Customer Reviews

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Widescreen/Full Screen)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had this movie on VHS and I am trying to replace all my VHS movies with DVD versions. It was quite cheap to purchase and arrived soon after I ordered it. I have played the movie and have found it in good condition. I am very satisfied with my purchase. I only wish I could find all the other VHS movies in my collection on DVD's at such a reasonable price.

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is a spectacular visual masterpiece about the human spirit.
Every character has three dimensions, and every line is perfectly written and delivered. Credit is needed for the original playright(although I am aware the plot was altered to please the strict critics of the time), who along with the screenplay writers are as important as the actors.
Speaking of actors, Liz Taylor, Burl Ives and Paul Newman were all flawless in their roles. They were human, and as a painting they were more real than reality. My opinions of the characters changed continually throughout the film. It was as if you were peeling away the skin layer by layer to find the truth. Annoyance turned into hate, hate turned into compassion.
The most important element of this film was feelings;emotions the players have, and have to deal with. As well as how you feel about them, and their situations.

"Cat on the Hot Tin Roof"
Has so much tension, one can't cut it with a machete... Just another very dysfunctional family, which Tennessee Williams writes so brilliantly.

You have Maggie (the cat) The only character in the extended family who is 'Normal' The only one who seems to be keeping the family from killing one another. Liz, of course plays her beautifully, superbly, very sexy as 'The Cat'

(Brick) Paul Newman plays her husband...A drunk with many devils he needs to let out, such as why he will not sleep with Maggie, why won't he stop thinking about his foot-ball buddy who killed himself. The viewer will wonder if his has other preferences... Because who wouldn't sleep with (The Cat)??

Big Daddy...played by Burl Ives... The GOD of the family, the one with all the money, Power, the one who's dying. (Excellent performance)

(Goober) Brick's brother and his wife wait impatiently for Big Daddy's fortune. The wife is appalling enough to make one sick. Continually taunting Maggie about not having children, having a bad marriage, not controlling Brick. Her kids run around the house like little, foul animals.

This family is a disaster waiting to happen...The pressure cooker is on high, baby, and when she blows
Watch out...All hell will break loose all over the place.

They don't make um' like this anymore.

MEEEEOOOOOW!

Tennesee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is a powerful play and here has been made into a powerful film. Family ties, lies, power, money, death, sexual troubles and even sibling rivalry coalesce as the troubled Pollitt family deals with the terminal illness of its patriarch. Although the gay subtext has been muted to fit 1950's sensitibilities, it's still there, adding resonance to the film. There's a bit of the mannered approach common to movies of the period, which gives the film a more theatrical feel than many movie adaptations of plays. In some ways, "Cat" comes across as an early, Southern version of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf."

The acting in this film is superb, if a little over-the-top at times. "Maggie the Cat" is a plum dramatic role, and Elizabeth Taylor more than does it justice. In her hands, Maggie's basic humanity alternates with her greed to eventually define her. Paul Newman likewise turns in an excellent performance as the troubled Brick. Burl Ives steals the show as Big Daddy, the larger-than-life dying patriarch. Jack Carson and Madelaine Sherwood play the elder, less-favored son and his fecund wife, Mae. Mae and her brood are played as wonderfully grotesque charicatures, greatly enhancing the oppressive atmosphere of the film. If you think of Diane Arbus shooting a movie, you'll get an excellent idea of what Mae and her little "no-neck monsters" are like.

