The Way It's Never Been Done Before: My Friendship with Marlon Brando

by George Englund

Book Overview

Marlon Brando was the brightest, boldest, and most iconoclastic acting talent of our time. But while his courage and imagination as an artist brought applause and attention from around the world,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060786302
• ISBN13: 9780060786304
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: HarperEntertainment
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

I loved this book!!!

I loved this book. It was written with poetry (why didn't George Englund become a professional writer?) and love. His heart-felt feelings for his friend, Marlon Brando, at times brought tears to my eyes. As a woman I was touched by the bond of caring shared by these two men. This book does not show Marlon Brando as a "super hero" but as a human being with many faults and also shows that true friendship loves and understands in spite of those faults. Although there are "gossipy" stories within this books pages, it isn't what makes this book stands out. This book is about a man. A human like all of us. And what it means to be a friend and be befriended. I recommend this book, highly along with "Songs My Mother Taught Me" to all Marlon Brando fans. Thank you, George Englund, for sharing your heart with us!

Brando, Warts and All..

This is a sad and poignant memoir and a fine companion piece to Brando's autobiography. I wondered while reading it why Mr. Englund wasn't mentioned by name in the autobiography, but that is made clear toward the end of Mr. Englund's work. A few comments regarding the handful of negative reviews on this site. Brando's legacy as a great actor is not diminished in any way by some of the brutal revelations regarding his personal life. Perhaps a few sordid details could have been left out but I never got the sense that they were thrown in out of a sense of animus directed at Brando. In fact what comes through repeatedly is the author's deep affection for his subject, a mutual bond that was forged through their shared misfortune at having self-absorbed and destructive fathers. To their credit they achieved great material and artistic success in spite of the psychological burdens they both stuggled with throughout their lives. Now, as for the book itself. There is one chapter dealing with Mr. Englund's relation to his father that is absolutely riveting. Not only did I find it so but Brando himself was absorbed in this story, seeing as it touched on the same issues at the core of his own personality. There are also numerous other anecdotes that shed light on the main question: who is Marlon Brando, what is he really like when the veil of his movie star personna is lifted. In many respects it's a sad picture. It's the classic case of the mistreated child who grows up to perpetuate the wrongs that were once unfairly inflicted on him. As for his acting, he was able to overcome all obstacles and develop his great talent, though there's no doubt that the fuel that fired him was drawn from the well of his bitter early years.

A compelling look at two friends

George Englund's book is the product of 50 years of a friendship with Marlon Brando, the lives of two men and their families intertwined, loving and suffering through the best and worst times. His book portrays the pain and grief of loss, the exultation of success, and the double-edge of fame and reality. George's book goes beyond the commonplace biography, and digs down deep. I recommend reading it.

The author's son

This book comes straight from the heart. As 3rd son of author George Englund, I, George Englund Jr. am closer my dad than anyone else. I grew up with Marlon and his children; Christian, Miko, and Cheyenne. I spent time with them all in Tahiti on his atoll and worked with Marlon on several projects directly and extensively. Before giving my review on the book I must comment on the Publisher's Weakley review which misses the mark almost completely. This book was intentionally non-chronological, is in no way an attempt to document Brando's career or establish his place in film history. That is another book which I truly hope my father writes and one for which he is eminently qualified. GE Sr. was arguably Marlon's closest lifelong friend and this book is his truth about their relationship and his deepest most honest perception of who Marlon was. It was finished in an insanely compressed schedule after Marlon's death requiring the author to balance the bereavement of a lost best friend with the pressure of writing a serious comprehensive book with an extremely limited deadline. Contrary to the Publishers Weekly author, I found that Englund's take was consistently un-self centered and reflected the reality of their experiences. They are both spectacularly talented in different and similar ways. The reviewer mentioned that GE Sr.s career was never fully developed....That is an ignorant statement. It was the opposite of an ego trip. The Publishers Weekly review claimed that the narration ruled out any multi-layered insight but their shared experiences illustrate a deep and complex picture of two highly unique guys sharing a rare set of experiences. Brando was accurately revealed in this book and Englund appropriately represented his role and stature. Imagine if you had to write a book about your best friend, the greatest actor in the world, within 30 days of his death. I'm a hard grader on my dad but I think he kicked ass on this one big time. It is honest, fair and balanced

BRANDO OFF SCREEN

When I heard that George Englund was writing about his 50 year friendship with actor Marlon Brando, my curiosity of course piqued. I have met several people who have related first hand life experiences with Mr. Brando and after the many stories I've heard, he still had remained an enigma to me and probably to his millions of fans around the world. In "The Way It's Never Been Done Before" Mr. Englund gives us a rare look into the personal life, which differs vastly from his public persona. I found the book to be fascinating. It should be a big seller.