"A Streetcar Named Desire" from 1951 is a brilliant adaptation of the Broadway play that catapulted Marlon Brando to superstardom. The performances in this film are formidable.
There is talk on this board of Leigh's classic style of acting versus the "method" acting of the rest of the cast, but somehow it all works beautifully. Leigh's Blanche has all the frailty and disillusionment necessary to the character, as well as the sweetness and flirtatiousness. It is a delicate, soft, heartbreaking performance. We can see her disintegrate before our eyes, first after Mitche's total destruction of her emotionally, and then Stanley's destruction of her physically.
Marlon Brando, with his bulging muscles and macho style, is the epitome of the new, non-class-conscious South, the swaggering man with the bad temper and the strong sexual hold he has on his wife. His performance needs to be appreciated as it was in the time period with all the handsome, heroic, classic leading men, well spoken, and wearing tuxes. Enter this walking, talking, overt sex machine, a real macho man with his mumbling voice, tousled hair, t-shirt, and major attitude. It was a shock. It was even a shock to Tennessee Williams, since the main character is supposed to be Blanche. It wasn't on Broadway.
Here, Elia Kazan's skillful direction and the magnificent acting brings the play into balance and shows the new south obliterate the old south of jasmine perfume, pretty frocks, and class distinctions.
Someone said Leigh's Blanche was an extension of Scarlett O'Hara had we seen her age. But Scarlett was one who changed with the times. In what was left of her mind, Blanche was stuck in the old days of manners, flirtation, and gentleman callers.
An incredible play, a beautiful film, even with the slightly softened ending. Because we know Stella will return to Stanley, no matter what he did to her sister.
The game, after all, is "seven-card stud," the last words in the play. In that game four out of seven cards are exposed to other players.
Like the game, certain aspects of human nature, such as cruelty, remain hidden. Poker is based on the ability to bluff. Stella is also trapped in a world of fantasy, perhaps even more so than her sister.
There is talk on this board of Leigh's classic style of acting versus the "method" acting of the rest of the cast, but somehow it all works beautifully. Leigh's Blanche has all the frailty and disillusionment necessary to the character, as well as the sweetness and flirtatiousness. It is a delicate, soft, heartbreaking performance. We can see her disintegrate before our eyes, first after Mitche's total destruction of her emotionally, and then Stanley's destruction of her physically.
Marlon Brando, with his bulging muscles and macho style, is the epitome of the new, non-class-conscious South, the swaggering man with the bad temper and the strong sexual hold he has on his wife. His performance needs to be appreciated as it was in the time period with all the handsome, heroic, classic leading men, well spoken, and wearing tuxes. Enter this walking, talking, overt sex machine, a real macho man with his mumbling voice, tousled hair, t-shirt, and major attitude. It was a shock. It was even a shock to Tennessee Williams, since the main character is supposed to be Blanche. It wasn't on Broadway.
Here, Elia Kazan's skillful direction and the magnificent acting brings the play into balance and shows the new south obliterate the old south of jasmine perfume, pretty frocks, and class distinctions.
Someone said Leigh's Blanche was an extension of Scarlett O'Hara had we seen her age. But Scarlett was one who changed with the times. In what was left of her mind, Blanche was stuck in the old days of manners, flirtation, and gentleman callers.
An incredible play, a beautiful film, even with the slightly softened ending. Because we know Stella will return to Stanley, no matter what he did to her sister.
The game, after all, is "seven-card stud," the last words in the play. In that game four out of seven cards are exposed to other players.
Like the game, certain aspects of human nature, such as cruelty, remain hidden. Poker is based on the ability to bluff. Stella is also trapped in a world of fantasy, perhaps even more so than her sister.