This is one of those movies where you've seen so many clips from it that you think you've actually seen the whole film. I had not seen the whole film until recently. I was inspired to rent it on DVD after the death of Karl Malden. I'm glad I did and I would encourage any movie fan to watch it for the first time or watch it again.
As is fairly well known now, the play was a smash hit and the entire cast including director Elia Kazan was brought in to do the movie. Everyone except Jessica Tandy. Tandy had played Blanche DuBois on stage but Vivien Leigh was asked to play her on screen because the studio wanted a big name actress.
Everyone talks about Marlon Brando's performance as Stanley Kowalski and justifiably so. However, the other performances are equally as strong. Kim Hunter is tremendous as Stella Kowalski. Karl Malden brings his "A" game to Mitch. At first, you may think Leigh is over-acting. But I realized about a third of the way into the movie that it was Blanche who was over-acting -- trying desperately to be something that she simply was not.
Everything works here to turn up the tension -- sexual and otherwise. The New Orleans setting. The terrific jazz score. The broodishness and brutishness of Brando. The sounds of the streets. It's all there.
Streetcar was nominated for 12 Oscars and won four including Best Supporting Actor for Malden, Best Actress for Leigh and Best Supporting Actress for Hunter.
I recommend renting the special edition DVD with the Director's Cut of the movie. It only adds three or four minutes but those three or four minutes really heighten the sexual tension of the film and were removed by censors for the 1951 release. The second disc in the two-disc set contains interviews with Kazan and Malden, both of which were great to see.
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