The Contender

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When Marlon Brando burst onto stage and screen in the late 1940s, he fundamentally changed the way other actors perceived their craft. The charismatic, enigmatic Brando was immediately heralded as the "American Hamlet." His approach was natural, honest, and deeply personal, resulting in performances - most notably in A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, Julius Caesar, and The Godfather - that are still without parallel. But Brando's impact on American culture extends far beyond his professional significance. He both codified and challenged midcentury American ideas about masculinity. He was also a whistleblower on American politics, an advocate for social justice, and a protestor against racism. What mattered to this son of abusive, alcoholic parents was not winning Academy Awards but aiding others who, like him, felt powerless. Yet closer to home, the wounded Brando's great empathy often failed the women in his life and his own children. Psychologically astute, masterfully research, and based on new and revelatory material from Brando's own private archives, The Contender explores the start in full, revealing his extraordinarily complex life as never before