It's a curious thing that Hollywood often tackled subject matter that it was forbidden to show on the screen. The net result - a good many stage plays often had more than a bit of doctoring going on before making it to the big screen. "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" is no exception. The original story concerns itself with Brick's homosexuality and his resulting inability to find his lovely wife even remotely attractive - at least enough to impregnate her with an heir to his father's plantation fortune. However, homosexuality was a big NO, NO in the movies. So instead we get Brick (Paul Newman) as a sexually frigid prig who thinks that his wife Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor) has been having an affair with his best friend, Skipper (whom we never see). Thus the balance of power and the resulting confusions which are straightened out in the end don't seem to make much sense. Nevertheless, "Cat" is a compelling piece of 50's kitsch. Richard Brooks ably directs what's left of the plot and the relationship that he fleshes out between Big Daddy (Burl Ives) and Brick is genuinely touching. Dame Judith Anderson gives a poignant and heartbreaking performance as Big Daddy's dopey wife.
TRANSFER: YUCK! Colors are weak and not well balanced. Flesh tones are often jaundice. There's a decidedly green tint to most indoor scenes and an overly blue tint to outdoor scenes. Age related artifacts are everywhere! Contrast and black levels are fairly accurate, though a few darker scenes appear to be suffering from less than 'black' blacks. Edge enhancement rears its ugly head now and then and is somewhat distracting. The audio is MONO but nicely balanced.
EXTRAS: FORGET IT! Not a one!
BOTTOM LINE: The story already distilled - the transfer, pretty much a mess - this really isn't the way I want to remember Tennessee Williams.

I don't think there is one bad thing I could say about "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof"! I love everything about it!

The film revolves around a wealthy family in the south and how they are coping with the impending death of "Big Daddy," the family patriarch. The two main characters are Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor) and Brick (Paul Newman). Maggie and Brick's marriage is on the rocks because of demons in the past. Brick, who has a drinking problem has just recently broken his leg while trying to run hurtles and is confined to the big house while the family awaits Big Daddy's return from a special clinic. At first, the family in convinced that Big Daddy will be fine and that there's nothing to be worried about, but soon the truth (in everyone's lives) starts to come out and the family is turned upside down.

Each of the cast members gave incredible performances in this film. You can't help but get caught up in the interesting lives of this large southern family. I would highly recommend this film to anyone, period. It's one of the classics that everyone should watch at least once in your life! You won't be disappointed!!!!

I glanced through the other reviews for this movie, and everyone seemed to be raving about the powerful emotions and all that. I haven't read the play yet, so maybe that will help me appreciate the movie more. I mean, it's great and all, I just don't see what other people who are more familiar with Mr. Williams' work see.
However, Paul Newman was sooo hot when he was younger. Josh Hartnett ain't got nothing on him!
Even though they didn't get along much in the film, I thought Liz and Paul looked good together...two of the best looking actors of that time! (Of course, Paul and Joanne Woodward are adorable together!)
Anyways, sorry for the rambling. I guess it isn't as great of a review as the others. I just wanted to say I liked the movie, and I LOVE Paul Newman.

When the familial vultures hear that Big Daddy Burl Ives is dying of cancer, they flock to his southern Gothic spread for a supposed 65th birthday, and the Pollitt brood brings with it about every type of dysfunction that hadn't even been named when this scorching film version of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize play got the big screen treatment. Alcoholism, suppressed sexual yearnings, latent homosexuality, greed, "mendacity" and children who could be poster kids for the pro-choice lobby are all here, and a riveting cast combine to make this triumphant film a classic. Headed by a sultry Elizabeth Taylor as the sexually frustrated and angry Maggie the Cat and Paul Newman as her alcoholic and closeted gay husband, Brick, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" explores the interpersonal traumas among husband and wife and a former acquaintance, Skipper, a washed up football player who throws himself out of a window in a Chicago hotel, and the impact his suicide has on Maggie and Brick's marriage. The hint of a gay atrraction between Brick and Skipper is obvious, and Maggie's anger at the physical and emotional distance imposed by her husband is magnificently projected. At the same time, in an overpowering performance by Ives, Big Daddy has to come to terms with his own mortality while baiting the wolves with his decision about who'll get what of his filthy rich estate. In the end, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is less a snapshot of a seriously dysfunctional family at a major crossroad and more an affirmation of life, the passion for it and coming to terms with the sometimes vicious pitches life can throw. As Maggie, Elizabeth Taylor is spellbinding, and her performance is all the more credible considering the filming of the movie was interrupted by the death in a plan crash of her third husband, Mike Todd. Paul Newman, as the cynical, alcoholic and sexually ashamed Brick, unleashes a performance worthy of an Oscar, and Burl Ives is no less than commanding with an awesome screen presence. Though more than 40 years old now, this film remains a classic and deserves a spot on virtually every "best of" list that can be developed.

