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A Streetcar Named Desire: The Original Director's Version | Year: 1951 Classification: Themenwelten - Highlights unter 15 EUR - Komödie & Drama Directed: - Elia Kazan - Glenn Jordan Actors/Actresses: - Vivien Leigh - Marlon Brando - Jessica Lange - Alec Baldwin A small work of art that has stood the test of time This 1951 award-winning film was directed by Elia Kazan and based on a play by Tennessee Williams. Set in New Orleans shortly after WWII, it starred Marlon Brando, then just 27 years old, in the performance that set his career in motion. Cast as Stanley Kowalski, the rough loudmouthed husband of Stella, played by Kim Hunter, he struts around in a torn tee shirt, his body all muscle and sweat, and there's a raw animal magnetism to his performance. When Stella's sister, the tragic fading beauty Blanche Dubois, played by Vivian Leigh, suddenly comes to live with them, the tension mounts. Filmed in black and white, most of the action takes place in a cramped two-room apartment, and in the street directly outside. The dialogue leads the viewer to understand the characters on an ever-deepening level, and the facial expressions and physical actions heightened the emotional realism. Brando smashed dishes and threw a radio out a window and often acted like a caged animal. The screen sizzled with raw passion during the romantic scenes between him and Hunter, where he reveals just enough tenderness to give him added appeal. I understand that a few minutes of footage in the scenes between them were added to the video, which had previously been censored out, and I could see the difference this made. All the casting was excellent, and Karl Malden, in a supporting role as Brando's buddy who courts Blanche was great. I couldn't help thinking about Vivian Leigh in "Gone With The Wind", which had been made a dozen years before, and felt the role of Blanche was just perfect for her. In "Streetcar" she's actually 38 years old with lines beginning around her eyes and slightly loosened skin. Even though some of the dialog was a bit mumbled, and some of the scenes just a little more talky than they would be today, I loved the fact that the action came from the internal conflicts and acting abilities of the characters, and didn't need any modern special effects to add to the realism. "Streetcar" is a small work of art and has certainly stood the test of time. Highly recommended. AFI's Great Love Stories: #67 A Streetcar Named Desire In "A Streetcar Named Desire" Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski gives what is clearly the best acting performance not to win an Academy Award (he lost to Humphrey Bogart in "The African Queen"). Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois, Kim Hunter as Stella Kowalski, and Karl Malden as Mitch all won in their respective acting categories. Years later, with "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" this same thing happened, with both of the ladies winning that time around. Tennessee Williams' play is one of the major works in American drama, especially after the Second World War, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1947 (with Jessica Tandy as Blanche the only cast change from the film; although I should point out Leigh opened the play in England on stage). Although Brando's performance is riveting, representing the new "modern" method of acting at its best, the play is really about the mental and moral disintegration of Blanche, a neurotic former Southern belle whose genteel illusions are no match for the brutish realities of her brother-in-law, Stanley. The fact that Hollywood changed the ending to reflect conventional morality remains one of the great sins in movie history, but I have always thought the fact Brando's legendary stage performance was essentially preserved on film offsets that in the final judgment. Leigh's performance is often seen as an extension of the Scarlett O'Hara role that made her famous, but of course now we know her personal life was as tortured as the character she was playing. I heard an argument once that "A Streetcar Named Desire" was, at least on some level, a reponsible by Tennessee Williams to Eugene O'Neill's play "The Iceman Cometh" (then again, I have heard the same argument made, more forcefully to be sure, regarding Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"). O'Neill's classic play deals with the human need for illusion and hope as necessary weapons against despair. If you are teaching American drama in the 20th century, then using these plays in any combination you might like could be quite provocative for your students. Personal aside: I was in New Orleans once and actually saw the bus named "Desire," which had replaced the city streetcars. There was certainly an odd little moment. Most significant line: It does not seem right to talk about romantic lines with any of these characters, but there is a line that is one of the greatest character epitaphs ever. Of course, this is at the end where Blanches says to the doctor, "Whoever you are, I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers." I have usually found that at some point in a play there is a line that defines the character so well it could serve as their epitaph. This line is as clear an example of what I am talking about as you could ever hope to find. If you like "A Streetcar Named Desire," then check out these other films on the AFI's list of 100 Greatest Love Stories: #48 "Last Tango in Paris" and #89 "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Why? The former give you Brando in another sick love relationship and the latter is the other great American drama on this list. some of the best the screen has ever seen Vivien Leigh, well-known for her portrayal of Scarlett O'Hara in 1939's "Gone With the Wind", plays Blanche, a Southern belle as fragile as Scarlett is strong. In a way, Blanche is what Scarlett would have become if she had watched her mother die. "Death is very pretty compared to dying," she tells her sister Stella, who only came home for the funeral. Stella is pregnant and married to Stanley (the inimitable Brando) who both abhors and is fascinated by his sister-in-law Blanche (and not just in a platonic manner.) Blanche in turn is interested in meeting new gentleman callers, as her great love once killed himself (as she tells us in one of the most riveting scenes in movie history.) Interesting note: the delivery boy she flirts with is Mickey Kuhn, who once played Leigh's nephew Beau in GWTW. Blanche is so fragile that she has no choice but to break. Unfortunately, others hurry her down that path. Perhaps the worst thing one can do, it seems, is depend on the kindness of strangers. Buy A Streetcar Named Desire at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on A Streetcar Named Desire Search with the Priority Search Engine on A Streetcar Named Desire This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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