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A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Rate:
10
Viewed:
2/05, 2/06, 7/11, 6/19
2/06:
Take a delicate, pretty flower.
It's all about "oh, darling," "precious things," and the like. Now, enter an animal with his greasy paws to tear it all up
and smashes everything into pieces. That's precisely what happened between Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski in
A Streetcar Named Desire, a fast, furious film that would change acting forever.
It's impossible to divert eyes away from Marlon Brando who oozes sex. To counter him is the poor
Vivien Leigh who tries her best not to be handled in such a crude way. Never again will acting be this good in a play-on-film.
All in all, A Streetcar Named Desire features two of the best actors going against each other: Vivien Leigh and
Marlon Brando.
7/11:
Out is the Old Hollywood, in is the New Hollywood which happens in one fell swoop through two hours of
A Streetcar Named Desire.
Pitting Vivien Leigh's classical acting against Marlon Brando's realism, a change of the guard has taken place. The battle
of their styles is unlike anything ever seen in cinema history, making me forget this is supposed to be a theatrical play.
All in all, Marlon Brando was robbed of his Oscar, and Vivien Leigh deserved hers.
6/19:
The most New Orleans movie ever made, A Streetcar Named Desire is the one that catapulted Marlon Brando to superstardom.
Receiving his first of four straight Oscar nominations for Best Actor, Brando lost out to Humphrey Bogart of
The African Queen. It's among the most serious mistakes the Academy made because Stanley Kowalski is a far more
famous character than Charlie Allnut is. In truth, Marlon Brando didn't bother campaigning for it which is stupid as the
Oscars should be based on merit alone.
A Streetcar Named Desire is a landmark picture in terms of acting. It represents a changing of the guard as
classical acting, which is perfectly exemplified by Vivien Leigh, goes out of the window while realism is ushered
through by Marlon Brando who radiates with sexual animal magnetism. The contrast between both styles is striking.
To be fair, Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando gave the performances of their lives. They'll always be Blanche DuBois and
Stanley Kowalski. Having seen the movie many times, I'll have to say that he treated her too harshly and that I don't think
she should've been committed; instead, because of her excellent way with words, Blanche would've made for a good romance
novelist or stage actress.
All in all, because of what Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando did in A Streetcar Named Desire, they set the bar so high
that it's never been equaled or surpassed since then.