Spiegelbild im goldenen Auge (1967)

Spiegelbild im goldenen Auge: Directed by John Huston. With Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Brian Keith, Julie Harris. Bizarre tale of sex, betrayal, and perversion at a military post.

“Director John Huston paints life at a Georgia army base in odd pinkish and amber tones to point up its off-color nature beneath its khaki uniformity. Reflections features Brando as a Colonel, supposedly courageous and a leader of men, who turns out to be weak, cowardly, hag- ridden, and unsure of his sexual orientation. It was one of his best, most creative and least likely performances, and shocking to audiences of the time. If anybody but Brando had played that character it would have scarred his career and maybe ended it. Just taking on the role was a brave move, but he did so much with it to bring out the manu0026#39;s un- Brando nature. Bold, brilliant and daring as a lead performance, he plays off wonderfully against Taylor in one of her patented bitch queen roles as an unsatisfied man-eater stifled by the regimentation of living as an army wife. The scene in which she flogs him for a weakling in front of dinner guests is shocking to watch but wonderfully evocative of the nature of their relationship roles. Tayloru0026#39;s infidelity and Brandou0026#39;s weakness become two sides of the same co-dependent coin. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eReflections was a watershed film in its day but at the same time years ahead of its day. It flopped at the box-office because the mid-60s were just not ready for it.”