Tennessee Williams Film Collection on March 28 (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Budgell]

As an Elizabeth Taylor fan I wouldn't mind Special Editions National Velvet and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. I'm sure Dame Elizabeth wouldn't mind participating in Special Editions for these titles, as they are two of her favourites.

Andy

 

[dave bula]

What 3 titles in Controversial Classics 2? I must have missed this one. And are there any other single titles to be included in this forthcoming box set?

I do know that there will be a 2-disc SE of Ryan's Daughter on 2-7-06. Is that one of them?

 

[John Hodson]

Here

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

Aha, up until now I didn't know that WB was putting those three movies under the umbrella of "Controversial Classics," I just thought they were packaging the three together as some sort of '70's-themed promotion. (That does explain away my half-question of why 2 Lumets were being put together with a Pakula) Of course, now I'm a little dismayed that this so-called "Controversial 2" only has three movies in it when the first had six.

 

[Alejandro]

I'm thrilled!!!
My all time favorite actress Vivien Leigh in two of them, Streetcar and Mrs. Stone! WOW!!
I hope the Streetcar edition includes a commentary by Sam Staggs from whom I just read "When Blanche met Brando" (Yes, a little bit campy and gossipy but hilarious!) And now that we are at it, during the shoot of Cat on a hot tin roof, Liz Taylor's husband at the time (that might be Mile Todd I guess, I always had difficulty keeping up with Taylor's love life) died in a plane crash. The shoot stopped but a few days later she came back to resume shooting. I'd like to know how or if this is shown in her performance in the final film, wouldn't you?

 

[Eric Peterson]

Another great set coming from WB.

...and at the same time Paramount is reportedly saying that classic films don't sell.:frowning:

Count me in for all of the above titles.

 

[felipenor]

Did they really say that?

 

[Eric Peterson]

According to this thread they have!

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=246007

 

[Robert Crawford]

Below is some confirmation that "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" will be a 2-disc dvd release. I'm all over this dvd boxset.


http://www.usatoday.com/life/2005-12...ractions_x.htm





Crawdaddy

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Thanks for the great news about Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Robert!

Andy

 

[Alejandro]

That's great news!!!!!
But something intrigues me. I'm a freak for screen tests, specially for rare ones, so I'm thrilled with the news of Brando's tests but I didn't know Geraldine Page was ever considered for Streetcar or Cat's roles. She made "Bird of Youth" but that's got no bonus extras, right?
Anyone?

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

Maybe so, but whenever I've seen MOBILE HOT SHOTS on IFC, it's had a terrible squeezed look during the entire film that looks like unstretched anamorphic photography. I suppose that it could be the effect of transferring a 16mm anamorphic source -- often times films shot in 1.85, when reduced to 16mm prints, are processed anamorphically to preserve the image ratio.
For example, Michael Ritchie shot AN ALMOST PERFECT AFFAIR in 1.85, and the DVD is presented as such. But early VHS tapes of the movie presented the entire movie with a squeeze, thus initially leading me to believe the movie was scope. But when I played VHS and DVD side by side, there was no picture information missing in either one, so I concluded that the tape was made from a 16mm anamorphic print.

I wish there were someone who knew the movie better to back me up...or someone who liked the movie enough to care.

 

[John Hodson]

DVD Times has the full low-down on the Region 1 DVD release of The Tennessee Williams Film Collection for 11th April 2006:

Warner Home Video have announced the Region 1 DVD release of The Tennessee Williams Film Collection for 11th April 2006. This eight-disc DVD set contains the acclaimed film adaptations of one of America’s greatest playwrights. The collection, priced at $79.92 SRP, features the long-awaited DVD debuts of Sweet Bird of Youth, Night of the Iguana, Baby Doll and The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone along with a newly remastered two-disc Special Edition of A Streetcar Named Desire and single disc Deluxe Edition of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Also included is a bonus disc, the rarely seen feature-length documentary, Tennessee Williams’ South. A Streetcar Named Desire is available for $26.99 SRP. All other individual titles are available for $19.97 SRP each.

Bonus materials in this collection include new making-of documentaries for each film, plus expert commentaries, never before seen outtakes, rare screen tests with Brando, Rip Torn and Geraldine Page, a radio broadcast with Brando from 1947 and vintage featurettes. Exclusive to the collection is a special bonus disc, Tennessee Williams’ South, a feature-length vintage documentary that includes remarkable interviews with Williams in and around New Orleans, plus great scenes from Williams’ plays especially filmed for this documentary, including rare footage of Jessica Tandy as Blanche (the role she created in A Streetcar Named Desire) and Maureen Stapleton as Amanda in The Glass Menagerie.

