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The Wild One

The Wild One

List Price: $19.94
Your Price: $15.95
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The ultimate '50s motorcycle cult film.
Review: "The Wild One", with Marlon Brando perched on top of his motorcyle on the front cover, had a certain appeal to me. Always looking for great '50s films, and '50s-related films, I gave this a try. When it came on, after the Columbia logo, it opened on a deserted highway with a title card reading "This is a shocking story. It could never take place in most American towns--but it did in this one. It is a public challenge not to let it happen again." That'll grab your attention. Marlon Brando's voice is heard narrating about his expericences in the story. All of a sudden motorcycles appear roaring down the road over the opening credits. The film is basically about rebellious motorcyclists
who cause mischief in a small town and hang out at a local diner until Johnny's (Marlon Brando) rival Chino (Lee Marvin) arrives.
Check this film out and see what happens. When you see that chilling title card and the film progresses, you may be puzzled wondering what will happen, for at first the rebels may appear as all bark and no bite. There's a lot of cool '50s slang, daddy-o, to look at the lighter side! The result of the film is an accident and the rebels being forced to leave town never to return again; I'll say that much. When you see the film for the first time, and are about to watch it again, you might say to the chilling title card
"Balderdash!" Think what gangs are doing now as opposed to what they did exactly 50 years ago. Great film with excellent drama depth.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The ultimate '50s motorcycle cult film.
Review: "The Wild One", with Marlon Brando perched on top of his motorcyle on the front cover, had a certain appeal to me. Always looking for great '50s films, and '50s-related films, I gave this a try. When it came on, after the Columbia logo, it opened on a deserted highway with a title card reading "This is a shocking story. It could never take place in most American towns--but it did in this one. It is a public challenge not to let it happen again." That'll grab your attention. Marlon Brando's voice is heard narrating about his expericences in the story. All of a sudden motorcycles appear roaring down the road over the opening credits. The film is basically about rebellious motorcyclists
who cause mischief in a small town and hang out at a local diner until Johnny's (Marlon Brando) rival Chino (Lee Marvin) arrives.
Check this film out and see what happens. When you see that chilling title card and the film progresses, you may be puzzled wondering what will happen, for at first the rebels may appear as all bark and no bite. There's a lot of cool '50s slang, daddy-o, to look at the lighter side! The result of the film is an accident and the rebels being forced to leave town never to return again; I'll say that much. When you see the film for the first time, and are about to watch it again, you might say to the chilling title card
"Balderdash!" Think what gangs are doing now as opposed to what they did exactly 50 years ago. Great film with excellent drama depth.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: irritatable
Review: after reading the reviews of other viewers i had to respond. both marlon brando and lee marvin were great but to cut into it saying it came short of reality or truly portraying it, think when this film was made. im sure in the twenty first century the movie would be very different. anyone thats read hunter thompsons 'hells angels' or has other knowledge of bike gangs knows too well of its truth-inspired influences of hollister. but in 1953 film makers as well as anyone else including the literary crowd had its limits even if limitary. i think alot of those who reviewed it did so forgetting this fact. no its not the best film made but for what its worth it was a great performance by both marvin and brando and served as a pretty entertaining picture on all fronts. i believe this was the intention of the director. it doesnt claim anywhere to be a documentary or anything close so dont interpret it as so. i got the feeling from reading the reviews that the viewers were taking this picture into comparison with contemporary films which it is certainly not one nor is it as one review suggested a film to be viewed for those in a "classic film phase". its beyond that. perhaps im out of line but these are my thoughts at the moment.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Watta ya got?
Review: All right, it's silly now to see Dick Van Dyke's ex-neighbor as a outlaw biker, to say nothing of overaged juveniles Gil Stratton & Alvy Moore. But then there are the peerless Timothy Carey & Lee Marvin.

What really makes this movie work is that it is just a quickie B-movie of the 1950s. They had to scrounge up actors who could ride & then they had to scrounge up the bikes (my understanding is that that was Brando's actual Triumph). And then there's that great Leith Stevens score performed by Shorty Rogers & his all-stars. West Coast Jazz! (Miles hated it, the sound, that is).

I saw this one day after school just after it came out. Wow. Changed a lot for me. The way I talked, the way I walked, the way I looked, the way I thought. Needless to say I wasn't alone.