This is a powerful film full of great acting, built on the play of one of our greatest writers: Tennessee Williams. Even if you're not from the South and it's long past the 50's, the territory he covers is still relevant: old resentments between parent and child, between husband and wife, a woman's role, the feelings that surface when someone close is about to die, insecurity, feelings of worthlessness, greed, failed dreams, new understandings.

Yet we're not that far from the 50's when patriarchy was stronger, where there was a distinct double standard and only the men in the family were privy to important decisions--where women were sometimes measured by their ability to produce children, and where so many feelings were repressed and left unsaid.

This film works despite its apparent diversion from Williams' original play in avoiding certain sexual taboos. When watching it I could not understand the problem between Maggie and Brick and Skipper, a plot twist that takes a while to surface and isn't quite resolved, but now that I've read a few reviews here the meaning is plain. It's just another element of depth in an already deep story.

Burl Ives as Big Daddy puts on a fabulous performance as does Judith Anderson as Big Momma and Elizabeth Taylor as a beautiful Maggie. The names, like the characters, are slightly exaggerated for effect--an effect that works.

The film has so many wonderful lines, it's a pleasure just listening to the words--especially when delivered by such fine actors. A small sampling:

Big Daddy to alcoholic son Brick: "Truth is dreams that don't come true and nobody prints your name in the paper 'til you die."

Brick to Big Daddy (talking about Big Momma in a basement full of European artifacts): "You gave her things, Papa, not love."

Maggie (who's scared of losing Big Daddy's inheritance): "Outside of hunger, the first thing I remember is shame."

Big Daddy: "We're through with lies and liars in this house. Lock the door!"

And so some understandings some to pass. The film starts slowly but crescendos into a powerful ending. I recommend this film with great pleasure.

Tennessee William's play, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", was considered so controversial that its Broadway producers forced the playwright to alter the third act. Either in spite of or because of the changes, the play was a huge hit. Even with the changes, it had to be further watered down for Hollywood's 1958 movie version. Once more, it was a boxoffice smash. It went on to garner six Oscar nominations, including Best Actress for Elizabeth Taylor and Best Actor for Paul Newman. Despite the industry's timidity back then, the movie was a searing, powerful drama about a family in crisis. That it remains so to this day, despite massive changes in social values and mores over the years, is a credit to its brilliant cast and to its director, Richard Brooks.

Brick and Maggie [Newman and Taylor] have come to his father's big plantation in Mississippi to celebrate the old man's 65th birthday. Everyone calls him Big Daddy, and as portrayed by Burl Ives, he truly is a larger than life figure. Brick's brother, Gooper [Jack Carson], his wife, Mae [Madeleine Sherwood], and their five 'little no-neck monsters" are also there. Big Daddy has just returned from several weeks at a clinic where he was treated for cancer. He thinks he is cured, but the doctors have lied to him. He's unlikely to see his next birthday. Rivalry and intrigue abound among the siblings and their families as everyone fights over who will take over the plantation. Brick has major problems of his own. The former star athlete drinks too much, refuses the advances and affection of the gorgeous and calculating Maggie because he blames her for his best friend's suicide, and is bitter about his father, who doesn't seem to love him or anyone else. Brick is also hobbling around on crutches, having recently tripped while trying to leap a hurdle one drunken night. Through all the bickering and fighting, his mother, Big Mama [Judith Anderson], tries desperately to hold onto whatever happiness and dignity the family still possesses. But a storm of confrontations is brewing, and she's powerless to stop it.

The 'shocking' element that was changed was the revelation that Brick and his friend had been lovers and that Maggie's 'crime' was her attempt to eliminate her rival. This was changed to the friend's killing himself because he was weak. I think when you know this, you can easily see what is going on underneath the surface between Brick and Maggie. It also makes the characters more understandable and believable. Their constant fighting makes more sense. The story becomes about more than greed, power, money and land. It becomes about the power of the human heart.

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is highly recommended, script changes notwithstanding.