Movies Charlton Heston or Marlon Brando - Who gave the better performance?

[Takes Two To Tango]

Both played Mark Antony in the movie Julius Caesar.

Who's your guy?

 

[Fake Doctor]

I'd give it to Heston here, by a mile. His timing and intonation is steps ahead of Brando's. Brando reads it more like a Classic Shakespearean actor though, projecting more force and volume. When you're speaking in front of a large crowd (or the Globe theater) , you're basically yelling - like Brando is. Heston is doing it like he is speaking to a camera, and that allows for a lot more range of intonation and volume. I think Brando's reading here reflects the style at the time more than his ability as an actor. I mean, obviously. He's an amazing actor. So maybe the judgment is more one of the affordances of the style adopted than the actual reading.

Incredible speech, too. I use it as a teaching tool for rhetoric, comparing it to a car where Shakespeare is revving the engine, then letting it go neutral, then revving again, but with different types of appeals to the crowd. Give it a look on the page and break it down, rhetorical turn by rhetorical turn. The anatomy of this speech is complex and effective, a great and quantifiable example of how to play a crowd.

 

[tomjones]

Both are great performance but Heston doesn't look roman and that kind of makes brando seem more legit in the film.

 

[fungi]

Charlton has better diction, yet he overacts a bit (for a motion picture).

Brando has more natural, less theatrical/artsy-fartsy style.
Butt... He talks like sophia vergara with a dick in her mouth.

Thus, it's a tie.

 

[Fatality]

Haven't seen those films but I favor Heston over Brando in general. Both can be a little over the top but Heston has given the more iconic performances(Planet of the Apes, Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, etc.) imo. Brando just turned into a crazy wacko.

 

[RentPayer]

How many of you knew that Richard Pryor had a s3xual relationship with Marlon Brando ? Pryor's widow confirmed it too.

https://www.advocate.com/people/201...c Richard Pryor,Marlon Brando, his widow says.

 

[Fatality]

How many of you knew that Richard Pryor had a s3xual relationship with Marlon Brando ? Pryor's widow confirmed it too.

https://www.advocate.com/people/2019/3/15/richard-pryor-was-proud-affair-marlon-brando-widow-says#:~:text=Arts & EntertainmentPeople-,Richard Pryor Was Proud of Affair With Marlon Brando, Widow,fans, says Jennifer Lee Pryor.&text=The late comic Richard Pryor,Marlon Brando, his widow says.

First heard that around ten years ago. Pretty wild the things some hollywood types get up to.

 

[Bos Docken]

Haven't seen those films but I favor Heston over Brando in general. Both can be a little over the top but Heston has given the more iconic performances(Planet of the Apes, Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, etc.) imo. Brando just turned into a crazy wacko.

I agree Brando turned into a crazy wacko. But if you're talking who had the more iconic performances...

On the Waterfront
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Wild One
The Godfather
Apocalypse Now

Even people who haven't seen these movies know Brando's performances in them, because his presence was so powerful and his line readings are embedded into cultural memory.

"I coulda been a contender."

"Stellaaaaa!"

"Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?"
"... What have ya got?"

"I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."

"The horror, the horror."

 

[Fatality]

I agree Brando turned into a crazy wacko. But if you're talking who had the more iconic performances...

On the Waterfront
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Wild One
The Godfather
Apocalypse Now

Even people who haven't seen these movies know Brando's performances in them, because his presence was so powerful and his line readings are embedded into cultural memory.

"I coulda been a contender."

"Stellaaaaa!"

"Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?"
"... What have ya got?"

"I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."

"The horror, the horror."

Haven't seen some of those but Brando wasn't even the lead in the two of those I have seen(Godfather and Apocalypse). I still wouldn't rate Brando's performances in Godfather and Apocalypse Now as iconic even though both films are iconic themselves. Pacino made Godfather great and Sheen killed it in Apocalypse, Brando was secondary in both screen time and depth of performance.

 

[blaseblah]

Old people thread alert

 

[Cyrano200]

Just watching those clips, it's gotta be Heston.
Brando is rushing through it - like Marc Anthony is reciting something.
Heston gives the speech like Anthony is overcome and speaking in the moment - more emotion.

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

I'd give it to Heston here, by a mile. His timing and intonation is steps ahead of Brando's. Brando reads it more like a Classic Shakespearean actor though, projecting more force and volume. When you're speaking in front of a large crowd (or the Globe theater) , you're basically yelling - like Brando is. Heston is doing it like he is speaking to a camera, and that allows for a lot more range of intonation and volume. I think Brando's reading here reflects the style at the time more than his ability as an actor. I mean, obviously. He's an amazing actor. So maybe the judgment is more one of the affordances of the style adopted than the actual reading.

Incredible speech, too. I use it as a teaching tool for rhetoric, comparing it to a car where Shakespeare is revving the engine, then letting it go neutral, then revving again, but with different types of appeals to the crowd. Give it a look on the page and break it down, rhetorical turn by rhetorical turn. The anatomy of this speech is complex and effective, a great and quantifiable example of how to play a crowd.

Well said.

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

Old people thread alert

lmao

 

[Chesten_Hesten]

Fuck'n Duh!

Cain't touch this

Chuck is the most epic of motherfuckers!

 

[Fake Doctor]

Old people thread alert

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

Charlton has better diction, yet he overacts a bit (for a motion picture).

Brando has more natural, less theatrical/artsy-fartsy style.
Butt... He talks like sophia vergara with a dick in her mouth.

Thus, it's a tie.

I actually like Brando's more. His voice is definitely not as powerful, but the subtleties of his facial expressions and his movements grab me here. Seems way more naturalistic, which is his modus operandi.

 

[Ezekiel 25:17]

They both over act a bit here, but maybe heston. He just doesnt look the part as much as Brando.

That being said, I think Brando was the overall better actor by a country mile. Even crazy Brando pulled off some of the most iconic roles ever.

 

[Uber_Noober]

Going with Heston because Brando was a flaming homo
[url=https://postimages.org/][/URL]

 

[Fake Doctor]

Going with Heston because Brando was a flaming homo

Man, do I have some bad news for you about much of Hollywood...

 

[Uber_Noober]

Man, do I have some bad news for you about much of Hollywood...

Nothing about that place would surprise me