Another Elia Kazan and Marlon Brando teaming, the first one. Another classic that I viewed for the first time. I won’t pretend that I can offer anything new to the praise that has been given to this great movie. I will say this though, A Streetwhore Named Desiree would be my title for the Adult film adaptation of the story.
Archive for the ‘Elia Kazan’ Category
A Streetcar Named Desire
January 1, 2009On the Waterfront
October 10, 2008
An overlooked gem in the Elia Kazan and Marlon Brando canons. Worth finding.
In all seriousness, this is one of many classic films that I have managed to live all of this time without seeing until I caught it on TCM recently. So much has been said, but here are a couple of things that crossed my mind.
“I could have been a contender!” Unless you have been living under a rock for 50 plus years, it’s pretty hard to have missed out on the ten million cultural references to this scene. It struck me that placed in the exact context of the story; the scene manages to deliver emotional resonance despite its familiarity. That’s pretty amazing. Take that, “Life is like a box of chocolates”. The Venetian blinds in the back of the cab are hilarious. I puzzled over them until TCM’s Robert Osborne clarified that the rear projection equipment didn’t arrive in time for the scene, so Kazan improvised. Commie.
Was Brando part Basset Hound? Jesus that dude had some serious skinflaps over his eyes. Weird – I never noticed before. Strangely it only added to his believability as a former boxer in the film. Still it is selfish to keep those around when we live in a world of burn victims and fabric couches.
I like East of Eden better. On the Waterfront delivered the goods, but I have a soft spot for Kazan’s next project. I am going to be in the minority with that choice. Looking over Kazan’s body of work, I’m ready for a retrospective. I’ve not seen that many of them, but they are almost all considered classics. By the way, should I feel guilty about my own mini Kazan festival? Damned liberal guilt. I feel downright Un-American about it. To balance I should mention, I think Confessions of a Dangerous Mind was fucking genius Clooney!
