tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post1632237600949067333..comments2024-03-27T14:57:37.031+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: DVD review/film classics: A Streetcar Named DesireJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-81197741267193804822013-01-06T15:00:12.314+05:302013-01-06T15:00:12.314+05:30Jai, I watched the Warner Bros BluRay version of t...Jai, I watched the Warner Bros BluRay version of the movie recently. It has the same extras that you mentioned. The most exciting thing for me however was that when the movie ended suddenly an Indian censor board notice flashed up (the ones before movies they show in India), so subliminally that it was freaky. I thought I was drunk or fallen asleep (both very real possibilities because it was around new years eve).<br /><br />The other thing that I was reminded of when watching Vivien Leigh was Abhijit Mukherjee's dented & painted comment. Her Blanche seemed to be both. <br /><br />Did you like the score? I thought Alex North's jazz score was dynamite. And also that quote about going to Elysian Fields on desire & changing to cemetery pretty much summed up Blanche's fate.<br /><br />TipuTipunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-66432919030419869832008-12-06T12:06:00.000+05:302008-12-06T12:06:00.000+05:30While Blanche's character typified the old gentry ...While Blanche's character typified the old gentry and its death Brando's character typified the next gen Americans and his character also had sinister underlinings. In the movie he is shown to be extremely self centered who always puts his wants and his pleasures before everything else. He is also not above deceit as indicated in the last scene where he guilelessly denies a deed he has done. Yet he manages to get away with the title of being unpretentious and honest. What I understood from the movie was that the new gen as typified by Stanley was as good or as bad as the old gen. The only difference while the older gen preferred to cover their nefarious deeds with a veneer of sophistication, the new gen preferred to do away with the veneer. So true of America.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-38723623297340437392008-06-18T11:49:00.000+05:302008-06-18T11:49:00.000+05:30I feel that Brando reached iconic status through h...I feel that Brando reached iconic status through his performances in Streetcar and Waterfront. However in both these movies the supporting cast put in amazing performances. In fact Streetcar is more Vivien Leigh's film than Brando's as her's is the character mainly in focus. Also, the character of Mitch ( for which karl malden received an Oscar) was also superbly portrayed.<BR/>In fact Karl Malden had another great role in the other brando classic Waterfront, where he played the role of the town priest.sougatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12287592847255213730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-35197856954553425912008-04-23T08:47:00.000+05:302008-04-23T08:47:00.000+05:30I find it hard to analyze female acting.Rahul: int...<I>I find it hard to analyze female acting.</I><BR/><BR/>Rahul: interesting phenomenon, and I wonder if it has anything to do with us being male viewers, and whether women would similarly find it hard to analyze, say, Brando-vs-Stewart.<BR/><BR/>Crazy coincidence - Stanwyck was the first name that came to my mind when I started thinking about women actors. Big fan of hers.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-30428292190601120762008-04-22T19:28:00.000+05:302008-04-22T19:28:00.000+05:30Reductionisms like this do not attempt to explain ...Reductionisms like this do not attempt to explain everything;but what they do provide is a perspective to understand this complex process,much of which is implicit even to the actors.So I believe they are useful and important.<BR/>"P.S. just noticed that we've only been discussing male actors all this while. What sexists we all are."<BR/>I admit I find it hard to analyze female acting.Its much easier to be just blown away.Like I was recently with two of Stanwyck's performances- "The lady eve" and "Ball of fire"Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-70165030386857430002008-04-22T08:25:00.000+05:302008-04-22T08:25:00.000+05:30Toe Knee: I haven't actually been to Palika Bazar ...Toe Knee: I haven't actually been to Palika Bazar (or CP in general) for months now. Come to think of it, now that I work entirely out of home, I very rarely travel that side at all. But I've written often enough about Delhi's traffic in earlier posts.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-37330522031507274242008-04-21T20:58:00.000+05:302008-04-21T20:58:00.000+05:30Off topic - SorryFor someone who lives/used to liv...Off topic - Sorry<BR/><BR/>For someone who lives/used to live in Saket, it's strange that you haven't mentioned the BRT mess in your posts. Unless you have discovered some secret passageway from your house that leads straight to Connaught Place :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-16221887277081624642008-04-20T12:11:00.000+05:302008-04-20T12:11:00.000+05:30Shrikanth, Rahul: some interesting thoughts there,...Shrikanth, Rahul: some interesting thoughts there, thanks. I think it's important to recognise that this is a complex, multi-sided argument. Even the Method-vs-non-Method classification is way too generalised, given there are many different types of Method and non-Method actors. Perhaps the best approach is to examine things on a performance by performance basis.