A Streetcar Named Desire (Two-Disc Special Edition)
I want so much out of this movie, even though I have absolutely no idea what it's about. Why? Well, Vivian Leigh, who is better known to me as Scarlett O'Hara, is in the movie. With that kind of logic, I'm thinking it has to be great, right?
After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)
I'm not exactly sure what I thought I was getting to this movie, but it wasn't what I had signed up for or at least what I thought I was getting myself into. I guess I had anticipated a family drama set in New Orleans, but had never dreamed of the movie going in the direction that it had. I've read a couple of articles, after having watched the movie of course, and found that as the story progressed it was made to make the audience feel claustrophobic and anxious. I have to admit I'm a little surprised at how well this was executed, because I was anxious to get out the apartment and out of the movie.
And apparently, Vivian Leigh was a bit difficult during filming. I say that very sarcastically, because after watching her play Scarlett O'Hara (which I admit having a strong bias in her favor) I had always imagined her to be a bit of a diva. Or at least a diva in the way that Norma Desmond was in Sunset Blvd or Joan Crawford was in Mommie Dearest.
Final thoughts: I'm starting to realize that hindsight really is 20/20 and after the fact, I see where my logic may have steered me wrong. Although this is one of the movies that once the 365 Movie Challenge is complete, I'd like to revisit. I hadn't expected the movie to be as dark as it was, and I think going into it a second time when I'm better prepared for the movie I would get more out of watching it. I'm curious to know if anyone else has ever had the same experience, have you watched a movie under the assumption it was going to be something different than it was? Did you then watch it a second time and feel differently about the movie?
PROGRESS BEING MADE: 134 DOWN 231 TO GO
Next up: Paranormal Activity, which has been substituted for Rope after realizing I had seen the movie once before in film school.
1 comment:
To see this play in the theater with live actors may make you see it differently. Maybe not. It is very much a snapshot of the times. Also, it is directed by Elia Kaza who got to work on some of the biggest pictures of the time because he named names during the HUAC trials basically securing a job for himself while blacklisting his competition. This fact will always taint any of his movies for me.
And yes. I've gone to a movie with an opinion that was preconceived. I'm usually right. Karl Malden is my favorite.
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