A Streetcar Named Desire: 2-Disc Special Edition is a celebration of what is, perhaps, Williams’ greatest masterpiece. This edition features three minutes of footage that was deleted from the final release version (and thought lost until its rediscovery in the early 1990s) that underscores, among other things, the sexual tension between Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) and Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando), and Stella Kowalski’s (Kim Hunter) passion for husband Stanley. The Legion of Decency required these scenes be cut in order for the film to be released.

A Streetcar Named Desire depicts a culture clash between Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh), a pretentious, fading relic of the Old South, and Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando), a rising member of the industrial, inner-city immigrant class. Blanche is a Southern belle whose pretensions to virtue and culture only thinly mask her nymphomania and alcoholism. Arriving at the house of her sister Stella Kowalski (Kim Hunter), Stella fears Blanche’s arrival will upset the balance of her relationship with her husband Stanley, a primal, rough-hewn, brutish and sensual force of nature. He dominates Stella in every way, and she tolerates his offensive crudeness and lack of gentility largely because of her sexual need for him. Stanley’s friend and Blanche’s would-be suitor Mitch (Karl Malden) is similarly trampled along Blanche and Stanley’s collision course. Their final, inevitable confrontation results in Blanche’s mental annihilation.

The film won Academy Awards? for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Karl Malden), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Vivien Leigh) , Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Kim Hunter), and Best Art Direction -- Set Decoration, Black-and-White. It was also nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Marlon Brando), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White, Best Director, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Best Picture, Best Sound Recording and Best Writing, Screenplay. In 1999 the film was selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Special Features Disc One:
Commentary by Karl Malden and film historian Rudy Behlmer
Elia Kazan movie trailer gallery
Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

Special Features Disc Two:
Movie and audio outtakes
Marlon Brando screen test
Elia Kazan: A Director’s Journey documentary
5 new insightful documentaries:
A Streetcar on Broadway
A Streetcar in Hollywood
Desire and Censorship
North and the South
An Actor Named Brando

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Remastered Deluxe Edition - The raw emotions and crackling dialogue of Tennessee Williams’ 1955 Pulitzer Prize play rumble like a thunderstorm in this film version whose fiery performances and grown-up themes made it one of 1958’s top box-office hits.

Paul Newman earned his first Oscar? nomination as troubled ex-sports hero Brick. In a performance that marked a transition to richer adult roles, Elizabeth Taylor snagged her second. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture. Also starring Burl Ives (repeating his Broadway triumph as mendacity-loathing Big Daddy), Judith Anderson and Jack Carson, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof sizzles.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is the story of a Southern family in crisis, focusing on the turbulent relationship between Maggie the Cat (Elizabeth Taylor) and Brick (Paul Newman), and their interaction with Brick’s family over the course of a weekend gathering at the family estate. Brick, an aging football hero, has neglected his wife and further infuriates her by ignoring his brother’s attempts to gain control of the family fortune. Although Big Daddy (Burl Ives) has cancer and will not celebrate another birthday, his doctors and his family have conspired to keep this information from him and his wife. His relatives are in attendance and attempt to present themselves in the best possible light, hoping to receive the definitive share of Big Daddy’s enormous wealth.

Oscar nominations were for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Newman); Best Actress (Taylor), Best Director (Richard Brooks) and Best Cinematography.

Special Features:
Commentary by biographer Donald Spoto, author of The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee Williams
New featurette Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Somebody Up There Likes Him
Theatrical trailer
Languages: English & Français
Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

Sweet Bird of Youth - Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Rip Torn, Madeleine Sherwood and Ed Begley recreated their stage roles in this bravura film version which featured Shirley Knight. Begley won Best Supporting Oscar and Page and Knight were nominated. Sex, money, hypocrisy, financial and emotional blackmail are familiar elements in Williams’ literary realm and combine powerfully in Sweet Bird of Youth as Chance (Newman) battles his private demons in a desperate bid to redeem his wasted life and recapture his lost sweet bird of youth.

Handsome Chance Wayne (Newman) never found the Hollywood stardom he craved, but he’s always been a star with the ladies. Now, back in his sleepy, sweaty Gulf Coast hometown, he’s involved with two of them: a washed-up, drug-and-vodka-addled movie queen. And the girl he left behind…and in trouble.

