If you compared the movie A Streetcar Named Desire with the actual playwright you would see that there are many differences between the two, mostly with the characters. In the actual play that we read in the book, the characters did not seem as dramatic as they were portrayed in the movie I think that this was because while I was reading the play I had to imagine what they could have done and how they could have reacted, and in the movie we got to see how the characters really were.
Blanche to me seemed more insane in the movie than she did in the play. For instance when she was playing dress up in all of her riches and pretending to be at some fancy party she was definitely fit for a straight-jacket. We saw a completely different side to her. Another part of the movie where I noticed something wasn't right in that head of hers was when Mitch came over to see her and she was acting really frazzled while she was looking for something to drink. This also made her seem like a full blown alcoholic. In the reading it does really make Blanche out to be that much into drinking because she always said things like, "I never touch the stuff." The playwright never really made her out to be insane as much as the movie did. Another thing about Blanche was that she appeared to have a thing for Stanley that I never really picked up on while reading the play. In the movie we saw some of the looks that she gave him and she seemed to be giving him the come hither eyes. I feel like Stanley kind of picked up on this and maybe at first he thought that he could have sex with her but when she resisted he just pushed further because he must have thought she was playing hard to get but she wasn't at all. The movie really brought to life this little quirk about Blanche. In the playwright Blanche appears to hate Stanley more than anything I mean she calls him names makes fun of the way he lives and appears to hate everything about his life and can't see why her sister is married to him. Which is why in the movie it shocked me to see her showing any sort of kindness and even an attraction towards Stanley. Another thing that I noticed was different was the fact that in the book it made Blanche out to be so much better than the city that Stella and Stanley lived in. Although in the movie it seemed as though she fit right in. Also the book didn't make it seem like Blanche stayed with Stella that long but in the movie it seened like she had been living with Stella and Stanley for months. Blanche's character held many differences between the movie and the playwright.
Stella in the movie actually seemed more flirtacious and like she had more control over everything than she did in the play. The way that she came down the stairs after Stanley hit her. She made that man drop to his knees for forgiveness. Oh what I wouldn't give to have that control over men. She came down the stairs really slow and seductive-like and gave him those sex-kitten eyes that in the book I would have never imagined her doing. The book made her out to be this innocent woman who let people walk all over her. This was not the case in the movie. I really grew to give Stella more respect while I watched the movie. She also seemed to stand up to Stanley a lot more in the movie, at times she really rips into him.
Other than these two characters the others seemed to remain the same to me. Mitch seemed like he was portrayed differently except for the fact that in the movie he seemed to stand up to Blanche a lot more. And Stanley never really changed although actually witnessing what he did to Blanche and seeing how he forced himself on her made me hate him but in the book I loved his character because he was the only one who stood up to Blanche and saw her for what she really was.
6 comments:
I agree with a lot of what you are saying. I definately felt that Stanley was portrayed in the movie a lot like what I thought of him from the playwrite. The points that you brought up about Blanche also were apparent to me. She definately did seem more attracted to Stanley in the movie. Especially when they first met. The viewers are getting the first close sight of Stanley the same time that Blanche is so as we are checking him out it's easy to see Blanche has a similar reaction. He was obviously attractive and Blanche definately gives him the eye. I didn't really see this as much in the playwrite.
I definately like the point that you made about Blanche seeming to be hitting on Stanley. In the play it seemed as if she were disgusted by him from the start, but in the play she definately looks longer than one should at their sisters husband, especially one she is supposed to be so turned off by. The way that she looks at him and talks to him in a flirtatious manner makes you understand why he would think that she wanted him, but still raping her was way out of line. This is definately a noticable difference between the movie and play.
I agree with your thoughts on the differences between the playwright and the movie. I feel that for the time these actors were descent, but I found it very hard to watch the movie because I felt the acting was so poor compared to acting in modern day film. I agree with you though that the movie made things easier to understand in certain parts when I was unsure of what was going on because there was so much to vision in my head. It was difficult at times because there was so much detail being thrown at the reader at the same time as dialogue. However, I liked the descriptiveness Williams put into his playwright.
I really like the point you brought up about the increased sexual tension between Blanche and Stanley in the movie. This seems to explain, while not justify, the rape that seemed to come out of nowhere. Maybe they had to heighten the sexuality of both characters in order to make the rape appear more of a mistake than a malicious act on Stanley's part in order to release the movie when they did.
I agree that the apparent sexual tension between Blanche and Stanley was a lot more pronounced in the film rather than the play. In the play I think it would be difficult to illustrate the sexual tension between the characters with just dialogue and stage directions. I think that decision to elaborate on that sexual tension most likely came from the director’s interpretation of the film.
I definitly agree with you that Blanche and Stanley seemed very flirty in the movie, more than they were in the play. There were several times through out the movie, I thought about this. I dont think it was one sided either, I think they were both flirting with one another. I cant believe Stella did not realize or stay something about them flirting to one of them or both.
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