A Streetcar Named Desire Reviews

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(!)

Brando in his spectacular role as the dashing and brutal Stanley Kowalski

Marlon Brando sets the standards for future actors in his role as Stanley Kowalski. Although there have been many more film adaptations after this one, no other actor has been able to match, or even come close to Brando's performance in this masterpiece directed by Elia Kazan.

What I mainly love about this film is Brando's peformance. He is amazing. His ability to superb ability to improvise is clearly evident and is part of what makes this film so great.

Vivien Leigh is also magnificent in her Oscar Winning Performance as Blance Dubois. This film is well worth watching and I'd recommend it to anyone.

[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.

Good in it's Day

Fantastic acting if they were on stage.

The cast in this film says - this will be good, but for modern eyes it looks like a bit of adult panto. The film would do well with a modern remake using actors who are a bit less used to being on the stage, and more on the screen. Over sized gestures and eye movments are a bit passe nowadays. Took too long - a bit of a dissapointment

Classic!

Brilliant story, superbly acted by excellent cast!

[Highly rated reviewer]

Great

Brilliant performances allround have made this film one of the all time 'greats'. vivien leigh as the neurotic blanch dubois is excellent, in fact she steals the show; kim hunter as the loving sister and suffering wife has done fantastically well; and ofcourse the enigmatic,overpowering personality of young brando is always present.

Recommended for all film buffs.

'I've always depended on the kindness of Strangers'

A fantastic tale of desire, memory, the past, sex, death, magic, fantasy, power and much more. Award winning performances by Brando as Stanley 'I'm the king around here and don't you forget it' alongside prim, insecure Blanche Dubois whose 'superior attitude is a little out of place'...Watch it today!

Brando and Leigh contrast and compliment

Having already been a massive fan of Marlon Brando especially having seen his other collaboration with director Elia Kazan (On the Waterfront), I was really looking forward to this film.

Whilst not the powerhouse that was On the Waterfront this film is definitely worth a watch. Brando is excellent as ever as the violent but often loving husband, but I was most surprised by Vivien Leigh. She was quite impressive in Gone with the Wind but she really excels in her role as Blanche, the southern school teacher whose promiscuous past comes back to haunt her as she stays with her sister and brother in law.

Maybe Leigh's own troubled personal life and depression fuelled her performance but she really does impress in Streetcar. There is obviously a contrast between the style of acting of the two leads. Whilst Brando is extremely real and uses the 'method', Leigh camps it up with the melodrama. However I felt the two styles complimented each other well.

This is mainly a dialogue driven film with very few locations and set pieces so it's not for everyone but the performances of Brando and Leigh, along with excellent support from Karl Malden and others, should be enough to keep you watching for the full 2 hours.

09/07/06.

worthy of shakespeare

This film shows why Brando's performance in Tennessee Williams' play caused such a sensation in 1947. Allied to this, the wonderful Vivien Leigh's heroine is reminiscent of a Shakespearian tragedy. Acting at its very best!

Streetcar Named Desire

Obviously this film is now dated in terms of acting style and content, but the story is a good one and the acting (although 'hammy' by today's standards) is gritty and believeable. A sad story of loss, abandonment and the spiral into despair and addiction. A cracking film!