The Feature
When A Streetcar Named Desire made its Broadway debut, audiences were captivated by a young, unknown actor named Marlon Brando. Although he had only a supporting role as the violent, yet somehow charming Stanley Kowalski, he turned the balance of the play around completely. Playwright Tennessee Williams intended it to be the story of the fading Southern Belle Blanche DuBois - instead it became, as co-star Karl Malden put it, "The Marlon Brando" show. When it came to adapting the play as a film, director Elia Kazan figured he could shift the balance back to Blanche (Vivien Leigh) through camera work and editing. But not even that could prevent the inevitable. With one of the best performances ever to grace the big screen, Brando out acts his more than able co-stars and turns the Pulitzer-Prize-winning play into an unforgettable event.
Set in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the drama is set in motion with Blanche DuBois arriving in the city. Exiled from her Mississippi home for seducing a schoolboy, she takes the titular streetcar to her sister Stella (Kim Hunter). Claiming to be expelled of her home due to financial calamities, she arouses the suspension of Stella's brute husband Stanley. More than once the two polarizing characters collide, each dispute cracking the ladylike shell of Blanche some more. As her downward spiral accelerates, Blanche seeks refuge in the arms of Stanley's well-mannered poker buddie Mitch (Karl Malden). But when he turns out to be a lesser man than Blanche needs, she is heading for disaster...
For this DVD release Warner Brother not only cleaned up the print to a pristine level, they also deliver the cut intended by Elia Kazan before the censors stepped in. With only a few minutes added and key scenes re cut, the movie is far more suggestive than its 1951 counterpart. Among the improvements, we get more hints at Blanche's troubled history and a more sexually charged explanation of the title A Streetcar named Desire. But as good as Tennessee Williams ' play and the adaptation of Elia Kazan is, we wouldn't be talking about a Special Edition for the movie if it wasn't for the sensational ensemble. Whether it is Vivien Leigh's take as the affected Southern Belle with hidden sexual hunger, Kim Hunter being completely under the spell of Stanley, or Mamma's Boy Karl Malden - you won't see many movies with better acting. Yet it all comes down to Marlon Brando, whose performance is hailed as one of the most influential in modern cinema, yet was denied the Oscar it deserved. In a role that is prone to overacting Brando manages not only to deliver the loud, outgoing aspects of Stanley, but the more subtle side as well, creating a fascinating and challenging character - and undermining all attempts of Elia Kazan to shift the balance of the play back the way Tennessee Williams once intended it. Nevertheless in his failure Kazan managed to deliver a cinematic masterpiece.
The Bonus Material
Audio Commentary by Karl Malden and film historians Rudy Behlmer and Jeff Young
When it comes to commentaries Rudy Behlmer is as good as it gets. Whoever heard his commentaries on The Adventures of Robin Hood, Casablanca or Citizen Kane knows that you're in for a treat. He has a pleasant voice to listen to, a vast knowledge about the movies he's talking about and a sense for what the film fan is interested in. Unfortunately he has to share his time with two other collaborators, actor Karl Malden and film historian Jeff Young, all of whom recorded separately and were edited together by well-known DVD producer Laurent Bouzereau. All three of them fill their mould. Behlmer talks about the background of the play and the movie, Young gets into details about the career of director Elia Kazan and Malden delivers the anecdotes about his work on both the play and the film. It would have been nice to have separate commentaries here since Behlmer probably has even more to share about the movie, but even as it is, it is still one of the best commentaries you'll ever hear.
Documentary "Elia Kazan: A Director's Journey"
Whatever you think of Elia Kazan as a person, he was a fascinating film maker and had a remarkable career. This documentary by noted film historian Richard Schickel leads us through Kazan's career with clips from his movies and interviews with the man himself. Narrated by Eli Wallach it is an exciting 75-minute journey through the well-known (On the Waterfront, Viva Zapata!) and less-known (America, America, Wild River) works of Kazan. In the interviews, the director explains his motivations for choosing the movies he did, his methods of film making (to build tension between Raymond Massey and James Dean in "East of Eaden" he enhanced their antipathy) and the deeper meaning he tried to incorporate into his works. The only disappointment is that the documentary shies away from more controversial topics like the historic inaccuracies of Viva Zapata! or Kazans involvement in the HUAC. These things are mentioned, but not discussed or criticized. Since this is more a documentary about Kazan the director and not about Kazan the human being it is not exactly an omission, but regarding the lukewarm reception for Kazan's honorary award, some people will certainly be disappointed by this otherwise pitch-perfect feature.
