La chatte sur un toit brûlant

While I haven't seen very much of the highly-touted 1958 film version of Tennessee Williams's play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor (arguably the most attractive stars of their respective times), the film itself from what I've read was censored and given a tacked on ending to appease the Hayes Code and Catholic League of Decency. I'd imagine the actors were cast well for the parts, but it would likely be best to have the full power and conviction and very human tragedy of Brick to be most effective. Since then the play has been produced countless times in all parts of the country (not least of which on Broadway, where as recent as the past few years an all-black cast was put together for a revival), and as with this 1985 live-taped show, some of it was broadcast as it was for the masses.

I saw the a video of this production, featuring Tommy Lee Jones, Jessica Lange, and Rip Torn, in a Modern Drama class at my old college, and it definitely left an impact after already going over the play in heavy lit-analysis mode. It is, of course, hampered by being a filmed taping of a live performance, but in this limitation it's great to just watch the actors fully embody these characters on their own terms. And, more often than not, it's dynamite; it might even be some of the best acting Torn has ever done, on stage or in film, as the tough "Big Daddy" character who gets a big powerhouse act to spar off of Jones in his conflicted, repressed homosexual character grieving his friend's suicide. Lange, by the way, is excellent in her sultry but depressed wife who is ignored/belittled by Brick.

So, as I can't really give a base of comparison between original film version and this, I can simply say that, for what it's worth, it gives fans of Williams and the play itself their money's worth (or TV-viewing time worth, if it happens to ever play again on a channel). Find it on video if you can!

Wonderfully acted stage production of Williams' classic play. This first aired on Showtime in 1984 or 1985 and I can still recall being a small boy absolutely loving this. Lange is so fiery (and even humorous) in her role as Maggie and Jones is so full of emotional and physical pain as Brick. The other performances are just as solid. Beautiful set designs and nice southern music add on to the positive elements of this great drama.

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 !

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.

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.