora and her occasional kind comments to him... He takes to visiting the Penderton house at night and looking attentively in the windows... He observes Leonora in the nude, but he also watches the Major in his study...

Keith's neurotic wife (Julie Harris) is well aware of her husband's affair with Leonora but she only feels well from her close friendship with her houseboy, Anacleto (Zorro David), an effete companion who shares her penchant for the arts and is in every way the opposite of her abrupt, strong husband...

Liz few scenes with Brando crack1e with sexual antagonism... He's a tormented human being while she's delicious but shrill and insensitive... Aware of her physical beauty she fights back when she's rejected, provoking him with her impertinent, impudent manners that offend his very being...

Flavored with bitter insinuations and hot sarcasms, their scenes have enough flames to burn the silver screen...

The film is admirable in many ways, beautifully staged and photographed and splendidly acted...

John Huston's "Reflections In A Golden Eye" is one of his lesser-known works. This overlooked film is a riveting piece of Cinema. He brought together the unlikely combination of Carson McCuller's southern gothic novel along with the talents of Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, and Julie Harris to create a fascinating study of deceit, lies, and murder.
Julie Harris brings to the project her unique blend of neurosis and pathos. She inhabits the role as Allison the mentally fragile wife of Brian Keith fully, coloring her role with the nuance of madness.
Keith gives his best performance as the philandering husband of Harris and the bumbling lover of Taylor. It is his finest hour on the screen. His pathetic recollection of his lost wife is acted with subtlety and feeling and proves his metal as an actor.
Marlon Brando as Major Penderton rises to his role as a closeted homosexual. This is one of his masterworks as an actor and quite possibly one of his best in the 1960's. He is puffy, middle aged and completely without vanity. To watch him struggle to lift a barbell with one arm is delightfully disturbing.
As Leonora Penderton Elizabeth Taylor is at the top of her game, dumb, sexy and funny. It is one of her most deeply complex performances from a career full of great work. There is so much humor mixed into her character and she goes all the way to reveal the each nuance and layer of Leonora.
The music by Toshiro Mayuzumi is hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric. The opening theme carries a muted smoky jazz sound that sets the scene perfectly. The only false note in the film are Taylor's costumes by Dorothy Jenkins. Set in the late 1940's Miss Taylor is dressed in the current fashions of the late 1960's and she looks beautiful but out of time with the era along with her hair by Alexandre of Pairs.
Huston directs with calm assuredness, as he leads is excellent cast to the tragic inevitable end to the film. *****

John Huston made a terrific and underappleciated film about passion and guilt. Elizabeth Taylor gives one of her finest performances along with the terrific Marlon Brando. This is one of the best films ever made yet people at the time of its release did not have the sensitibity for it. It explores the need of people to live a false existance and the need to betray ourselves for the sake of society. The result is a sad, moody film with great acting that will leave you intrigue for days to come. This is not a film for prudes

"Reflecions in a Golden Eye" is a deliberately slow moving, moody, atmospheric rendition of a literay classic. Critics and audiences were not impressed in 1967, when it was first released. But to compare it to international masterpieces such as Luis Bunuel's films, Carl Theodore Dreyer's (The Passion of Joan of Arc)masterpieces, and even Ingmar Bergman's unforgetable views into the dark psyche of "normal" and "abnormal" people, is to realize how close to the mark John Huston was. The acting by the four principles is truly moving. I'll never forget Brando's expression after his wife's horse throws him. Gives this film a chance. It is sad and quietly passionate at the same time.

A film that will come of age one day. Human extremes bring self examination. Executed with gut, ahead of of it's time then, and sadly, still. It's style's influence can be seen in the 70's heyday, but never matched. Taylor preps V.Wolf, Julie Harris finally snaps! and Brando puncuates his previous work with unforseen skill, offering his first and only 100 percent. A man's portrait still unrivaled.
Where are the Huston DVD's? Not the Noir. Criterion? Esp. this one. Is this film stock decaying?

John Huston's REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE, adapted from the acclaimed novel by Carson McCullers, is a bizarre film indeed. The main draw, of course, is the pairing of the two greatest actors in screen history, Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor. How odd, then, that the film itself overshadows them! The film is set at a military post: Brando is Major Penderton, who fights his own secret homosexuality; Taylor is his nymphomaniac wife, Leonora, who is having an affair with Lt. Colonel Langdon (Brian Keith). Langdon's wife, Alice (Julie Harris), recently had a failed pregnancy, after which she cut off her nipples with garden shears. And Robert Forster makes his film debut as a young enlisted man who enjoys riding horses naked and who observes the curious interactions of the Pendertons.

Sound odd? Believe me, it is. To add to the weirdness, director Huston printed the film with a golden tint, which adds a sort of nautious quality to the whole thing. Brando and Taylor are the glue that holds the film together. Taylor is a delight, but Brando gives a somewhat lacking performance. Forster, however, is great, as is Harris and Zorro David as her wacky Asian servant. As I haven't read the novel on which the film is based, I can't comment on how faithful the film is nor on which is better, but I fully intend to read the novel after viewing the film. It isn't bad, in fact it's far from it, but it's not really good either. In the end, it's a film one won't necessarily regret seeing, but it seems like a waste of Brando's talent, and that really detracts from the film, but if you've a taste for the bizarre, give it a shot.

"Reflections in a Golden Eye" is a cheese-fest from-of all people--author Carson McCullers and director John Huston. One would assume that with an ensemble cast like Marlon Brando,Elizabeth Taylor,Julie Harris and Zorro David,it would be great? Right? Wrong.

Marlon Brando stars as a repressed gay soldier married to the sexually frustrated Liz Taylor. She enjoys riding her stallion Firebird. Brando prefers looking at classical Greek nudes of hunky men, so Taylor is fooling around with Brian Keith. Keith's wife, Julie Harris,cut off her nipples with garden shears,and is fooling around with an effeminate Filipino houseboy (Zorro David) In the meantime, Robert Forster spies on Taylor and Brando,and does plenty of sunbathing. And giving a new meaning to bareback riding.

"Reflections in a Golden Eye" has plenty of corkers. Taylor,enraged that Brando got hurt while riding Firebird,angrily tells him,"You rode him? You rode my stallion?" Plenty of double entendres in that. Brando's weird Southern/British accent varies according to the scene. It's Southern Gothic best enjoyed with Wild Turkey and okra.