Top Billed: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter
Release: 1951 - B&W
AFI Rank: 47
The first of several movies on the list starring the great Vivien Leigh and the great big Marlon Brando (before he ate that girl..he was gorgeous), based on the play by Tennessee Williams, was hardly what I expected. It took us two sittings, nearly a week apart, to actually view in its entirety. No fewer than three times did one of us ask "What the fuck is going on?" Realistically, this movie is extremely difficult to sit through if you're not into theatrics or blocking. It's shot as it would be seen on the stage, and in that regard, is done almost flawlessly. Unfortunately, it's the rest of the movie I have problems with. Yes, there really is a streetcar named Desire. They mention it more than once actually. The story is, as best we can tell, Blanche Duboise, having recently lost their family plantation, travels to New Orleans to stay with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley. The rest is, I guess, Blanche losing her fucking mind. Everybody is angry, everybody including the pregnant Stella smokes, violence against women is par for the course and everyone speaks so quickly that I'm fairly certain I missed at least 45 minutes trying to decipher the previous sentences. The pivotal line? You know the one. Yeah, that happens twice. And neither of them is especially melodramatic. I can't for the life of my figure out why THAT'S the scene people clung to. The whole thing is fairly forgettable. I'm sure I'm skipping a ton of valuable information here, and if we were doing a list of "100 movies that you may or may not remember later" or "100 quirky films that somehow won incredible awards" this would surely be among my highest rated. Since we're not, here's this: Watch it for yourself, or don't. If it was your type of flick or going to change your life any, you'd have seen it.
Three Things We Learned:
1. New Orleans has ALWAYS been a disgusting city.
2. If we had a time machine to take us to the 50s, we'd also need a 50s to English phrasebook.
3. Seriously, they hit women..a lot.
Rating*: 2 1/2 stars It's dark, it's beautifully depressing and Marlon Brando isn't afraid to smack a bitch.
*The ratings system in place now is the one we'll use for the duration of the project. It's based on staying power, lines we can easily quote later, enjoyability of viewing and personal opinion. Obviously we're using stars ranging from One Star being..Showgirls, and Five Stars being..The Princess Bride.
