Friday, January 01, 2010

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Sharon is a big Paul Newman fan. After his death in 2008, we watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Cool Hand Luke. Sharon had mentioned wanting to see Cat on a Hot Tin Roof so I got it for her stocking this Christmas. We watched it tonight.

The movie is based on a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955. The 1958 movie starred Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor and Burl Ives. Although the film did not win any Academy Awards, it received several nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor (Newman), Best Actress (Taylor), Best Director (Brooks), Best Cinematography, Color (William Daniels), and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

The film feels very much like a play. Apparently, the film was watered down and avoided some of the more controversial aspects of the play. There is a 1984 version starring Jessica Lange, Tommy Lee Jones and Rip Torn which is supposed to be truer to the play. I will probably watch that version at some point.

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