A Streetcar Named Desire Details

Desireless

I watched this thinking I'd love it, but i watched it hoping it would hurry up and end. It all seemed a bit wooden, although Marlon Brandon did look wonderful in it(!)

[Highly rated reviewer]

Unmissable

Searing adaptation of one of Tennessee Williams' finest plays, this boasts extraordinary performances all round as fading, neurotic Southern belle Blanche DuBois sweats it out in her sister's tiny New Orleans apartment, all the while circling round her feral, brutish brother-in-law. Hunter and Malden deservedly won Oscars for their supporting performances, and Leigh really gets under the brittle, terrified skin of the vaguely nymphomaniac Blanche. But it's Brando you have to watch - you have no choice. His star-making performance is sheer electricity. Wisely, director Elia Kazan avoids any gimmicks and just lets his amazing ensemble of actors get on with it, backed up with deeply shadowy cinematography and a sensual jazz score.