Product Details

• Actors: Marlon Brando, Cliff Clark, Virginia Farmer, John Hamilton, Nita Hunter
• Directors: Fred Zinnemann
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Republic Pictures
• DVD Release Date: November 3, 2009
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002LYD2KS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #207,927 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Marlon Brando set the mark for a brilliant career in Stanley Kramer's THE MEN, his motion picture debut. As a war veteran paralyzed in combat, he returns home to face the torturous ordeal of rehabilitation. The courage and strength of the soldier are betrayed by the fear and insecurity of the man when he learns he will never walk again. Embittered by his condition, he refuses to see his fiancee and sinks into a solitary world of hatred and hostility. Fighting the wishes of her parents, the coldness of a guilt-ridden society and her own self-doubts, it is she who must force him to confront the reality of his condition and break his physical and emotional confinement. When feeling starts to return to his legs, it could be his last hope...or his final downfall.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Brando's First Film October 24, 2000

By "[e-mail]"

Format:VHS Tape

Fred Zinnemann finally came up with a script that Marlon Brando liked enough to leave the stage and head for Hollywood. And the rest is history. That script turned out to be The Men. Brando is Bud, a parapoliegic shot in WWII and recovering in a veterans hospital. Unfortunatly there is no hope for Bud ever walking again, a fact he refuses to except. This movie is an interesting character study. Brando shows here why he would become the most influential actor of the last half century. He briliantly depicts a man at tremendous odds with himself. The supporting cast of characters, Teresa Wright(Bud's love interest), the doctors, and the men in the hospital, are well cast. Fans of character driven dramas and Brando fans should get a kick out of this film.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Realistic drama about the aftermath of war October 28, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

This film was Marlon Brando's first staring role in a film, and he provides a masterful performance as a veteran with a spinal cord injury who is coming to grips with his changed life. His faithful wife who displays great courage in sticking with her man through a very difficult time is also well acted. A little melodramatic, as many early 1950's films were, but very realistic. Based on the true story of the first US SCI veterans who were discharged out of the hospital to return home after WW II, it was filmed at a veterans hospital and some of the extras are actual patients at the center. The physician is based on Ernst Bors, MD who is considered the father of SCI care in the USA, and who worked in this field in the VA healthcare system for another 35 years.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brando's first film! December 27, 2002

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

Marlon Brando's performance alone makes the movie worth watching. His sensitivity to the character's pain is so visible that it's just touching to see. It's a great start to the unforgetable legend's film career. I really enjoyed it simply because of Brando. So if you don't particually care for him, then it's not really worth it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brando In "The Men"... A Legendary Film Star Is Born... October 30, 2007

By LadyWriter

Format:DVD

This is where it all started...Marlon Brando's one-of-a-kind film legacy...

Marlon's performance in "The Men" demonstrates his natural talent - a talent that is now the legacy of the greatest actor of all time. His remarkable performance in "The Men" drew me in immediately. I could not take my eyes off of him. His demeanor, his facial expressions, and the way he spoke reminded me somewhat of his screen test for "Rebel Without A Cause." He is sweet, tender, ambivalent, unassuming, and somewhat emotionally injured - much as I believe he was in his life off of the screen as well. There is nobody I have seen on stage or screen who can achieve such a delicate and perfect balance of emotion or elicit the kinds of emotions he does in others through his performances as Marlon did in the roles he has played on stage and screen.

I have 36 Marlon Brando films in my collection, many of which I have watched several times. But, I have never been able to bring myself to watch "The Men" until very recently. I am a nurse and I have seen first hand that which Marlon's character, "Bud," faced after becoming a paraplegic as the result of an injury. In my work, it has weighed on me at times that, although I possess some medical expertise and although I can contribute to helping a person back to optimal health following a tragedy, I am still not able to wave a magic wand and turn his reality into a dream from which he will awaken.

I knew what "The Men" was about and with having become very familiar with Marlon Brando's realistic and poignant portrayals of people on film such as his portrayal in this film, I expected that my insides would be torn asunder. And, they were. Marlon portrayed it as it truly was and is. In the beginning, "Bud" is afraid to live while also being afraid to die.... Later in the film, this sentiment is echoed by Jack Webb's character when he recites a piece of Hamlet's soliloquy from "To Be Or Not To Be"..."To die, to sleep...to sleep, perchance to dream...aye, there's the rub...for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil must give us pause" - the contemplation of suicide, but, at the same time, the fear of what one may face in death should one choose to take his own life due to his circumstances. Which is the most fearful prospect?

"The Men" is about a man who, following a war injury, finds that he has become a paraplegic and that life will never be the same for him again. Throughout the film, he travels through every stage of grief and grieving and, ultimately, comes to terms with his circumstance. I won't give the details of the film away, but I will say that it is definitely a "must see" movie and that, among the many touching scenes throughout, a very moving scene with Bud and his wife takes place at the end and one is left feeling so many emotions.

This is an excellent film, the first film for Marlon Brando, and one whose heart-rending insight into the personal struggles of a man faced with a life-altering situation is exhibited with absolute perfection by Marlon Brando. Read more ›

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the men August 2, 2005

By Jack C. Lewis

Format:DVD

I was impressed with this movie when I fist saw it in the 50's I have been a Brando admirer ever since . Over the past 50 years I have seen all of his movies more than once. The Men has a great message , I recommend it to all my friends .

jack

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars marlen brando great actor May 21, 2013

By Luis Cotto

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Great classic to watch in your home theater.marlon brando was a great actor in his time. Many more great movies to choose from.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Marlon Brando Is Stunning! February 3, 2013

By Jason

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Marlon shines in his first feature film and this is one of my all time favorite Brando movies. An amazing job as a recovering paraplegic.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Marlon's best movie ever ... May 18, 2011

By Peg D.

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Everyone raves about Streetcar, but this one has always been my favorite. Marlon has never looked better than in this movie and I think his acting was a sign of how great he would become. My absolute favorite.