Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)

Just perfect...

Excellent but underrated film

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

among the films by John Huston, Reflectiona in a Golden Eye seems be almost a detail. interesting, beautiful. but nothing more than a detail. this verdict is far to be fair. because the dark seduction of a ball of frustrations, the performance of Marlon Brando , the fight of Elizabeth Taylor to give new nuances to her ordinaries instruments to define the same type of character are real good points who transforms this adaptation in powerful fresco of desire, frustration, game of lies and deep solitude. a fascinating story and bitter manner to tell it. memorable scenes. and inspired Rachmaninov. and the tension of fragile balance. a film who must be rediscover time by time. for its special flavor. for its caustic poetry. for its masks. and for admirable job of Brando.

"Reflections" has a fantastic cast. Brando, Taylor, Brian Keith, Robert Forster? Hard to find a better group of actors. But "Reflections" fails on almost every level. Taylor, as usual, looks lovely and plays her part well. Forster isn't given much to work with but does a good job with what he has. Brando? Well, Brando walks around looking confused and bewildered for most of the film and is totally wasted here. The look on his face after the horse beating incident is supposed to be "horrified" but comes off more along the lines of "chronic brain damage". I don't think "laughing out loud" was quite the effect Brando and Huston were going for, but that's the effect it had on me. Throughout the film the characters and their relationships are almost totally unbelievable. The only worthwhile character with any depth in the entire film is Brian Keith's Lt. Col. Langdon, who is struggling with his depression and loneliness in his relationship with his wife, ably played by Julie Harris, who is mentally unstable after the death of her child. John Huston's direction is competent and well done but his choice of the "goldtone" filter on every scene was odd and distracting. The ending manages to be shocking, unsatisfying and ridiculous at the same time. Quite a feat. I'm the kind of person who will quit a film if it doesn't hold my interest. And for whatever reason "Reflections In A Golden Eye" kept my interest. I will probably never watch it again but I am glad I saw it once.

The constant yellow tint to the film is VERY annoying. Brando is almost incomprehensible - mumbling his way thru his lines with a bad southern accent. The story is absurd. Brando is an Army Major married to Liz Taylor who is having an affair with Brian Keith whose wife cut off her nipples with garden shears after her baby died. No-nipples has an effeminate Asian houseboy who sings and dances for no apparent reason. Meanwhile, there's a PFC who like to ride horses in the buff, spend his evenings lurking in the shadows, and breaking into Liz's bedroom to fondle her underwear. Brando is attracted to the PFC and winds up shooting him in Liz's bedroom in the final scene. If this strikes you a dreadful bilge,you are 100% correct. Had it been played for laughs, it might have been slightly bearable but unfortunately it's played straight.

I saw the DVD version of this film and its print is the original golden-toned version (where the only other color that is noticeable are the reds). Apparently, audiences were NOT impressed by this weird amber look and the film was removed from circulation and released in a normal print. I would have preferred this second print, as the look of the original is hard on the eyes.This story must have really caught folks' attention back in 1967. Not only did it star two of the hottest stars of the day (Liz Taylor and Marlon Brando), but its plot was very, very adult--with themes of adultery, sadism, homosexuality, perversions I cannot classify (what's with the horse and that naked guy?!)and voyeurism! In addition, there is some nudity (I think they used a body double for Taylor in her scenes--as you can't see her face)--something very unusual for the time. Heck, even today this would make quite a stir in the theaters! This is one you have to see for yourself to believe! The film begins with Brando playing an officer in the Army. His wife has contempt for him, as he's impotent--and deeply closeted. So, she has an affair with their neighbor (Brian Keith)--a fellow officer. As for Keith, his wife (Julie Harris) is severely depressed following the death of their child and all her moments with their houseboy. As for this houseboy, he is a VERY effeminate homosexual who minces about the house to the wife's amusement (clearly the woman could have used a TV or some books). Clearly, this was not filmed in Mayberry! And, more importantly, is the film any good or is director John Huston just warming up for his next and even more super-offensive film, "Myra Breckenridge"? Unfortunately, once you peel away all the shock value of this film, you are simply left with nothing...no plot of any great interest and a waste of some talented actors. I have no idea WHAT this film was trying to say other than we are all hypocrites--though this is hard to generalize from the film since NO ONE in the film acts like anyone remotely normal or realistic. A weird misfire...but a misfire nevertheless.