Featured Audience Ratings

• Bruce B

  
  An outstanding film, one of the unheard of Brando films, a young Brando at that. I came across a review in Shock Cinema Magazine the reason I got this film, and it was everything I expected by the review. Brando plays a agent for the British Government in the 1800's and he starts… More
  An outstanding film, one of the unheard of Brando films, a young Brando at that. I came across a review in Shock Cinema Magazine the reason I got this film, and it was everything I expected by the review. Brando plays a agent for the British Government in the 1800's and he starts a revolt against the Portuguese colony in the Caribbean. This film made in 1968 was I am sure something seen in very few movie houses, maybe underground or 42nd Street, but I doubt it was in the local Movie Mart. How does one rate Evaristo Márquez performance, there is not enough stars. Over all the movie is worth 5 stars.

• Walter M

  
  In "Burn!" Santiago is dead, having been tortured and decapitated by the authorities for being the leader of a rebellion in the Portugese colony of Queimada. That leaves Sir William Walker(Marlon Brando) of the British Admiralty at something of a loss, as he was… More
  In "Burn!" Santiago is dead, having been tortured and decapitated by the authorities for being the leader of a rebellion in the Portugese colony of Queimada. That leaves Sir William Walker(Marlon Brando) of the British Admiralty at something of a loss, as he was orchestrating the whole thing. So, he picks Jose Dolores(Evaristo Marquez), a lowly porter, to lead the ex-slaves while he employs Teddy Sanchez(Renato Salvatori) to handle it from another angle. "Burn!" reminds me a lot of the discussions about international development I remember from college(ah, the good old days!), except this movie is a lot more entertaining in detailing how natural resources are more important to colonial powers than human lives, even while paying lip service to human rights. All the while, talk of independence is being manipulated, as control moves from one power to another. Walker may feel that he is above and better than this but he is no different, with more than one master himself. Actually, he is a bigger manipulative bastard than them all. As good as he is at his profession, he cannot control everything, due to some events taking on a life of their own and are bigger and more complicated than mere mortals can handle.

• Mike T

  
  Director Gillo Pontecorvo makes a wise choice in his employment of a gritty, bare-bones visual style for this picture. It serves very well to soak up the atmosphere and establish a strong mood. This is a terrific story, and it could have been a great movie, but unfortunately it's… More
  Director Gillo Pontecorvo makes a wise choice in his employment of a gritty, bare-bones visual style for this picture. It serves very well to soak up the atmosphere and establish a strong mood. This is a terrific story, and it could have been a great movie, but unfortunately it's hindered by structural problems and some uninspired staging. The most impressive thing about this is, of course, Marlon Brando (who once told Larry King that he considered his work here to be the finest in his career). His character portrait is enrapturing, honest and extravagantly textured. I would rank this among his strongest performances.

• Kit X

  
  In some areas, this film actually manages to be a progression from Pontecorvo's masterpiece Battle of Algiers, but unfortunately, the 'sinking lips' mask what may have been great performances making it hard to engage with the characters. The audio quality is most… More
  In some areas, this film actually manages to be a progression from Pontecorvo's masterpiece Battle of Algiers, but unfortunately, the 'sinking lips' mask what may have been great performances making it hard to engage with the characters. The audio quality is most disappointing with regard to Brando's character William Walker. Walker is a cunningly constructed Machiavellian manipulator reminiscent of a Lady Macbeth (with less guilt) and Iago (with arguably less motive) that is, nonetheless (and most impressively), believable. William Walker is potentially one of the greatest roles in film history played by one of the greatest actors of his generation. Sadly, the character, performance and film are diminished by poor quality audio (at this point I feel that it is important to not that I am not referring to the film's excellent musical score). Although the score may benefit from digital re-mastering the dubbing of actors' dialogue would not, and therefore Pontecorvo's Burn may never surpass being an almost great film. An admirable effort, smartly constructed narrative held back by dodgy audio - close to greatness.