Charles Bronson and the Teachings of Mandom

A little acknowledged bit of manly wonder was Charles Bronson's Japanese-made commercials of the early 1970s, just prior to Bronson's superstar explosion. At this time, Bronson is best known for ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST by Sergio Leone and in Europe as "Il Brutto" and a massive star. In America, Bronson had yet to make DEATH WISH, which of course turned him into an icon.

Bronson's Japanese commercials were for "Mandom" men's cologne. According to Steven Whitney's paperback biography CHARLES BRONSON SUPERSTAR (Dell Publishing, 1975), Bronson signed on to do them out of nowhere. The Japanese, less than two decades after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, had already lionized the American Bronson as a manly ideal, and of a Western ideal. This is important to note, as clearly the Western movie had a huge impact on Japanese filmmaking of the 1960s, and Samurai films of Japan circled to Italy to influence the "Spaghetti Western" sub-genre which turned Clint Eastwood into a major player. So by 1972, Bronson is ground zero on an entire generation of Japanese raised on the American Western ideal, which so closely bonded to the Samurai structure of honor and loyalty.

Apparently Bronson was as gracious and humble as the Japanese commercial makers could have ever imagined. Bronson impressed them with his humility and dedication to detail, never displaying a star's self-centered behavior. This reflected Bronson's personal approach, as he was genuine and professional.

The funny part about these commercials, which by the way were gigantically successful outside the U.S.A., is how open Bronson is to ridicule and yet how honest his experience seems to be. You can't watch these commercials and think Bronson is going through the motions. He's a man enjoying being a man, without making it seem like a farce or a tough guy trailer. Hell, you can even say he's vulnerable and introspective, if you want, because there's some of that in there too.


I don't know, but I miss stuff like this. I miss the times in which something like this was made to appeal to men, and being a man wasn't something that required a falsified ego, or the backing of Nike, or a shaved hairless six-pack. Being a man was about being an individual, wholly predicated on his own experience and knowledge. It also meant using some Mandom cologne, in quantity, but if you could be Bronson for one day...wouldn't you???