World Theatre Brand (1959– ) Online

People who only know Patrick McGoohan as a 60's action star or William Wallace's nemesis in Braveheart should see this if they get the chance. This award-winning performance is his most demanding dramatic role; not many actors could make an audience pity a man who was so unlikeable or pull off the balancing act on the edge of sanity this role requires.

Brand is a priest tormented by his calling. He believes man can only achieve salvation if he is willing to give all to God; if a person doesn't give all then he might as well be giving nothing. He also believes man's own worst enemy is inside himself; it's man's own wish for comfort and status which saps his will to give all to God.

Because of this philosophy, he impresses his childhood village with an act of heroism (insanity?) in the name of faith and they invite him to stay on as their priest, but he also refuses last rights to his mother, loses his child (whom he later refers to as an "idol") and then his wife, and attempts to lead his congregation on a march to the death for their own salvation.

The congregation stone him and leave him for dead in the mountains. In his delerium a vision of his wife appears, which he dismisses as an act of the Devil. But suddenly, momentarily lucid at the point of death, he feels the full weight of all he has lost and begs God to tell him what secret he has missed if the will to give "All or Nothing" is not enough to enter heaven.

This is a truly breathtaking performance that is not for the timid. But it's a thinking movie which requires concentration and suspension of disbelief, so you should wait until you're in the mood to think before watching it.

As we approach 2009, you'll need as much WILL as Pastor Brand himself to sit still through this. It's black and white, it's stagey, it's staged and it's quite long..... plus there aren't even any advert breaks..... so don't drink too much before you sit down.

It's all the things we cannot stand in the 21st Century. Back in 1959 this was broadcast on the BBC, in 'Primetime'(9pm) on a Sunday evening. That's how much the tastes of the Western world have changed. Oh, and remember that the BBC did not have adverts and there were no video-tapes with pause buttons...... if you had to leave the room, you missed a bit and that was that.

So, when you watch this, sit down on your chair. Don't squirm and fiddle, keep still and focus on the screen. By the end you'll have some idea of what life and philosophy in 1959 was like. If you haven't got the will, don't bother watching - you'll hate it.