Featurette "A Streetcar on Broadway"
Karl Malden, Rudy Behlmer and Richard Schickel deliver the goods on the origins of the play and its two-year-run on Broadway. Complemented with archive interviews from Kazan and Kim Hunter, this 22-minute mini-doc is simply amazing. You get background information on Tennessee Williams who, while living in New Orleans, could see two streetcars from his window, one named Cemeteries, the other Desire - only one of many fascinating revelations about the origins of the story. Then it gets to the casting where we learn that Jessica Tandy got the lead role partly because her husband Hume Cronyn was good friends with Elia Kazan, who also directed the Broadway play. This is also the point where Karl Malden joins in, sharing some interesting stories about the two years in which he shared the dressing room with Marlon Brando. The latter wasn't supposed to be in the play, but when the casting of John Garfield and Burt Lancaster fell through, he made the role and the play, his own, prompting the legendary Kazan quote "What shall I do about it? Tell him to be less good?"
Featurette "A Streetcar in Hollywood"
It's hard to believe that a play that broke records on Broadway was a hard sell in Hollywood, but moral issues lead a few studio bosses to turn down the chance of adapting it for the big screen. When they finally got Warner to commit, the next issue was the casting. Clearly Kazan wanted to get the original cast back, but the lack of stars (neither Brando, Malden or Tandy had made a name for themselves outside the theater) prohibited it, as Karl Malden analyzes it in this once again captivating 28-minute feature. In fact, he claims the only reason he and Brando got cast was that Jessica Tandy was axed in favor of Gone with the Wind-beauty Vivian Leigh, who earlier had performed the play in London under the direction of Laurence Olivier. The key players from the Broadway-featurette then go on to discuss the filming, which was done chronologically, and their character motivations. Of course the featurette ends with the mandatory awards discussion, but instead of self-complimentary statements we get a very thoughtful and sad comment by Kim Hunter for whom the Oscar did nothing because of her blacklisting, and a hilarious account of Karl Malden's first Academy Award experience. You gotta hear it to believe it, but one highlight includes Malden worrying about the whereabouts of his coat when he was called on stage to accept his Oscar.
Featurette "Desire and Censorship"
As controversial as The Da Vinci Code is today, it was nothing compared to the so-called "Hays Code", a self-regulatory control system to get rid of sex, violence and blasphemy in movies. This 16-minute long featurette details the back and forth between the Studio and the censors and the effects on the movie. As good as the other extras are, this is probably the best of the bunch, since it gives us not only insights into the movie, but as well into the times in which it was shot. Even after the "Hays Code"-bureau passed the movie it wasn't over. The catholic "Legion of Decency" threatened to condemn the movie and prompted even more changes which is illustrated by a fascination split-screen-comparison of scenes from the 1951 theatrical version and the restored version seen on this DVD.
Featurette "North and the Music of the South"
This little 9-minute segment portrays Alex North, one of the most underrated film composers in history. Nominated for 14 Oscars, he was always on the losing side until the Academy awarded him with the first and only honorary Oscar given to a film composer. We are lead through this nice portrait by a protege of North, who convinced him to re-release some of his classic soundtracks, including the 2001-score that was famously rejected by Stanley Kubrick.
Featurette "An Actor Named Brando"
In this 9-minute tribute Karl Malden goes into detail about his relationship to Marlon Brando and paints a very different picture of him than the one known to the public. It is a wonderful, and sometimes very private look back at the man who gave us some of the best performances ever before he sank into obesity and obscurity in his latter years.
Marlon Brando Screen test
Much talked about these are five minutes of newly discovered Screen and Camera tests of Brando. They are not for A Streetcar Named Desire, but for East of Eden, nevertheless they are really interesting to watch.
Video Outtakes
The term Outtakes on DVDs is wildly used. Some refer to the Gag Reel as Outtakes, others even call deleted scenes Outtakes. These 15 Minutes are neither. Instead they are alternate takes with very subtle changes from the scenes used in the final picture. This may be interesting for drama students, but for the casual DVD viewer they're probably only filler.
Audio Outtakes
These are 17 more Minutes of alternate, sometimes little extended, takes. But since you don't even get the visual here, it is of even less use than the Audio Outtakes. It doesn't hurt to have them here, but no one would be sad to see them gone either
Elia Kazan Trailer Gallery
You get three trailers for A Streetcar named Desire from different time periods plus cross-promotion trailers for East of Eden, Baby Doll, A Face in the Crowd, Splendor in the Grass and America, America.
The Bottom Line
The movie has long established itself as a classic, this DVD does the same instantly. In another successful attempt to prove they are producing the best Special Editions for catalogue titles, Warner hits it out of the park. The amazing amount of bonus material is only outdone by its quality, starting with the extraordinary audio commentary and ending with the newly discovered screen tests of one of cinemas legends.
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