Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Deluxe Edition)
I'm not sure what I had anticipated this movie to be, kind of the same I had with A Street Car Named Desire. I know I've talked about it in the past, but it's become one of those movies that everyone has seen and swears it's great but can't really pinpoint what makes the movie so great. It also makes me wonder if there's a group of my friends who just get together and watch these movies together when I'm not around, almost like it's a secret society of some sort. Well the joke is on you suckers! I'm finally catching up on all of those movies that you've seen and that I have not.
After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)
I wasn't really sure what I had anticipated with the movie, and I'll admit I wasn't sure which direction it was going to go in when the movie first started. I loved the fact that Cat didn't think twice about getting back at the little brat in the opening sequence. Admit it, we all have moments when we wish we were able to get away with something like that. Once I had realized though where the movie was going, I was on board and I absolutely loved the story. Much more so than A Street Car Named Desire.
Before the 365 Movie Challenge, I hadn't seen any of the movies Elizabeth Taylor started in. I know that's bad and even worse because I studied film, but I'm starting to right all of my wrongs. It finally took watching this movie to finally realize how great Elizabeth Taylor was. I mean, yeah I liked her in Cleopatra, but that was a hard movie to get through. I'll extend a courtesy warning for those who haven't seen the movie, Cleopatra is almost four hours long!
I think there are just a couple of quick things to note about the movie though: I learned after watching the movie there was a strike within the Musicians Union, and as a result the movie lacks a traditional score. This left MGM in a bit of a tight spot, the studio was left to scramble and assemble a series of prerecorded pieces from the music library.
There was also a bit of controversy that surrounded the movie, when Tennessee Williams reportedly told people, "This movie will set the industry back 50 years. Go home!" This leaves me wondering though what was the last straw? Perhaps it was the changes made to the screen play, like the gay references, that seemed to put Williams over the edge. So much for Williams attempt to stop people from seeing the movie though, it would go on to be one biggest box office hits of 1958, be nominated for six Academy Awards and two Golden Globes.
Final thoughts: This movie was every bit worth keeping a day past due from the library. It's most certainly a movie that I'm glad I waited until now to watch, because I don't think it would have meant as much to me if I had seen it while I was in high school. It's also one of those movies that you almost have to be in the mood for, and I would imagine people really only see it a couple of times at most.
PROGRESS BEING MADE 137 DOWN 228 TO GO
Next up: An Officer and a Gentleman
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