<BR/><BR/>For instance, Shrikanth, even as you defend the star actors, you use relatively lighter roles (Grant in <I>The Awful Truth</I>) to set up the contrast with intensity specialists like Brando or De Niro. But I was re-watching <I>Vertigo</I> yesterday and it was hard to imagine how any of the great Method actors could better Stewart's performance in the final 15-20 minutes, as the full scope of his character's sexual jealousy is revealed. With a different script, of course, another actor might have produced an equally good performance, but I'm not sure the two would be comparable in any meaningful way.<BR/><BR/>Likening a non-Method actor to a kathakali performer is interesting too, but it suggests that <I>all</I> such performances were stylisations. This might be true of Laughton playing Captain Bligh or Olivier playing Richard III, but it's hardly true of, say, Henry Fonda's marvelously understated Wyatt Earp in <I>My Darling Clementine</I>. Or the best work of Fredric March or Spencer Tracy. Compared to some of those performances, Brando is the one who appears stylised and "rasa"-displaying.<BR/><BR/>P.S. just noticed that we've only been discussing male actors all this while. What sexists we all are.<BR/><BR/>P.P.S. Maybe you guys would be interested in <A HREF="http://middlestage.blogspot.com/2005/08/roger-manvells-film-and-thoughts-on.html" REL="nofollow">this post</A> I wrote for the Middle Stage years ago. It's on Roger Manvell's book <I>Film</I>, which has some amazingly perceptive notes on different types of screen acting, even though it was written in the early 1940s.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-12874140435557409102008-04-19T22:18:00.000+05:302008-04-19T22:18:00.000+05:30The method of "Method acting" entails drawing from...The method of "Method acting" entails drawing from your own emotional reservoir and let the outward emotion take care of itself.There may never be an "off the shelf" emotional moment in a method actors repertoire. The earlier actors,like kathakali dancers,would be adept in displaying the 9 "rasas".<BR/>But method acting is,or at least aims to be ,the way real people behave.This is not meant to be patronizing or condescending.The art of kathakali is probably more difficult to master than method acting.And as I said earlier,the method actors probably wont be that convincing in a script like Mr Deeds or Mr Smith.Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-29558089324762685082008-04-19T18:05:00.000+05:302008-04-19T18:05:00.000+05:30Jai, spot on!I'm reminded of Charles Laughton's re...Jai, spot on!<BR/>I'm reminded of Charles Laughton's remark - 'Method actors give us a photograph, real actors an oil painting'<BR/><BR/>Perhaps, the likes of Brando/Clift seem more 'realistic' - whatever that means. But for sheer enjoyment I'd prefer a *star* actor like Cary Grant/Jimmy Stewart any day over a *Method* actor.<BR/><BR/>I think the Method entailed the actor to completely get into the skin of the character, thus entirely sublimating his individual style. As a result, a Method actor lacked the distinctive persona that clearly distinguished each of the great stars of the studio era.<BR/><BR/>Also, there is a tendency to doubt the ability of the great non-Method actors of the 30s and 40s to play characters like Kowalski and Terry Malloy. Yet, no one seems to wonder if the Method actors could've held their own in less intense, everyman roles? For instance, I can't imagine Brando doing as good a job as Cary Grant in The Awful Truth or a De Niro being as convincing as Stewart in It's a Wonderful Lifeshrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-52223268765438997162008-04-19T17:50:00.000+05:302008-04-19T17:50:00.000+05:30This comment has been removed by the author.shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-15054400857234416822008-04-18T20:27:00.000+05:302008-04-18T20:27:00.000+05:30Rahul: I'm not comfortable with this setting up of...Rahul: I'm not comfortable with this setting up of "a touch of levity" in opposition to "realistic acting". It seems patronising, especially given that most actors agree that doing comedy or light roles well is generally tougher than playing high-intensity drama (which the Method actors you've mentioned specialise in).<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't include <I>Meet John Doe</I> in this discussion, since I don't think of Gary Cooper as a great actor anyway, but when you bring up <I>Mr Smith Goes to Washington</I> you're talking about the finest early-career performance of one of the all-time greats (who, of course, went on to play more complex roles in the 1950s under Anthony Mann and Hitchcock). Though I agree that scripts played a big role and were tailored to suit different acting styles in different eras, on what basis would you say that Brando's Kowalski was played more realistically than James Stewart's Mr Smith? It seems to me that both actors did the optimum jobs with their characters.