"A Streetcar Named Desire" Blanche: A Tragic "Scarlett O'Hara"

Lon 2022-03-25 09:01:08

"A Streetcar Named Desire" is another wonderful film by the famous Hollywood star Vivien Leigh in addition to the classic blockbuster "Gone with the Wind", which won her the best actress Oscar. At the same time, "A Streetcar Named Desire" also won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Art Direction.

The huge success of "A Streetcar Named Desire" is largely due to Vivien Leigh, who plays the heroine Blanche. Before that, the lingering impression of the beautiful Vivien Leigh to the public was that of the strong, unyielding, beautiful and moving classic image Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind". At that time, Vivien Leigh was in her prime, and beauty was at the pinnacle of her life. But Blanche, the heroine of "A Streetcar Named Desire", is a twilight beauty who has lost her youth and is neurotic. At this time, Vivien Leigh's beauty is diminishing, her age is increasing, her career and marriage are going downhill, and her spirit is also experiencing problems. Therefore, the Scarlett and Blanche she played can be said to be Vivien Leigh herself in a different state from a certain point of view. The contrast before and after these two classic roles impressed the audience so much that they both won the Oscar for Best Actress.

Blanche, like Scarlett, came from a wealthy family of planters. But the biggest difference between them is that Scarlett can face it with her head held high after the war destroyed her family business and relatives. Instead of missing the good life of the past like others, she devotes her energy to the pursuit of a new life. .

But Blanche failed to stand up after tragedies such as losing her estate and her husband's suicide. Blanche has been immersed in the educated and wealthy life habits of young literary women from the beginning to the end. Blanche is old, and can see that she was beautiful once, but the years have passed quickly, and her mental state makes her youth slip faster than time.

After losing his estate and being expelled from the school he taught for misbehavior, Blanche, who had nothing left, went to join his sister Stella. Blanche's clothes looked contrived, too feminine and cheap. She doesn't fit in with the environment of the lower-class neighborhood where her sister lives, where no one appreciates her "elegance", but thinks she's a crazy woman who is fanciful.

Living under a fence is never easy. In the cramped apartment rented by her younger sister and brother-in-law, Blanche and her brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski, who is worthless in her eyes, look up every day and see each other. It was a terrifying ordeal for Lankey and the rough-and-tumble Stanley.

Blanche had just arrived at her sister's house when her brother-in-law Stanley turned her suitcase upside down. Blanche has a lot of clothing and jewelry, but they're basically bells and whistles. Stanley is very disgusted with this aunt who has nothing in common with him and who likes to snitch, not to mention that he thinks that Blanche has caused himself a loss by losing his wife's property in her parents' home.

Such poor relatives are dependent on others, neither of them know each other nor do they want to know each other, and the contradictions and conflicts will inevitably intensify.

When faced with difficulties, Scarlett never thought of asking for help. She would rather go and cheat money for Rhett Butler, the hooligan in her eyes, than beg someone to support her. But Blanche had nowhere else to go but her sister's house, and even if she and her brother-in-law were having a bad time, she had no choice but to cry, even if Stanley bought a return ticket himself to drive Blanche away.

Poor woman, especially when a legendary actress like Vivien Leigh with a tragic life, plays a more penetrating appeal.

The more bells and whistles Blanche dresses and dresses like a queen, the more cheap she looks, especially when blondes tend to look older in black and white. She knew in her heart that she had nothing, and could only try her best to seize the old age, hiding in the dim light and living a false life of deceiving herself and thinking that she was still beautiful. She still wanted to be the lady in her fantasy, so she dressed herself up as a virgin saint. But every time she indulged in this fantasy, her brother-in-law Stanley would come forward to expose her, revealing past indiscretions she wanted to forget, reminding her of so-called love letters, courtship telegrams, travel invitations, gentlemen's lovers It was all fantasized in Blanche's deranged brain.

Scarlett O'Hara is a down-to-earth, young and strong woman. And Blanche of the half-old milf is a poor, weak and incompetent "Scarlett". If Scarlett O'Hara didn't brave her fate after her misfortune, Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire is the future Scarlett.

Scarlett exudes strength and confidence when flirting with men, even in the presence of wily Rhett Butler.

But Blanche Dubois did not work well in front of her young and fierce brother-in-law, and her cowardice, cowardice and inferiority complex made things worse.

Playing two characters with such similar backgrounds but very different endings tested Vivien Leigh's beauty and acting skills very much. Her performance was very successful and impressive. The Oscar statuette is well deserved.

Marlon Brando, who played Blanche's brother-in-law Stanley, also became famous in this film, and his youthful sexiness and fierce ruffian appearance were vividly displayed. Even Marlon Brando himself loathes his portrayal of Stanley, because "Stanley" is a beast in front of Vivien Leigh.

The collaboration between Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh was so successful that the actors who played Stella and Mickey also won Oscars for Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor.

"A Streetcar Named Desire" is a classic blockbuster in Hollywood black and white movies, a must-see movie masterpiece for every Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando fan.

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Extended Reading
  • Mabelle 2022-03-26 09:01:05

    Isn't the heroine played by Vivien Leigh a typical Drama Queen, such a woman is bound to be destroyed.

  • Ibrahim 2021-12-08 08:01:38

    Looking at the top five film reviews below, none of them mentioned that the South's refusal to reform after the Civil War led to social poverty, American geopolitics, etc. It was all about love and confusion. Soul, fragility, and gorgeous. So I always feel that from the perspective of history and politics/teacher speaks movies much better than Chinese or art department, because what really touches people is not technology but humanity. What is the difference between asking the audience to empathize with the difficult technology and leaving the original to the end?

A Streetcar Named Desire quotes

  • Mitch: Oh I don't mind you being older than what I thought. But all the rest of it. That pitch about your ideals being so old-fashioned and all the malarkey that you've been dishin' out all summer. Oh, I knew you weren't sixteen anymore. But I was fool enough to believe you was straight."

  • Blanche: Straight? What's 'straight'? A line can be straight, or a street. But the heart of a human being?