Cat On A Sizzling Tin Roof (1958) [Blu-ray]

Who’s got the guts?
“I got the guts to die. What I want to know is if you’ve got the guts to live.” –The ill father says to his boozing son… The movie is a look behind the walls of a rich family. The sibling rivalry. The parents who have their favorites. The struggles with marriage, booze, lack of money, memories of past traumas. And little philosophical gems about honor, truth, mendacity, greed, legacy, and purpose punctuate the dialogue to make it heavy. Some remarks will apply to your own life and family dynamics, which gives the film relatability. Especially on the dubious value of presents and acquiring things. The big mistake was to make a husband and wife so annoying for so long during the first half hour. I almost shut it off as intolerable. If I ever saw such a scene, I’d leave the room after pushing him down and telling her to zip it. It will try you patience; skip ahead if you must. Burl Ives steals this movie with his acting. And Liz and Paul make a perfect Hollywood couple.

Truly One of the Best Movies I’ve Ever Seen
What did I like? Everything. The actors are perfect in the parts they play, even the bratty kids for the short time we see them. Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor and Burl Ives are extraordinary. It’s the story of a southern family at a particular time. Good story. I am so glad this is available on Amazon from time to time as we don’t have any premium channels with our Cable/Internet bundle. I would recommend this to any adults who have not seen it.

Great actors
Beautiful and handsome very exciting.

Tennessee Williams’ “Cat” on Film
Over the weekend, I attended a production of Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”. It was the opening production of a newly renovated theatre. The play has been selling out the house and its run has been extended. It was gratifying to find a small company offer a serious masterwork such as “Cat” as its opening production.I have long been an admirer of Williams. Some months ago, I read John Lahr’s recent biography and read or reread many of Williams’ works, including “Cat”, and viewed some of the many films based on them. I hadn’t seen the famous 1958 film of “Cat” and didn’t watch it when I was rereading Williams. But seeing the fine production of the play moved me to watch the film on Amazon Instant Video.The film stars Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie the Cat and Burl Ives as Big Daddy. Paul Newman has the other starring role as Brick. Ives and Madeline Sherwood, who plays Sister Woman, were part of the original 1955 Broadway production.Ives, Taylor, and Newman offer excellent performances as does the rest of the cast. The scenery and the setting enhance the film. Some of Williams’ themes, including the need for love, facing death, loneliness, and the inevitable tendency of people and family members to misunderstand one another are well-presented. The film, however, lacks the power and emotional rawness of Williams’ play. The problem does not lie simply in the film’s muted references to homosexuality in the relationship between Brick and his friend Skipper. The references in the play itself are more suggestive than direct. Rather the film tones down emotions and passions and the inner life, including explicatives and sexual references. It tends to become a family drama.In the play, Williams toned down the third act at the suggestion of Elia Kazan to provide an ending with a sense of hope. For the rest of his life, Williams was conflicted about the ending. The play is almost always performed as Williams revised it, and rightly so. But most texts of “Cat” include both the original and the revised third act. The ending of the film, which includes a lengthy tear-jerking scene between Brick and Big Daddy goes far beyond anything in Williams’ final version of the play. It is maudlin and unconvincing. If it does not go as far as spoiling the movie, it weakens it and Williams’ play substantially.Film is a different medium than live drama or than reading. The film succeeds on its own term and offers the many people who have not seen a live production of “Cat” or read the play the opportunity to understand something of the play and of Williams. The film is also valuable for serious admirers of Williams to see. If it is not entirely faithful to the play, it offers an interpretation and insight into it while showing how as well how the play was received into mainstream culture at the time of the film. The film is worth watching but it is not the play. Those viewers who love the film may be encouraged to explore the text of Williams’ play or to see it in a live production if they have not already done so.Robin Friedman

Elizabeth Taylor n’a jamais été aussi ravissante, aussi talentueuse qu’ici. Sa beauté est alors au zénith. Paul Newman est remarquable de vérité. Des interprétations théâtrales ! Une réalisation soignée. Un script particulièrement inspiré. Avec une finale à couper le souffle. Je ne peux qu’applaudir. Chapeau !

Très bons acteurs. D’accord avec les commentaires précédents : Elizabeth Taylor est sublime.

Hochkarätig besetzt mit u.a. Paul Newman und Elisabeth Taylor zeigt der Film (nach einem Bühnenstück von Tennessee Williams von 1955, Pulitzer Preis ausgezeichnet) Doppelmoral, Scheinheiligkeiten und Verlogenheit in einer menschlichen Gemeinschaft (hier Familie) auf.Neben dem Ausbruch von alten Konflikten und aktuellen Erbstreitigkeiten (der Vater und Patriarch der Familie, Big Daddy, ist sterbenskrank, gespielt von Burl Ives) steht auch die Beziehungskrise und ihre Überwindung am Ende von Maggie (E. Taylor) und Brick (P. Newman) im Handlungsfokus. Skandalös auch für diese Zeit die Anspielungen auf die homosexuellen Neigungen Bricks zu dessen verstorbenen Freund.Knisternde Erotik, Mechanismen menschlicher Beziehungsgeflechte, schwelende und dann ausbrechende Konflikte, Alkoholismus bestimmen die spannende, teilweise kammerspielartige Handlung.Tennessee Williams sagt dazu:”Der Vogel, den ich im Netz diesesStückes fangen möchte, ist nicht dieLösung eines psychologischen Problemseines Einzelnen. Ich möchte denWahrheitsgehalt von Erlebnisseninnerhalb einer Gruppe von Menschendarstellen, jenes flackernde, umwölkte,schwer zu fassende – aber fieberhaftmit Spannung geladene! – Zusammenspiellebendiger Wesen in der Gewitterwolkeeiner gemeinsamen Krise.” und”Das Leben ist kannibalisch. Daseine Ich frisst das andere Ich.Immer ist jemand dabei, an einemanderen zu nagen, aus Neid, ausProfitgier, aus Angst. Wissen Sie,die Vorstellung, in einem Zimmerzu schlafen, wo nicht irgendwo eineFlasche steht, finde ich ziemlichschrecklich. Es könnte ja immerhinsein, dass ich nachts aufwache undeinen Schluck brauche.”Genial!!!