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-76918265108589657692008-04-18T18:57:00.000+05:302008-04-18T18:57:00.000+05:30"I'm not implying the Method lot were less real bt..."I'm not implying the Method lot were less real btw, just that they were different."<BR/>In a way,I agree with you.The choice of acting style,probably, didn't influence the character as much as it did the script;or vice versa.For example,I can't imagine a method actor doing "Meet John Doe" or "Mr Smith goes to Washington";so, the touch of levity with which these roles were played,suited them.<BR/>Were a Stanley Kowalski or a Cal Trask played more realistically than a Mr Smith or John Doe ? Sure,because thats the premise of method acting.<BR/>But are they more or less real?Probably not.Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-81075257705223689092008-04-18T09:30:00.000+05:302008-04-18T09:30:00.000+05:30...more vulnerable\real characters than the tradit...<I>...more vulnerable\real characters than the traditional leading men of that time</I><BR/><BR/>Rahul: vulnerable yes, but you'd have a hard time convincing me that these characters were more real in some meaningful sense than the ones played by the great non-Method actors like Jimmy Stewart, Spencer Tracy, Fonda or the Brits. (I'm not implying the Method lot were <I>less</I> real btw, just that they were different.) I suppose the generation gap had a lot to do with it, the late 40s and early 50s being the first time that concepts like adolescent angst etc came into popular usage in the US - which meant that some of these performances, like Brando in <I>The Wild One</I>, Clift in <I>Red River</I> or Dean in <I>East of Eden</I> and <I>Rebel...</I>, became more representative of the mood that was emerging at the time.<BR/><BR/>ArSENik: yes, <I>Sanjuro</I> is a very different sort of film - almost the anti-<I>Yojimbo</I> in a sense. Difficult to compare, though I doubt that Mifune grew as an actor in the eight months between the two films. (Watch the astonishing versatility of his earlier performances under Kurosawa, in films like <I>The Lower Depths</I>, <I>Record of a Living Being</I> and <I>Stray Dog</I>.) What's more likely is that he was deliberately playing a more restricted, enigmatic character in the first film, and opening up in the second.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-80300115721158059832008-04-18T01:16:00.000+05:302008-04-18T01:16:00.000+05:30Streetcar is pretty high up on my list to see. To ...Streetcar is pretty high up on my list to see. To state the obvious, Brando is a God. His half an hour cameo in Apocalypse Now (my all-time favorite film) gives the film an abrupt much-needed closure.<BR/><BR/>Saw Sanjuro earlier this week and liked it even more than Yojimbo, probably because of greater restriction of the events on screen and also for Mifune, who had obviously grown as an actor from Yojimbo, where he had anyway done a phenomenal job.ArSENikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09772597502937491090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-84530164734666525822008-04-17T22:55:00.000+05:302008-04-17T22:55:00.000+05:30Ok,I thought Brando would have owned that role;tho...Ok,I thought Brando would have owned that role;though,I dont consider Jimmy Dean inferior to Brando with respect to acting talents.<BR/>I have seen just one movie of Garfield viz. Postman always rings twice. All the movies that I have seen of Mitchum have been film noir,and I thought he has a Dharmendra like presence;but I didnt notice anything remarkably different in him from the other noir leading men.<BR/>I think what sets these three apart,are a combination of being method actors,prodigious talents and portrayal of more vulnerable\ real characters than the traditional leading men of that time.Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-57796234792057921472008-04-17T20:55:00.000+05:302008-04-17T20:55:00.000+05:30Rahul: the disc has that audition, but it's a sho...Rahul: the disc has that audition, but it's a short scene and not a very good print. At any rate, the film Brando auditioned for was very different from the one that eventually got made years later with James Dean.<BR/><BR/><I>Along with Brando, Jimmy Dean and Monty Clift were the other two actors who ushered in the "modern acting style"</I><BR/><BR/>I assume you're talking only about the Americans? But even among those, there were also performers who spanned different acting styles, like John Garfield and arguably even Robert Mitchum, who preceded Clift and Brando.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-40450308904147187712008-04-17T20:25:00.000+05:302008-04-17T20:25:00.000+05:30P.S. Does your version has Brando's audition for R...P.S. Does your version has Brando's audition for Rebel Without a Cause?Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-59424325720619468672008-04-17T19:03:00.000+05:302008-04-17T19:03:00.000+05:30"but his style made it possible for a certain type..."but his style made it possible for a certain type of character to be convincingly portrayed on the American screen"<BR/>IMHO,Along with Brando, Jimmy Dean and Monty Clift were the other two actors who ushered in the "modern acting style",whatever that means.Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-24588576237804378262008-04-17T14:32:00.000+05:302008-04-17T14:32:00.000+05:30Hi Jai. You probably knew this quiz question: what...Hi Jai. You probably knew this quiz question: what went from Canal and Bourbon to Royal and Canal? A Streetcar Named "Desire", with Desire a stop on its route.<BR/><BR/>Interestingly, two tram cars with that name were <A HREF="http://www.streetcar.org/mim/streetcars/fleet/antique/952/index.html" REL="nofollow">shipped</A> to San Francisco, where they are very popular nowadays.<BR/><BR/>And apropos Kazan's fingering of the Commies, have you read Derek Robinson's <A HREF="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Rag-Blues-Derek-Robinson/dp/1845292995/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208422831&sr=8-1" REL="nofollow">Red Rag Blues</A>? Hilarious and moving romp through the paranoia of America of the time.FĂ«anorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17101113676992105240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-18108886629010730932008-04-17T13:55:00.000+05:302008-04-17T13:55:00.000+05:30Shwet: true enough about prices being too high, bu...Shwet: true enough about prices being too high, but I've always felt those Moser Baer discs are dicey. They somehow seem too fragile to survive multiple viewings - is there a lower quality of disc being used there? Also, I wouldn't be content with having just the film on the DVD - special features are required too, and maybe those have an effect on the pricing? Just wondering.<BR/><BR/>Karthik: no, Delhi. Did you read the Judgement at Nuremberg post I linked to? It was one of my favourite films as a 14-year-old connoisseur of Old Hollywood and I still have sentimental attachment towards it. Btw, I liked Monty Clift best in <I>A Place in the Sun</I> and <I>Red River</I>.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-57117628303364098022008-04-17T12:33:00.000+05:302008-04-17T12:33:00.000+05:30I haven't seen "Streetcar..". But in the list of o...I haven't seen "Streetcar..". But in the list of old movies u mentioned I have read the book "Judgement at Nuremberg". Great story and I heard the acting by Montgomery clift was also good. Too bad he didn't receive an Oscar even for "From here to eternity".<BR/><BR/>Good collection you have Jai. Are you at Bangalore?Karthikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03957283080236921003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-46532844865329212612008-04-17T11:38:00.000+05:302008-04-17T11:38:00.000+05:30Streetcar is a great film. 200-300 for a DVD is st...Streetcar is a great film. 200-300 for a DVD is still expensive. I am sure there is a lot of profit that the companies make on this price. Otherwise a DVD costs less than 15 rupees when taken blank. Moser Baer is able to provide DVD's for as less as 49 bucks and if it can do it at this price than one can be sure that even DVD's of foreign films should not be much different in rate. These firms should stop talking about piracy when you can pick up a good quality DVD for half the rate at places like Palika. To talk about Piracy itself is hypocrisy.Shwet Awasthihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04707072898697709519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-51836677107308469702008-04-17T10:07:00.000+05:302008-04-17T10:07:00.000+05:30Shamya: don't tell me you've forgotten our convers...Shamya: don't tell me you've forgotten our conversations about Marlon and the beer bottle? As I recall, you were the DSC Brando (in addition to Brad Pitt of course) - picking up my ill-fated alarm clock and trying to twirl it the same way as a beer bottle.<BR/><BR/>Madhav: Well, Bogey got the Oscar that year for <I>The African Queen</I> - a sort-of career achievement award - so I can't complain too much. Besides, the Academy more than made up for it by giving Brando a best actor Oscar for Vito Corleone (an overrated performance in my view, and not the lead role in the film anyway).Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-66124846850704920482008-04-17T09:46:00.000+05:302008-04-17T09:46:00.000+05:30Stanley used to pick up the beer bottles with the ...Stanley used to pick up the beer bottles with the forefinger and middle-finger of his right hand... You noticed that? Saw the movie 15 years back; from your write-up, I evidently haven't forgotten much, but can't get that completely stylish and casual picking-up-of-the-beer-bottle-and-taking-a-swig visual out of my mind. I have only been able to do it properly now, what with India having to live with the huge beer bottles all these years.<BR/><BR/>IcriuBlack Muddy Riverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15955846722038215253noreply@blogger.com