I know most will say the original 50's version of A Streetcar Named Desire is without competition and that this adaptation shouldn't even exist, but if people could get over their prejudices and watch it for what it is, they might enjoy it.
Not only is this take on the material more faithful to the original play (by the time the 80's rolled around, you could get away with more on TV than you could get away with on screen in the 50's), but it features a wonderful performance by Ann-Margret as Blanche DuBois. At first, Margret's interpretation of the character is a bit jarring. She's far from the nervous, shrinking violet we're so used to seeing. She has more strength than most other Blanches I've seen, but as the story progresses, one starts to see how this is simply a mask she wears to hide her fear and vulnerability. It's a wonderfully fresh interpretation of the role.
Beverly D'Angelo and Randy Quaid are equally excellent as Stella and Mitch. Treat Williams can't quite seem to escape the shadow of Marlon Brando, but he looks the part and is appropriately brutish as Stanley. Broadway vet Marvin Hamlish's music score is gorgeous and sexy.
Not only is this take on the material more faithful to the original play (by the time the 80's rolled around, you could get away with more on TV than you could get away with on screen in the 50's), but it features a wonderful performance by Ann-Margret as Blanche DuBois. At first, Margret's interpretation of the character is a bit jarring. She's far from the nervous, shrinking violet we're so used to seeing. She has more strength than most other Blanches I've seen, but as the story progresses, one starts to see how this is simply a mask she wears to hide her fear and vulnerability. It's a wonderfully fresh interpretation of the role.
Beverly D'Angelo and Randy Quaid are equally excellent as Stella and Mitch. Treat Williams can't quite seem to escape the shadow of Marlon Brando, but he looks the part and is appropriately brutish as Stanley. Broadway vet Marvin Hamlish's music score is gorgeous and sexy.