We're looking at true history here.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Tame One
Review: All those reviewers who gave this film 5 and 4 stars are really digging deep into their charity boxes. This is an incredibly dated, slow and boring movie. It is only memorable because of the Brando iconography: after you've seen the publicity stills you've seen the whole thing. Except for Lee Marvin, who, as somebody said, had dynamic and mesmeric impact in every film he ever made --- possibly excepting Paint Your Wagon. As soon as he arrives on the scene the picture starts to come alive. But to sit taking in nothing but an ancient fashion image for the rest of the 76 minutes is asking too much. The characters are completely uninteresting on both sides of the social divide: you might call them dull and duller. Vacuous dialogue vacantly directed. Don't be misled by the kind-hearted comments you read from people leaning over backwards to be generous.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: th wild one
Review: although the film itslef is a classic. The dvd is not much better than the vhs version. The sound and video is not at all improved and there are very few extras on it. It is nice to have in a format that will last longer, but besides that this dvd doesnt have much to offer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classic for Brando fans
Review: Brando plays Johnny, the leader of the Blind Rebels motorcycle club, who wander into a small town with one cop. Johnny doesnt like cops by the way. A rival gang, lead by Lee Marvin, heads into town to help cause trouble, with the town and the Blind Rebels. Brando is very cool in this one but, the only really convincing tough guy is Lee Marvin. Based on a real incident that most likely was not this comedic. I doubt the real bikers were this nice either. Forget about all of that and have fun with it, because Marlon is crazy, dad!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Your Motorcycle Film Collection Should Start Here
Review: Do not miss this original. Before Hollywood started mass producing increasingly awful, stereotyped, and trashy biker movies there was The Wild One. Very loosely based on actual events, this story spawned all those cheesy bike films that never even come close to The Wild One's solid storyline, great acting, and fabulous soundtrack. If you've ever suffered threw a lousy biker film, treat yourself to this wonderful film that is THE original. Just the sight of a very drunken Chino (Lee Marvin) riding into town on a Panhead to stir things up with Johnny's(Marlon Brando)Black Rebels is worth the puchase price.Long live the BRMC!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Bad Biker Flick
Review: First, this was not a movie based on a real event. What happened in Hollister was nothing more than some bikers having some fun. The media blew it up into something it wasn't. What a surprise! The picture that appeared in Life magazine was set up. They asked people to kick more empty beer bottles into the frame. It was all hype.

From that, Hollywood jumped on the bandwagon. Another surprise. Ever ready to create stereotypes, they tried to do that with the biker image. Well, the bikers in this movie were a joke. Every cliche in the book was used and there guys came off more as movie extras from a musical dressed to play bikers. Lee Marvin came the closest to anything real. Whoever gets the idea from this movie that bikers of the Hell's Angels type are a bunch of fun loving guys that will dance with each other and sing together and joke around with the local populace is in for a rude awakening.

I am a biker, but not in an outlaw gang. I ride a Harley and have been to biker bars and the like. The Wild One does not draw an acurate picture. Brando and his "gang" would be eaten alive in today's biker culture. Granted, today's biker scene is diverse. It runs the spectrum from the 1%ers (outlaw gangs) to the yuppie RUBs (rich urban bikers). Along the way, there are many poseurs who affect the outlaw image. They come across as the bikers in this movie. All bark and no bite.

In short, this is a Hollywood version of an event that did not happen as reported, portraying the principles in a stereotypical and inaccurate way, bearing no resemblence to reality. Think how a John Wayne war movie compares to Saving Private Ryan and you get the idea of how The Wild One compares to real outlaw bikers.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Lee Marvin makes it watchable
Review: For indepth plot analysis, check out some previous reviews. Most everyone knows who the characters are and what this flick is about. But it all boils down to the fact that this is a pretty square picture, made by a bunch of squares, all trying desparately to be hip and capture the essence of something entirely new and elusive, which was Beat coolness, crossed with postwar veteran angst.

The original event that this is (loosely) based on, a motorcycle rally in Hollister, CA in 1947, is very misunderstood and little known outside of biker circles. But there was a sea change underway in the American psyche - one could almost say that the 60's started there, as much as anywhere. "The Wild One" tries to capture this notion, but this film has a very tone deaf quality to it. They all know the words, but they can't carry a tune.

The one shining star here is Lee Marvin, who is (as usual) so perfect it's scary. It's like he wandered onto the set from another picture being made next door, or something, so clearly does he outclass the rest of the pack. He is worth the price of admission, and is the perfect portrait of the disillusioned WW2 vet out to By God enjoy a little of the freedom for which he endured so much hell.


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