I really liked watching this film, if only for the simple face that it brought the play to life. Like any play/book that has been made into a movie there are a lot of similarities and differences. The film did I really great job of sticking to the original script, except for the ending but I'll get to that shortly.
The characters' personalities where very similaer to those in the play which helped the film to stay on page with the play. Personality had a lot to do with the way these characters acted and responded to situations. Reading the play, Stanley hold a lot of anger from the very beginning. But in the film, Stanley acted more like a jerk (not just angry) but as the film continued and he learned more about Blanche he transformed and his anger just kept exploding.
Seeing Blanche's character on screen we saw a lot more of her nervousness and uncertainty with her surroundings just through the way that she talked. She talked fast and seemed to babble about unimportant, random things. It was really hard to understand her. In the film we could also actually hear the music that Blanche always talked about hearing. This just added to Blanche's character because we could actually see how it effected her. Honestly, Blanche kind of creeped me out in the film. The music only increased a lot of the tension and suspension that was going on. Instead of just reading how Blanche's behavior was getting stranger and she was starting to lose it, the film actually used all of these acting cues so that Blanche looked increasingly crazy as the film went on.
Stella was much more passive and even more of a pushover in the film than she had been in the play. The actress who played Stella showed this by the way Stella is always hiding her face. She was always either covering her face with her hands or standing with her back to the speaker and her face against the wall.
Reading the infamous "Stella!" scene in the play, my impression was pretty much "seriously?! she just went back to him?" But the film made this scene have more of an impact. Yes, it was so dramatic that it was quite funny. The film showed us that Stella and Stanley really did have a relationship. Reading the play, it didn't really seem like there was much between them despite the fact that they were married.
The openess of the set in the film expands upon the theme that Blanche does not fit in with the culture and changing South. The openess places her right in the middle of it. People are always just walking in, she's constantly bombarded by people who fit in the "new South."
Now, the rape scene and the end of the film... I have to say that I much preferred the film version. The rape scene looked much more violent in the film than I read in the play. Then at the very end, the way the men looked at Stanley was very accusatory where they hadn't made any comment in the play. And then the fact that Stella tells Stanley to never touch her again and then leaves Stanley, changes the impact so that the blame is actually put on Stanley. Reading the play, I felt bad for Blanche because she was being sent away. But, watching the film I felt that it was necessary for Blanche to be sent away and Stella didn't have a choice because Blanche was not handling any changes or basically life. I liked the ending of the film better because as passive as Stella was throughout the whole film, she all of a sudden had a burst of courage and left Stanley at the end.
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The play and the movie I thought were almost exactly the same except for the ending. Stanley had a lot of built up anger and I don't know why. I don't like that he hit Stella and was always cursing. Marlon Brando did a good job of playing that part.
I agree with you that the movie does more to establish that Stanley and Stella actually have a relationship and do not just coexist, bound by marriage. By watching the movie we can see, to an extent, why Stella is married to Stanley. For one thing, actually having a visual of Stanley increases our perception of his attractiveness and sex appeal. The morning after their make-up sex following the poker scene’s fight, Stella looks thoroughly content and happy. The sexual component of their relationship is brought to life in her eyes and smile, especially since she is usually meek and modest. Also, Stanley does seem to genuinely care about her in the movie. Unfortunately his male pride and desire to remain in unquestioned dominance frequently gets the better of him, but he is not shown as a purely rotten character. After the poker scene where he beats her, seeing him cry to himself and seem perplexed at what to do with himself does make it seem as though Stanly truly loves Stella. Additionally, when Stella goes into labor, he again speaks sweetly to her and springs into action. Finally his leadership qualities are useful because he handles the situation and gets her to the hospital safely.
I have to agree with you the film was pretty true to the play form, but it add to it and that is kind of unusal for film. Blanche was very two dimensional, but when she is on screen you see her completely. You mentioned how her body language and the music added the whole feel of the film I have to agree because the body language makes you realize how crazy she really was.
Yes I also agree the play was definetly similiar to the movie. That was good for me because it gave me a better picture of the play. The play was boring but the movie was more interesting to look at because you could actually see how the characters reacted to certain situations. I must agree that stanley was hot but he was a pig.
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