Wednesday, July 14, 2010

#8 A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Based on the acclaimed play by Tennessee Williams, Marlon Brando stars as Stanley Kowlaski and Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois in this tale of carnal attraction and classism. After loosing the family plantation to creditors, Blanche moves in with sister Stella and husband Stanley to escape from her past, but instead is faced with it by her brute of a brother in law as they continually go head to head.

I gotta say this has been the hardest so far to write about because I'm still not really sure what it was about. This is one of those films that time has an affect on. Heck, this was made almost 60 years ago. Although the issues that they deal with are relevant today (domestic abuse, racism, classism) it still felt very um, confusing as to what the point of the movie was. Either way I got to see a very young, very good buff and good looking Marlon Brando yell out "STTTTTEEEEEELLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

Well worth watching for no other reason than for Karl Malden's performance. It's no wonder he won an Oscar. I gotta admit, that even though I've seen Gone With the Wind like 12 times, I didn't realize that Vivien Liegh was playing Blanche. I think that is a the sign of a great actor when they so become the role that you don't know who they are. Gary Oldman is a genius at that.

Can't wait to go back to New Orleans now.

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