20 Best Marlon Brando Movies, Ranked (original) (raw)
Published Sep 27, 2023, 8:00 PM EDT
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When it comes to the topic of great American actors, few can be considered quite as great as Marlon Brando. He's a near-mythical figure within the film industry now, as though he passed away almost 20 years ago, the quality of his performances - some of which go back as far as the early 1950s - has never diminished with time. His commitment to his roles (especially in the first couple of decades of his career) was consistently astonishing, and he's perhaps the definitive example of a Hollywood method actor.
Going through his filmography makes his talents clear to see almost straight away, with Brando having roles in some of the best movies of all time, and often being a key reason why such films are so revered in the first place. What follows is a ranking that aims to encapsulate the best of the best within Marlon Brando's filmography, with the actor's most iconic roles/movies being ranked below, starting with the great and ending with the all-time greatest.
20 'The Young Lions' (1958)
Marlon Brando in The Young Lions
Image via 20th Century Fox
Marlon Brando exploded onto the film scene at the start of the 1950s. After getting experience acting on stage throughout the 1940s, he was able to make an impression straight away when entering the world of cinema, and so by 1958's The Young Lions, he was already something of an acting legend and box office draw.
This film's a large-scale war epic that runs for close to three hours, and follows the experiences of three different soldiers fighting during World War II: one being a German, and the other two being American. Brando plays the German soldier, while Montgomery Clift and Dean Martin play the Americans. Somewhat unusually, The Young Lions is also notable for being one of Akira Kurosawa's favorite films.
19 'A Countess from Hong Kong' (1967)
Charlie Chaplin may have released his most acclaimed films in the 1920s and 1930s (perhaps this period could arguably also extend to the early 1940s), but he kept directing until 1967. That year saw him release his final film as a director: A Countess from Hong Kong, which also starred Marlon Brando alongside Sophia Loren and Tippi Hedren.
It's a farcical romance movie, and narratively revolves around the chaos that unfolds when a female stowaway on a cruise ends up falling in love with an American diplomat. It's far from representative of Chaplin or Brando at their best, but it offers some breezy and light-hearted fun, especially for anyone who's particularly fond of comedies from the 1960s.
18 'One-Eyed Jacks' (1961)
Marlon Brando as Rio in One-Eyed Jacks
Image via Paramount Pictures
Marlon Brando directed a single feature film during his time as an actor, and that film was the Western One-Eyed Jacks. It showed that even if he might not have been quite as great a filmmaker as an actor, he was still surprisingly good at the former, making it perhaps something of a shame that he didn't sit in the director's chair on any other occasion.
Brando plays a man named Rio who's out for revenge after being betrayed and sent to prison, tracking down his former partner responsible for his misfortune years after they used to work together. It delivers much of what you'd want out of a Western from this time, and is a solid watch, also being noteworthy for at one point having Stanley Kubrick attached to direct it.
17 'Burn!' (1969)
Image via United Artists
An Italian movie made by Gillo Pontecorvo, who's best known for directing 1966's The Battle of Algiers, Burn! is also a war movie based on real-life events. It's about a mercenary named William Walker, and shows how he was sent to deal with rebels in the Caribbean who'd seized enough power that they were threatening the British sugar trade in the area.
Like The Battle of Algiers, it's a hard-hitting film that's also unafraid to be very much political, which can make it a challenging watch. Still, for those seeking something with a decent amount of bite, coupled with a well-told historical story, it's worth checking out. Additionally, Brando also mentioned that it contains, in his view, some of the best acting he'd ever done.
16 'The Missouri Breaks (1976)
Marlon Brando looks off camera as Lee Clayton with the wind blowing his hair back in 'The Missouri Breaks'
Image via United Artists
The Missouri Breaks feels as though it might well be one of the most underrated Westerns of all time, which is even more surprising given it stars two of the best and most popular actors of all time. One's obviously Marlon Brando, who plays a bounty hunter tasked with taking down a gang whose leader is played by similarly legendary actor Jack Nicholson.
