Adrien Brody is one of the finest actors around and tackles the martial arts movie with his latest film Dragon Blade, which is out on DVD & Blu-Ray now.
Adrien Brody in Dragon Blade
Brody has shown his versatility as an actor over the years, taking on a wide range of films and roles - he is not an actor that you can accuse to sticking to the same thing with every movie that he has made.
To celebrate the release of Dragon Blade, we take a look back at Brody's career so far and pick out some of the major highlights.
- The Pianist (2003)
Hard to believe but it was 2003 when The Pianist hit the big screen here in the UK and it was the film that really sent Brody's star rocketing. At this point, Brody was no stranger to audiences but this was the performance that made everyone sit up and take notice of him.
The Pianist saw Brody team up with filmmaker Roman Polanski to take on the role of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jewish musician who is struggling to survive the destruction of Warsaw during the Second World War. Here, he witnessed first-hand the horrors of the Holocaust.
It's almost as hard for us to watch as it is for Szpilman, as the scenes director Roman Polanski creates are a devastating insight into the dehumanising experiences people were forced to endure during 1940s Eastern Europe. Brody's performance is just as chilling, from the dramatic physical transformation he goes through to the emotions he expresses despite little dialogue.
The movie was based on the book by Szpilman and is one of the most powerful and moving war movies in recent years. Brody gave the performance of his career in the film, for which he scooped the Best Actor Oscar; he was nominated alongside Nicolas Cage (Adaptation), Michael Caine (The Quiet American), Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York), and Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt).
The Pianist remains Brody's finest big screen performance and one that you must see if you are a fan of this terrific actor.
- Midnight in Paris (2011)
Midnight In Paris saw Brody team up with director Woody Allen in 2011, as he took on a supporting role in comedy/romance. Brody was part of an impressive ensemble cast, as Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, and Tom Hiddleston were just some of the other names that were on board.
The films centres on Gil (Wilson), a screenwriter who dreams of attaining the literary success of his idols Hemingway and Fitzgerald. On vacation with his fiancée (McAdams) in Paris, he is enthralled by the poetic undertones he sees amongst the Paris streets and inexplicably time-travels back to the 1920s, where he comes face to face with literary and artistic legends. Brody took on the role of Salvador Dali in the film and provided the film with some of its best comedy moments.
Allen has penned a great script and while it is dripping with nostalgia you never feel like it goes over the top - and you are left wondering what it would be like to meet the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Cole Porter.
This is a truly charming and bewitching movie that catches you attention from the opening moment before playing on our fascination with the past and people who have gone before us.
Midnight In Paris went on to pick up four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Woody Allen would win Best Original Screenplay on the night.
- The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Midnight In Paris saw Brody reunite with actor Owen Wilson, after the pair had worked together on The Darjeeling Limited back in 2007. The movie saw Wes Anderson back in the director's chair as Brody, Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman played brothers Peter, Francis, and Jack.
The movie follows the three brothers as they reunite for a 'spiritual' trip to India after Francis attempts to take his own life. This is the brothers' first encounter in over a year - their last meeting occurred at their father's funeral, for whom they spent their life competing for his affection and approval.
Not only is The Darjeeling Limited a movie that is character driven and explores the relationship between these three brothers, but it is a film that also looks at the finer beauties of India.
Brody gives a particularly strong performance in his Anderson debut as Peter, the troubled middle brother grappling with his soon-to-be role as a father. One of the most poignant scenes is when Peter has a first-hand experience with tragedy in a small Indian village, and how he reacts gives his character an added layer of complexity.
It shifts his perspectives and forces him to re-evaluate himself and the life he's been living, and the remarkable acting on Brody's end only contributes to the depth of the film.
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Brody reunited with Anderson in 2014 with the critically acclaimed Grand Budapest Hotel. Anderson brought together another great ensemble cast as Brody starred alongside Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Saoirse Ronan, Jude Law, and Edward Norton - to name but a few.
The movie follows the adventures of legendary concierge at the Grand Budapest Hotel, M. Gustave. But his life is turned upside down when he is wrongly convicted of murder.
