Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

I'm sorry, and I apologise to the previous poster, but criticising Kim Stanley is unacceptable.

Where do I start?

The first time I saw this, TWENTY YEARS AGO, back when I was, like, GOING ON TWENTY, Kim Stanley's performance in that horrible scene when she finds out that Big Daddy's cancer is terminal brought tears to my eyes. And then she won an Emmy. Against actors that people had actually heard of.

I only bring this up because that great documentary that's making the rounds ("The Golden Age of Broadway") quotes about half a dozen or more highly respected stage veterans who all sing Kim Stanley's praises.

Kim Stanley acted without affect: That could occasionally appear slight. What it was was that she was so busy giving it up that she forgot to show you where and how she was acting.

And, again, show me a better Big Momma, like, ever...

Forget The watered down film version from 1958. forget the ridiculous tacked on "happy" ending between Newman and a Miscast Liz Taylor...This is the ultimate film version of Williams greatest play. The screenplay is direct from William's outstanding revised 1974 text with one of the greatest ending scenes in theatre history. Tommy Lee Jones has never been better than as the alcoholic Brick Pollitt. Jessica Lange is so sexy,manipulative and tortured as Maggie that you don't know if you want to hit her or make love to her. the agony put forth in these two characters manifests itself to perfection in these perfect actors.

As wonderful as Jones and Lange are, they are still outdone by Rip Torn as Big Daddy. 'He's never turned gentleman." Maggie says of her father-in-law and thats the honest truth in Torn's magnetic,engaging and touching performance. His Act II scene with Brick is some of the best screen acting I have ever witnessed. Kim Stanley gives us a very human and warm Big Mamma, unlike Judith Anderson's cold matriarch in the 1958 version and Penny Fuller and David Dukes ooze bile as the Greedy Gooper and Mae. This is a film to be watched over and over. Finally a CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF on screen William's could be proud of !

Have enormously fond memories of reading and studying 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' in school and have held it in very fine regard since. Consider Tennessee Williams one of the all-time great American playwrights, one of my favourites overall actually, and 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' is one of his best and most justifiably famous. It was also apparently Williams' personal favourite of his plays, not hard to see why either, and there is a lot of great ones to choose from.

Personally love the 1958 film in its own way, there is to me a lot to love about it on its own terms. Especially the acting, have yet to come across a better Big Daddy than Burl Ives, who originated the role, and it is both entertaining and powerful. It really is best judging it as a standalone though, because it is toned down from the play, the innuendos being muted, the ahead of the time themes not as daring and omissions due to censorship. On the adaptation front, this television version is much more faithful and satisfying and doesn't have the limitations of censorship, so what was omitted is here and what was muted had full impact. Also consider it the better version overall.

This 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' may not have the more expansive budget or more lavish production values of a film, if there was one thing that the 1958 film is superior in it is the production values, but it still looks good and has a sense of time and place. The photography has a filmed play look, yet that wasn't a problem for me, am used to that as someone who watches opera, play and ballet productions on a regular basis. It wasn't chaotic or static at least. Liked the sultriness of the music too.

Williams' dialogue absolutely sizzles and the story never fails to be so emotionally powerful. The stage direction does nothing to diminish the power of the dialogue and story, showing throughout respect for Williams' intent. With the exception of the cat-like movements with the hands, that was not needed. The character interaction is every bit as sizzling as the script, electrifying especially between Brick and Big Daddy in primarily their Act 2 confrontation (a masterclass of acting). Other than that scene, there was another that stuck with me, Big Mamma's reaction to the truth behind Big Daddy's cancer diagnosis, goodness wasn't that heart-rending or what.

One cannot not talk about a production for anything without making any mention of the cast. Absolutely loved the performances here, all of them, and to me the accents sounded spot on (have heard far more exaggerated "southern accents"). Jessica Lange is a sultry and deeply felt Maggie, and Tommy Lee Jones gives a compelling tortured turn as Brick, one of Williams' most difficult roles.

Rip Torn (rest in peace) is on towering form as Big Daddy, full of authority but also soul, and there has never been a more definitive or more human Big Mamma than that of Kim Stanley.

In summary, a fine production of a masterpiece. 9/10

When I watched Maggie/Jessica Lange do that long all-in-one-breath monologue telling Brick how everybody loved him, I said to myself This has got to be the high point in American Theater. It was one great sustained crescendo. It is most incredible that it goes unnoticed.

Don't throw anything at me, but I think the 1984 version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is better than the 1958 original. Without the constraints of the Production Code, this live televised version was able to showcase Tennessee Williams's story as he wrote it. When Paul Newman skulked around mourning his pal, we just didn't understand why. With Tommy Lee Jones, we see his pain, conflict, and shame - and we're told why. In case you're unfamiliar with the story, I won't spoil it for you.

Jessica Lange is lovely as Maggie the Cat, a sensual and frustrated lady who can't understand why her husband would rather mope around than sleep with her. He has a broken leg; what else does he have to do around the house? As she and Tommy Lee spar off each other, you know you're in the presence of professionals. These are serious actors who can make the best of a very simple story. Of Williams's plays, this is not my favorite. But with Jessica, Tommy Lee, and Rip Torn as Big Daddy, this is as good as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof will get. Sometimes filmed plays feel a little stage-y, but this one is very good. The only thing stage-y about it is Williams's script, and the actors are not at fault.