Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

davidcarniglia Brando and Leigh fill in all of the dark corners in the New Orleans flat and its ornate courtyard, the claustrophobic, even haunting world of A Streetcar Named Desire.Many reviewers have commented on Leigh's/Blanche's affected speech, as well as Brando's contrasting inarticulateness. It's sometimes almost impossible to figure out what either of them mean to say, even if you can understand them. But I think it helps both characters: Brando's Stanley pretty much doesn't care what he says; like a more seasoned James Dean, he's action-oriented, talking just gets in the way of doing.Blanche, on the other hand, depends on talking as a sort of prop--to build herself up; thus her elaborate explanations and digressions about trivial or imaginary topics. She's all about keeping up appearances, while Stanley could care less how he looks, or even, to a certain extent, how he acts.Though Stanley is a capable person, and grudgingly respected, he's also deeply flawed. Being a wife-beater wasn't then seen as the disgusting and unacceptable behavior that it now is; but it's clearly the most obvious manifestation of his problems. He doesn't seem to feel right unless he's angry.The interesting thing about Stanley is that he can be calm, even cordial. It's as though he becomes a better person when he puts on better clothes. In a way, he's worse than Blanche, because he can control himself; but he simply has more fun being Mr. Hyde then Dr. Jekyll.Instead of fading in and out like Stanley's Jekyll and Hyde poses, Blanche gets steadily worse. In fact, the last part of the movie plays closer to horror, as Blanche's delusions give us flickering lights, ethereal voices, and the mournful lady selling "flowers for the dead." The creepy doctor from the asylum adds a final scare. He's literally come to take her away; she's undergoing a figurative death, the end of her delusional lifestyle.Maybe it's good that Kim Hunter's and Karl Malden's characters are relatively weak compared to Brando and Leigh. Otherwise, either Stella would stand up to Stanley, and Blanche would never leave, or Mitch would marry Stella, and then maybe he would go nuts. No resolution possible in either alternative plot. With all the yelling and acting out, the physical confines of A Streetcar Named Desire are dwarfed by the psychological tumult. Maybe the best film adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play.

jacobs-greenwood Brando's pleading wail "Stella! Hey, Stella!" (#45 of AFI's 100 Greatest Movie Quotes list) is just one of the many great lines in this essential Tennessee Williams drama; another is Vivien Leigh's "I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers" (#75 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movie Quotes list).Directed by Elia Kazan, Williams's screenplay earned him the first of his two Oscar nominations for Writing (he received his second for his only other collaboration with the director five years later, Baby Doll (1956)). Kazan, who received his second Best Director nomination, would win his second Oscar on his third (of five) Best Director nomination three years later with his Oscar winning Best Picture On the Waterfront (1954), which also features actor Karl Malden. In fact Malden, who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in this film, would receive his only other Oscar nomination for his Supporting role in On the Waterfront (1954). I'm guessing the playwright and the actor have nothing but nice things to say about their director.The love story is between Stanley Kowalski (Brando, who received his first Best Actor nomination) and his wife Stella (Kim Hunter, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar on her only nomination). Stella is pregnant with their first child when her older sister Blanche DuBois (Leigh, who earned her second Best Actress Oscar on her second nomination; the other was for Gone With the Wind (1939)) comes to visit.Blanche is a destitute Southern Belle who finds Stanley to be too crude for her tastes, even as his animalistic sexual energy overwhelms her. Stanley thinks Blanche is a phony, and begins checking up on her story, finding financial malfeasance and more in her recent past. Malden plays a card playing buddy of Brando's that believes Blanche is the idealistic, refined lady of the South she pretends to be, until he learns otherwise.In addition to Leigh, Malden, and Hunter, this Best Picture nominated film's B&W Art Direction-Set Decoration also won an Oscar; its B&W Cinematography and Costume Design also received nominations as did its Dramatic Score and Sound Recording. #45 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies list. #67 on AFI's 100 Greatest Love Stories list. It was added to the National Film Registry in 1999. #19 on AFI's Top 25 Film Scores list.

monsieurdreamer13 Absolute misandrist garbage! It should've been titled more appropriately thus, "SYMPATHY FOR A HARLOT". The protagonist, Blanche DuBois, is a swindler, a golddigger, a paedophile, a harlot, and a lunatic. She also drives her homosexual(not mentioned in the movie) husband to suicide. Yet all the sympathy in the movie is reserved for her because she's shown as a victim of the patriarchal society. It's the same old cry, "I wasn't bad, it's the men who made me do it." All male characters are shown as brutes/pigs and all women are shown as angels and men's victims. Compare it with the answer to this movie, Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine.

snord-94860 Absolutely fantastic, there are no two ways about it. The movie is a testament to the fact that to be great, it isn't necessary to rely on visual effects or cheap gimmicks. If any aspiring actor has a question of how to do a character, they need to refer to any actor or actress in this film because truly they do an amazing job. I can't emphasize enough how beautiful it was. What continued to add to the greatness of the film was the cinematography and production design. It was simplistic, but effective. The use of the focal points, such as the mirror and framing faces did an outstanding job of allowing the audience to connect with what was going on. The last amazing element of this film was the sound design. The only way to describe it is "spot-on." In contrast to many other films that use noises and soundtracks to distract the audience and force an emotional response, the sound design in this film simply amplified what was already brought by the plot and actors. Never did it feel out of place or overbearing, but it felt as though it was inviting me as an audience member a moment to react first and then the noise/ soundtrack was used to confirm my thoughts and feelings. The only complaint that I have was the ending. I felt the same way with "On the Waterfront," but due to the rules in film at the time when the two were made, their endings do make sense. However, it is unfortunate. Pros: Acting was astounding. Sound design was beautiful and inviting to the audience. Cinematography and production design were both simple, yet powerful. Cons: The ending. That is my sole complaint with the movie because it was absolutely brilliant.