Thursday, November 17, 2005

50s' vs 90s'

went to the library on Monday for a video session, supposedly for a better understanding of the play, but i doubt it since the accent in the movie is hard to decipher, even for an accent junkie like me (*bleh*)...the movie in question was 'A Streetcar Named Desire'......the one that my class watched was the 1951 version starring Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando... it was quite funny watching the acting in the 50s' as it's a bit stage like, meaning the performances are geared more towards theater and stage drama, although it could be because of the nature of the script......i quite enjoyed it though......

but then the video session was cut short due to some tech glitches...so only watched like 30 minutes of video before went to see the project supervisor......

so today joined other class's session, hoping to at least watch the later portions of the movie...instead, ms. Simone played the 1995 version, with Jessica Lange, Alec Baldwin and Diane Lane....i was like, "sien lah...show the 50's version la, with Brando one, he's more cool la..."

personally, i liked the 50s' version better than that of the 90s' coz of the acting and stage design, it's got more of a theater feel to it....to be fair, both actresses playing Blanche was perfect la, what with all those dramatic Southern-accent speeches and those dame-like mannerisms (all perfectly captured by Ms. Simone in her lecture)......but my problem lies in Baldwin's portrayal of Stanley. Don't get me wrong, i like Alec Baldwin, some of his acting are quite enjoyable (check out The Cooler and his cameo in Friends season 8), but his Stanley just dun cut it, not when compared to Brando's suave portrayal. (during my class viewing, the laughs came when he lights the match by scratching it on his pants...COOL) Baldwin's obvious Bronx accent sticks out like a sore thumb. The only good thing is when he gets all angry and violent.

and Ms. Simone just fast forward to "get to the important parts", but the parts i enjoyed watching most is fast forwarded, and boring exposition scenes are played instead, phooey.......i'd rather spend 2+ hours watching the movie than sitting through important parts like that......dunno whether can book a time with the library and watch or not...jz me all alone...and maybe a few souls who are vaguely interested......

in the end, i still dun get the ending, but that's becoz i haven't read the book. anyone care to enlighten me?

click here
for Roger Ebert's review and his observation on Marlon Brando's method acting.

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