Brody takes on the fantastic role of moustache-twirling villain Dmitri, who was the man behind the murder of his mother. While there is a real darkness to Brody's character, he plays him with a quirkiness and a humour that is typical of a Wes Anderson film. He really does deliver another fine and slightly off the wall performance from start to finish.
Grand Budapest Hotel was one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2014 and enjoyed huge success with audiences on the festival circuit.
The movie went on to be nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Anderson. It scooped Best Costume Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design.
- King Kong (2005)
Brody may be best known for the indie roles that he has tackled over the years, but the Oscar-winning actor is no stranger to the big budget blockbuster. He teamed up with Peter Jackson in 2005 for a remake of the iconic King Kong.
This is the third version of the King Kong story and saw Brody star alongside Naomi Watts as writer Jack Driscoll and actress Ann Darrow. The pair were joined on the cast list by Jack Black, Andy Serkis, Jamie Bell, and Thomas Kretschmann.
In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with leading lady Ann Darrow.
All right, this version of King Kong doesn't differ hugely from what has gone before, but that doesn't mean that it is not a terrific adventure. Jackson revealed that he was a huge fan of the original and you can see that this film has been crafted with a lot of love and respect for what has gone before.
Brody threw himself into the hero role and it was great to see him tackle a blockbuster project - I think he should take on more roles like this as he is a great action hero. He has wonderful chemistry with Watts and it is this relationship that helps drive the film forward.
King Kong was a box office smash upon release and went on to gross over $550 million at the global box office. It went on to pick up Oscars for Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects.
- Detachment (2012)
It's a wonder how this film managed to stay so under the radar considering its all-star cast: Marcia Gay Harden, James Caan, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu, Bryan Cranston and of course, Adrien Brody.
Brody takes the leading role as substitute teacher Henry Barthes, who safeguards himself from any emotional attachment by constantly changing schools. This changes when he lands a job at a struggling public school, where he becomes a role model to his students and forges meaningful relationships with them and his fellow teachers.
The film criticises the American public school system, but an area it also delves into is the notion of human loneliness. This is where Brody is able to show his emotional range and bring a unique sense of depth to the film.
Detachment marked the return of Tony Kaye to the director's chair for his first feature film Black Water Transit back in 2009. Kaye has brought us films like American History X and this was the fourth live action feature film of his directing career.
Detachment is a movie that really does have a lot of heart and it is driven forward by the terrific and brave central performance from Brody. It is these types of indie films where Brody does some of his best work and it is a shame that some of them don't necessarily get the recognition that they deserve.
- Wrecked (2011)
Brody was back with the indie genre in 2010 when he took on the central role in drama/mystery Wrecked, which saw Michael Greenspan in the director's chair. Wrecked was the feature film directorial debut for Greenspan as he made the transition from shorts for the first time.
A Man (Brody) awakens in a mangled car-wreck at the bottom of a steep cliff. He's injured, his legs are trapped, and he has no memory of who he is or how he got there. His only company - a crackling radio broadcast of a violent bank robbery gone wrong and a corpse in the back seat with a wallet identifying him as one of the perpetrators.
As the man ventures beyond the wreckage, he must rely on his primal instincts, using anything he can find in the surrounding wilderness to increase his chances of survival. Confronted with overwhelming obstacles, both real and imagined, the Man must discover his identity and face the consequences of what that might be.
For the majority of the film, Brody is the only character in the story and it is another great solo film performance - we have seen many in recent years such as Buried and All Is Lost.
The opening forty minutes as Brody's character struggles to remember what happened, who he is and where he is are truly gripping. The audience is left wondering is he the villain or someone in the wrong place at the wrong time? And you are left in a quandary of whether to have sympathy for the injured man that you see in front of you.
While the tension does sadly slip away towards the end of the film, Wrecked is a great one-man performance from the Oscar winner that is well worth watching and enjoying.
Other Adrien Brody movies that you cannot miss include The Jacket, The Experiment, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Brothers Bloom, and The Village.
Dragon Blade is out on Blu-Ray and DVD now.
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