A Streetcar Named Desire (1984) (TV)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

John Erman

Writers:

Oscar Saul (writer)
Tennessee Williams (play)

Release Date:

4 March 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Blanche Dubois goes to visit her pregnant sister and husband Stanley in New Orleans. Stanley doesn't like her...

Plot Keywords:

Pregnant | Pregnant Sister | Expectant Mother | Expectant Father | Mental Illness

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Ann-Margret	...	Blanche DuBois
Treat Williams	...	Stanley Kowalski
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Stella DuBois Kowalski
Randy Quaid	...	Harold 'Mitch' Mitchell
Erica Yohn	...	Eunice
Rafael Campos	...	Pablo
Ric Mancini	...	Steve
Fred Sadoff	...	Doctor
Elsa Raven	...	Nurse
Tina Menard	...	Mexican Woman
Raphael Sbarge	...	The Collector
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dan Owens	...	(voice)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12

Company:

Keith Barish Productions

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on December 3, 1947 at ran for 855 performances.

Movie Connections:

Version of A Brother's Desire (1994) (V)

Soundtrack:

Til the Blues Get Gone

A Solid Remake of a Film Classic...

Ann-Margaret turned in one of the best performances of her career in the 1984 TV version of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, a well-mounted remake of the Tennessee Williams play that became the 1951 classic film that made a star out of Marlon Brando and won a 2nd Oscar for Vivian Leigh. Ann-Margaret gives an intense and chilling interpretation of Blanche, the mentally fragile southern belle who is brutalized by her boor of a brother-in-law (Treat Williams)when she arrives in New Orleans to visit her sister Stella (Beverly D'Angelo). Ann-Margret has never lost herself in a role the way she lost herself in this one, a performance that lacks the china-doll fragility of Leigh's Blanche but adds an underlying layer of strength that was missing from Leigh's interpretation. Treat Williams lacks the electricity that Brando brought to Stanley but D'Angelo brilliantly conveys the tattered emotions of the conflicted Stella. The other plus of this production is that it restores the original Tennessee Williams ending to the play which was drastically changed in the theatrical film in order for the story to be more acceptable to audiences in 1951; however, it completely dilutes the power of the original piece but it is restored to its original beauty here and packs the emotional punch felt by audience at the 1947 premiere of the play. Coupled with the performances of Ann-Margret and Beverly D'Angelo, this is a remake which can proudly stand up next to the original.