A Streetcar Named Desire

Elia Kazan's 1951 cinematic version of Tennessee Williams's classic play is a Hollywood landmark, both for pushing the subject matter envelope and for showcasing the more naturalistic “method” performance approach that Kazan and actors Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden brought to the original Broadway production. The film was both controversial (the Legion of Decency pressured Warner to cut Kazan's original final-release version by three minutes) and a sensation, earning 12 Academy Award nominations and taking home four Oscars, including Best Actress for Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois, a deluded flower of the old South; Best Supporting Actress for Hunter as Stella, Blanche's sister; and Best Supporting Actor for Malden as Mitch, Blanche's gentleman caller. But it was Kazan's searing direction and Brando's raw performance as Stella's working-class husband, Stanley Kowalski, that riveted audiences and made Streetcar a vibrant work for the ages. The deleted scenes were rediscovered in the early 1990s and restored for a new release in theaters and on home video, and in 1999 the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry. The Blu-ray debut features the restored work, along with extras including the feature-length documentary Elia Kazan: A Director's Journey, audio commentary by Malden and film historian Rudy Behlmer, five featurettes, outtakes, and Brando's screen test. An essential addition to any library of great American cinema, this is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (S. Axmaker)