This is a special feature included with the DVD for "A Streetcar Named Desire" and it specifically is focused on the difficult path getting this play on the screen. That's because the play is filled with adult content--exactly the sort of stuff Hollywood and the Breen Office would NOT allow. For example, the main character is raped--a HUGE problem in the more sanitized 1950s. And it couldn't just be cut out--it is THE major pivot point of the play! And, to make it worse, the rapist is NOT punished but the victim is at the end of the story! They also couldn't talk directly about Blanche's past--she was a VERY experienced lady who'd slept with LOTS of men. When Kim Hunter talks about the play and film (she was in both), she talked about things that were not included in the film--such as references to Blanche's husband being a homosexual! Then, the problems with getting the film past the Catholic Legion of Decency were discussed in an interesting manner--showing the cut and uncut sections of the movie. In all, the trimmed portion was just four minutes and the cuts seem pretty tame today--but it at least got the movie a B-rating from this organization--indicating it had objectionable material but was not condemned. Interesting--and thankfully we today have that missing footage.
2 Reviews
Great Look at Cutting Streetcar
Michael_Elliott25 February 2012
Censorship and Desire (2006)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Rudy Behlmer, Karl Malden, Kim Hunter and Richard Schickel are interviewed for this 17-minute featurette that takes a look at the various censorship problems A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE ran into back when it was trying to be made and released. Behlmer starts off talking about the pre-production issues that the Hayes Office had with the film and these three things had to be addresses before they could start filming. The three main issues were the Blache/schoolboy dialogue, the homosexuality/suicide of her husband and then the rape sequence. We hear what compromises had to be made and then we get into the post-production stuff where the film got passed but then the Catholic League of Decency gave the film a Condemned rating so more edits had to be made. During this section we get to see the cut and uncut clips side-by-side so that you really get a great idea of the various changes that were forced. Fans of the film are certainly going to enjoy seeing this as it really does give you a complete idea of what issues Warner and Elia Kazan were working against just to get the picture made. We also hear about how the deleted scenes were found with the negative and eventually re-released in 1993.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Rudy Behlmer, Karl Malden, Kim Hunter and Richard Schickel are interviewed for this 17-minute featurette that takes a look at the various censorship problems A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE ran into back when it was trying to be made and released. Behlmer starts off talking about the pre-production issues that the Hayes Office had with the film and these three things had to be addresses before they could start filming. The three main issues were the Blache/schoolboy dialogue, the homosexuality/suicide of her husband and then the rape sequence. We hear what compromises had to be made and then we get into the post-production stuff where the film got passed but then the Catholic League of Decency gave the film a Condemned rating so more edits had to be made. During this section we get to see the cut and uncut clips side-by-side so that you really get a great idea of the various changes that were forced. Fans of the film are certainly going to enjoy seeing this as it really does give you a complete idea of what issues Warner and Elia Kazan were working against just to get the picture made. We also hear about how the deleted scenes were found with the negative and eventually re-released in 1993.
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