SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Hitchcoc Tennessee Williams are so hard to watch. There are always tormented characters, failure, insensitivity, and lust. The inimitable Burl Ives plays Big Daddy, the patriarch, who is dying, though he doesn't know it for sure. Paul Newman is the son who has never connected with him; actually, there is great hatred for him. His wife is Elizabeth Taylor, Maggie the Cat, who is stunning, of course. This revolves around a birthday party for Big Daddy where the other son and his whiny wife and their kids are circling like vultures, trying to get the entire estate when Big Daddy dies. Brick, Newman's character, is a drunk and walks around with a cast because his foolish actions caused him to break his leg. Of course, the story revolves around the in-fighting plus getting at the root of Brick's anger toward his father. When this is revealed, it creates a final confrontation between the two stiff backed men. Quite a remarkable movie. Ives is a consummate actor and it's interesting how few film roles he had. This is undoubtedly his best.

frankwiener Unlike many screen adaptations of Tennessee Williams plays, I experienced a peculiar detachment from the central character, Brick Pollitt, in this instance. There was a missing connection for me, but I can't exactly put my finger on it. Perhaps it was the fact that I just wasn't very convinced of Paul Newman as Brick Pollitt. Either Newman grew tired of the role somewhere along the way, or I lost interest watching him perform as a former high school jock who had a peculiar fixation with his former buddy, Skipper, for whose death he holds himself responsible. According to the IMDb trivia page for this film, the role of Brick was refused by Presley, Mitchum, Clift, and Gazzara. As Tony Franciosa and Don Murray were also considered and as James Dean tragically died before this movie was produced, that would mean Newman might have been the eighth choice, or were there even more possibilities in front of him? Why so many? Was it the potential professional stigma surrounding the obvious undercurrent of Brick's strongly suggested homosexuality in the highly homophobic world of 1958 that was at risk? If so, then Newman deserves credit for the courage that others did not possess. Without the powerful performances of Burl Ives and Elizabeth Taylor, this film would never have been so successful. Ives, who had been thought to be "just some folk singer" when he was chosen as "Big Daddy", is nothing short of magnificent in his role as the self-made patriarch who is dying of cancer and who seriously reflects upon the true meaning of his life, which is plagued by "mendacity" and pretense on all sides. Taylor, who had lost her beloved husband, Mike Todd, in a sudden plane crash just before production, seems to express her grief through her art as Maggie Pollitt, the frustrated (and gorgeous!) wife of Brick. Her interactions with the brood of "no neck", spoiled brat nieces and nephews, who invade the family estate for an unbearable and seemingly endless period of time, are hilarious, especially the unforgettable ice cream scene. Why the servants left ice cream out in the Louisiana summer heat is beyond me, but so be it. Her several exchanges with Brick reach a very high level of intensity, even though I felt that at least some of the couple's extended verbal wrangling could have been condensed.Both Madeleine Sherwood and Judith Anderson play very disagreeable members of the Pollitt family all too well. I found them both very difficult to watch for long, but that's what the script demanded. Jack Carson is perfect as Goober Pollitt, the pathetic, older brother who has dutifully adhered to all of the established family rules but who receives in return no respect from anyone.I can't blame playwright Williams for disliking this very murky screen adaptation of his very serious creation. He should have at least been grateful for the casting of Ives and Taylor because they both soar to the skies here, redeeming what otherwise might have been a dreary disaster.

SnoopyStyle A drunken ex-football player Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman) hurts his leg while jumping hurdles like the good old days. He and Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor) are back for his father Big Daddy's (Burl Ives) 65th birthday only because it might be his last. Mae (Madeleine Sherwood) and Gooper (Jack Carson) have brought their bratty kids for the same reason but Big Daddy still likes Maggie more. Big Daddy comes back with news that it was all a false alarm. Brick is itching to leave. Their marriage has been on the rocks for some time. Big Mama (Judith Anderson) berates Maggie of being childless. Then Dr. Baugh tells Brick that Big Daddy is actually dying and he had lied to him about it. The death of Brick's 'friend' Skipper had hit him hard.Newman and Taylor are in fine form. Their acting is electric especially Taylor. The rest of them are all top notch. The homosexuality subject of the original Tennessee Williams play is covered up quite a bit, and there is a tacked on happy ending. Even with all the changes, the movie still sizzles. Burl Ives' massive performance is dominating. This is one of the few well-made classics that needs a big remake and I think many are willing to help out.

Armand Tennesse Williams. Liz Taylor. Paul Newman. and a film who seems be a Swiss watch. not only for splendid cast acting but for the atmosphere who transforms the play in a portrait with role of mirror. its virtue - the breaking of screen. ambiguity, angry, fear, the truth scenes, the dialogs, the need of the other and, sure, the ghosts of past are not only presented but explored by viewer. the actors are only tools. other adaptations of Tennessse Williams plays are more brilliant, impressive or spectacular. but in this case the axis is represented by deep honesty. the fragile force of Maggie, the levels of Big Daddy in admirable work of Burl Ives, Paul Newman in the perfect Brick skin and Judith Anderson as the wife of a statue are important not only for artistic purpose but for the the escape from South cage. a play and a special adaptation about vulnerability as heart of existences.