The movie plays out like an extended cat-and-mouse chase throughout the Old West, and is consistently engaging throughout. It might not be a revolutionary or game-changing Western like others from around the time that were more directly challenging the traditional Westerns from decades past, but it still works surprisingly well, and is worth checking out for its star-power alone.
15 'The Freshman' (1990)
Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick wearing tuxedos and driving in a car in The Freshman
Image via TriStar
One of many crime movies released in 1990, The Freshman is a little silly and uneven, but ends up being entertaining. It's about a film student getting mixed up with a crime boss who feels like he walked straight out of a movie, and the zaniness that unfolds once the former ends up working a criminal job for the latter.
It gave Marlon Brando a chance to poke fun at one of his most iconic roles, and he has a fun dynamic throughout with Matthew Broderick, who plays the film student. It's not the kind of movie that leaves a tremendous impact once it's over, but while it's unfolding, it's generally a breezy and enjoyable watch, especially for those who like crime movies that don't take things too seriously.
14 'Viva Zapata!' (1952)
Image via 20th Century Fox
An early starring role for Marlon Brando, and thereby a significant role within his filmography, Viva Zapata! does admittedly have the kind of casting decision movies wouldn't get away with having nowadays. Brando plays Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, despite himself not being from a Mexican background, which is the kind of thing that seemingly wasn't as frowned upon back in the 1950s.
Still, Brando's performance is committed, and it gave him his second Oscar nomination (and in just his third on-screen role, showing how acclaimed he was as an actor right from the start). Viva Zapata! also serves as a decent biographical film about Zapata, showing how he led a rebellion against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz during the early 20th century.
13 'The Score' (2001)
Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro in The Score (2001)
Image via Paramount Pictures
The Score ended up being one of the final things Marlon Brando ever worked on, with the film being released in 2001, and Brando passing away at the age of 80 in 2004. It's a solid heist movie that stars Robert De Niro in the lead role, with the plot revolving around a classic kind of "one last mission" that De Niro's character gets roped into assisting with.
The two actors notably won Oscars for playing the same character in the Godfather movies: Vito Corleone. Despite that, they acted as this character in different movies, so there's certainly a novelty factor regarding seeing them act in the same scenes together here. Edward Norton also gives a solid performance here as a young thief who pulls De Niro's character back into the lifestyle, with The Score ultimately being a tad formulaic, though still quite entertaining.
12 'Mutiny on the Bounty' (1962)
Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Some years after 1935's Mutiny on the Bounty won Best Picture at the Oscars, and some years before 1984's The Mutiny starred both Anthony Hopkins and a very young Daniel Day-Lewis, there was 1962's Mutiny on the Bounty. This one offered something valuable that the others couldn't: a lead performance from Marlon Brando.
It's about the titular event that occurred near the end of the 18th century, and is up there with the most infamous mutinies in history. Brando plays Fletcher Christian, who's responsible for leading the mutiny, and thereby has to deal with the unforeseen consequences that follow. You could argue it's a little long at 185 minutes, but it's a suitably epic take on the well-known story, and Brando gives the kind of standout lead performance one would expect from him.
11 'The Chase' (1966)
Image via Columbia Pictures
The thing that first leaps out regarding The Chase is how great its cast is, given it stars Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, and Robert Duvall. Brando plays the sheriff of a small Southern town, and the film revolves around the way he handles a recent prison break, with many assuming one prisoner (Redford's character) will return to town.
It's perhaps more of a slow-burn crime/drama film rather than an all-out thriller, but it definitely sustains a good level of tension throughout, and balances its large cast well. It's also confidently directed throughout by Arthur Penn, who's perhaps best known for directing 1967's Bonnie and Clyde (and who would later re-team with Brando 10 years on, with the two making The Missouri Breaks together).