Special Features:
New featurette Sweet Bird of Youth: Broken Dreams and Damaged People
Never-before-seen Geraldine Page and Rip Torn screen test
Theatrical trailer
Languages: English & Français
Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

Night of the Iguana - With an outstanding cast headed by Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr, direction by legendary John Huston and a steamy screenplay, Night of the Iguana pulses with conflicting passions and a surprising edge of knowing humor. Winner of one Academy Award and nominated for three more, the film explores the dark night of one man’s soul – and illuminates the difference between dreams and the bittersweet surrender to reality.

In a remote Mexican seacoast town, a defrocked Episcopal priest (Richard Burton), ruined by alcoholism and insanity, struggles to pull his shattered life together. And the three women in his life – an earthy hotel owner (Ava Gardner), an ethereal artist (Deborah Kerr) and a hot-eyed, willful teenager (Sue Lyons) – can help save him. Or destroy him.

Shot just south of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the tension-filled shoot put that small city on the map. Due in no small part to the presence of non-cast member Elizabeth Taylor, the shooting of the film during 1963 attracted large numbers of paparazzi, made international headlines, and in turn made Puerto Vallarta world-famous.

Special Features:
Commentary by John Huston
New featurette The Night of the Iguana: Dangerous Creatures
Vintage featurette On the Trail of the Iguana
1964 premiere highlights
Theatrical trailers
Languages: English & Français
Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

Baby Doll - With Baby Doll, as with A Streetcar Named Desire, director Elia Kazan and writer Tennessee Williams broke new ground in depicting sexual situations – incorporating themes of lust, sexual repression, seduction, and the corruption of the human soul.
Time magazine called the film “just possibly the dirtiest American-made motion picture that has ever been legally exhibited.” The film caused a sensation in 1956, also earning condemnation by the then-powerful Legion of Decency and causing Cardinal Spellman to denounce Doll from his pulpit.

Baby Doll earned laurels too: four Academy Award nominations, Golden Globe Awards for Baker and Kazan and a British Academy Award? for Wallace. Watch this funny, steamy classic that, as Leonard Martin’s Movie Guide proclaims, “still sizzles.”

The film centers around cotton-mill owner Archie (Karl Malden) who’s going through tough times but at least has his luscious, child-bride (Carroll Baker) with whom he’ll be allowed to consummate when she’s 20. Rival Silva Vaccaro (Eli Wallach) thinks Archie may have set fire to his mill and takes an erotic form of Sicilian vengeance.

Special Features:
New featurette Baby Doll: See No Evil
Baby Doll trailer gallery
Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone - Widow Karen Stone is wealthy and beautiful. Her acting successes are a memory. She lives alone in a luxury apartment overlooking the Roman steps where romantic liaisons take place. And waits. She soon starts an affair with the young and expensive Paolo.

Vivien Leigh and Warren Beatty are lady and lover in this tender adaptation of a Tennessee Williams novella directed by Broadway veteran Jose Quintero. Leigh won her second Oscar for Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire; their reteaming creates a similar spell – at once romantic, sinister and nearly explosive. Adding spice to the combustion of the two leads are Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee Lotte Lenya as a Contessa who “arranges” romances in which she has a financial stake and Coral Browne as Karen’s savvy best friend.

Special Features:
New featurette The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone: I Can’t Imagine Tomorrow
Theatrical trailer
Languages: English & Français
Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

No artwork yet, but no doubt it will appear on this page in the fullness of time.

 

[Eric Peterson]

Great stuff there, but that definitively shows that "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is not a 2-disc set as previously thought. The extra disc is accounted for with the Tennessee Williams Documentary.

No matter what this is looking like another fantastic set from WB. Time to send my old editions of Streetcar and Cat to the sell pile.

 

[Alejandro]

I only have two words for this: wow, wow!!!!!!

 

[willyTass]

Gee I really hope when I press play on the Streetcar SE dvd its not the same transfer from 97.

Wonderful summary John

 

[felipenor]

I bet it will be a restored version.

 

[walter o]

John Huston passed away in 1988, didn't he? How did they get a commentary from him? It couldnt have been from a LD, for LD's didnt really have commentaries until early 90's.

 

[Eric Peterson]

It's probably edited together from various interviews and the such. This has been in the past with the likes of Walt Disney and many others, but I don't think that I've heard of a commentary composed entirely of comments from a deceased participant.

 

[Herb Kane]

From a WB email received today:



Due to Warner Home Video scheduling issues, the release date for Tennessee Williams Collection has been changed to May 2, 2006.