... of two powerhouse juggernauts. Absolutely dripping with tension, acrimony and bitterness as Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski lock horns in their own uniquely individual way with the backdrop a dark, drenched and run down part of New Orleans. Coupled with a pair of superb supporting performances that amplify and escalate the whole to a unique plateau, you'll feel as though you've been run down by an out of control steam train, flattened by a steamroller to be reformed in a furnace fuelled by fear, frustration and desire.
A Streetcar Named Desire
1951
Action / Drama
A Streetcar Named Desire
1951
Action / Drama
97% - Critics
90% - Audience
7.9Keywords: sibling relationshiprapeblack and whitefamily relationshipsnew orleans, louisiana
Plot summary
Blanche DuBois, a high school English teacher with an aristocratic background from Auriol, Mississippi, decides to move to live with her sister and brother-in-law, Stella and Stanley Kowalski, in New Orleans after creditors take over the family property, Belle Reve. Blanche has also decided to take a break from teaching as she states the situation has frayed her nerves. Knowing nothing about Stanley or the Kowalskis' lives, Blanche is shocked to find that they live in a cramped and run down ground floor apartment - which she proceeds to beautify by putting shades over the open light bulbs to soften the lighting - and that Stanley is not the gentleman that she is used to in men. As such, Blanche and Stanley have an antagonistic relationship from the start. Blanche finds that Stanley's hyper-masculinity, which often displays itself in physical outbursts, is common, coarse and vulgar, being common which in turn is what attracted Stella to him. Beyond finding Blanche's delicate hoidy-toidy act as putting on airs, Stanley, a plant worker, believes she may really have sold Belle Reve and is withholding Stella's fair share of the proceeds from them. What further affects the relationship between the three is that Stella is in the early stage of pregnancy with her and Stanley's first child. Soon after her arrival at the Kowalskis, Blanche starts to date Mitch, one of Stanley's friends and coworkers who is a little softer around the edges than most of Stanley's friends. Mitch does not hide the fact that he is looking in general to get married because of a personal issue, he wanting Blanche ultimately to be his wife. Mitch is somewhat unaware that Blanche has somewhat controlled their courtship to put herself in the best possible light, both figuratively and literally. But in Stanley's quest to find out the truth about Belle Reve and Blanche's life in Auriol, the interrelationships between Stanley, Blanche, Stella and Mitch may be irrevocably affected, with any revelation about that life which may further destroy what's left of Blanche's already damaged mental state.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski
Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois
Kim Hunter as Stella Kowalski
Karl Malden as Harold 'Mitch' Mitchell
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 1.02 GB
988*720
English 2.0
PG
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
Head-on Collision...
Reviewed by
Sexy, Brutal, and Endlessly Fascinating
There is little to be said about this movie that thousands of critics have not stated already. It is a magnificent piece of cinema, with an intricate script delivered by actors at the peak of their talents. Leigh is unbearably brittle and fragile and she dances precariously on the edge of sanity. Marlon Brando embodies a sense of brooding masculinity that other men can only dream of attaining, while creating an enduring cinema icon and delivering one of the all-time great movie lines. From the raucous jazz score to the sleazy production design bathed in smoldering grey, 'Streetcar' is a class-act from beginning to end; sexy, brutal, and endlessly fascinating.
Reviewed by
Hard to watch for some, but exceptional in its depiction of horribly screwed up people!
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE is not a film you love because it makes you feel good or because of some sweet message! No, you instead watch and admire the film and perhaps love it due to its brave depiction of seemingly real people--real but severely screwed up people. In fact, considering how screwed up they are and plot, I am shocked the film got made in 1951! After all, this is a very adult film and NOT one for kids.
Blanche DuBois is an incredibly deluded and annoying woman. She lives in a world that is the way she wants it to be--not how it really is. In her screwed up existence, she is a "lady"--a person of refinement and gentility--even though she is from the lowest strata of society and you would assume survives by selling herself to men. While she says she gets by due to "the kindness of strangers", only a lunkhead back in 1951 wouldn't have known this meant she was a kept woman or street walker. Regardless, by the time the film begins, she's down on her luck. Due to the ravages of age and an annoying personality, she is without a home or support and is forced to move in with her sister, Stella (Kim Hunter) and her neanderthal husband, Stanley (Marlon Brando). However, over time, her genteel faded belle routine wears very, very thin--and apparently gives Stanley the justification in his own mind to rape her and teach her a lesson (now THAT'S sick). The trouble is, Blanche has lived and talked so much about her dreamworld that now no one believes she was raped. The film ends with the sister and brother-in-law having her institutionalized! This was a very abbreviated summary, but as you can tell, this is NOT a "feel good movie". But, it sure has some amazing performances and characters. I loved Vivian Leigh as Blanche--she was perfectly suited to play this sad, faded belle. Perhaps Leigh's own personal struggles with Bipolar Disorder helped her to get in touch with the character.
The rest of the cast were really good, but I am about to say something that will no doubt irritate many...so hold on tight. As for Marlon Brando and his much lauded performance, while much of what he did was very good, his standing in the rain and yelling "STELLLLLA" is one of the most iconic and annoying things about the film. To me, this is a prime example of overacting, while many feel this is transcendent. Unlike the other performances, his seemed to be, at times, overdone. Okay, hit the "not helpful" button now.
Still, I really am glad I saw this difficult movie--difficult to watch though thoroughly fascinating from start to finish. I nearly gave the movie a 10, but only reserve this for truly perfect films. Imagine, then, the surprise that "An American in Paris" beat out this film (along with "A Place in the sun--"The African Queen" and "Ace in the Hole didn't even get nominated in the category) for Best Picture! What were they thinking?!