A Streetcar Named Desire

Overview

Jessica Lange stars as mentally-unhinged southern belle Blanche DuBois in this uncensored made-for-TV drama of Tennesse Williams landmark play. Alec Baldwin reprises his Tony-award winning role as the thuggish Stanley Kowalski.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/30/2019
UPC:	0191091247402
Original Release:	1995
Rating:	NR
Source:	Cbs Mod
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	2:36:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Alec Baldwin	Stanley Kowalski
Jessica Lange	Blanche DuBois
Diane Lane	Stella
John Goodman	Mitch
Rondi Reed	Eunice
Fred Coffin	Steve
Carlos Gomez	Pablo
Matt Keeslar	Newspaper Collector
Jerry Hardin	The Doctor
Carmen Zapata	The Flower Seller
Tina Lifford	Neighbor
Patricia Herd	The Matron

Technical Credits

Glenn Jordan	Director,Producer
Robert Gros	Executive Producer
Albert Marangoni	Special Effects
Marsha Kleinman	Casting

Editorial Reviews

This 1995 television adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire reunites the stars of the poorly received 1992 Broadway adaptation, Jessica Lange (Blanche DuBois) and Alec Baldwin (Stanley Kowalski). After it debuted on network television, it fared better with critics than the stage production, garnering Lange and Baldwin Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Lange generally excels as the traditional stage DuBois: clever and coquettish, then pitiful and hapless, while descending ever deeper into a fantasy world of Old South gentility. Whether Lange's portrayal has enough verve to rival Vivian Leigh's nuanced performance in Elia Kazan's heralded 1951 film adaptation of the play is arguable. Lange's co-star, Baldwin, performs well enough to make his character believable, but he lacks the viscera to match the earthy brutality of Marlon Brando's tour de force portrayal of Kowalski in the 1951 film. Consequently, the collision between the real world of Kowalski and the make-believe world of DuBois jars but does not shock, weakening the outcome of the play. Diane Lane (Stella) and John Goodman (Mitch) received mixed reviews in supporting roles. Perhaps, in the end, the success or failure of actors negotiating the emotional maze of a Tennessee Williams play lies entirely in the eyes and ears of the beholders--not infrequently befuddled beholders. One clear advantage, though, that the 1995 adaptation has over the 1951 film is that it gives viewers the whole play, including controversial scenes and dialogue censored out of the earlier version.