Two classic plays by Williams and Miller filmed in black and white in the fifties ("death of the salesman " and this one) were remade in the eighties in color ; John Malkovich stars in both ,and both,at least to my eyes , surpass the first versions ,mainly "menagerie" .
Like in Irving Rapper 's movie ,it's a flashback : on his ship ,Tom remembers;in the color version ,he returns to the house where he used to live with his mom and sister Laura.
Paul Newman shows much respect for Williams' play (some will say "too much") ,but when you deal with first class actors ,who cares? Unlike Rapper , Newman filmed the play as it was written (although Williams' stage directions were not generally kept),and if one does not leave the apartment (except for the fire escape),it makes the place where two characters tear themselves to pieces all the more stiffling ,unbearable .
Except for the knowing lightings , his direction leaves the lion's share to his thespians :
His wife Joanne Woodward displays of the nuances of an overpossessive mother, beyond good and evil ;deserted by a man whose picture is still hanging on a wall ,she tries to help her children avoid her sad life ;the more she tries,the more Tom ,who can 't assume his manliness -he's told to chew his food!-, feels resentful ,the more Laura retreats in her imaginary world she makes live in her glass menagerie.Wearing a horrible grey wig ,she still thinks she's attractive and she puts on her coquette act before Jim.A great performance by an actress.
John Malkovich is prodigious (it would be unfair to write he outdoes the excellent performance of Arthur Kennedy because of the limitations this actor was working under :a watered down screenplay,too much time given over to his pal Jim ) ,being both childlike and mature ;the way he depicts his imaginary crazy nights gives the jitters ; for the voice over ,he uses a monotonous tone, close to recitative ,accentuating the break with the past .
Karen Allen is a cute frail dainty Laura ;the actress is perfect when she retreats in her imaginary world ; she does not relate to their world; facing such a monstre sacré as Woodward was not an easy task ,and she rose to the occasion.
James Naughton as Jim O'Connor appears late (in the play in the sixth of the seven scenes) ,and he has much less time than Kirk Douglas in the 1950 version ;nevertheless he makes his lines count ;particularly in the moment when he he shares chewing-gum with Laura ,both sitting on the floor ,then dance ("somebody needs to build your confidence up and make you proud instead of shy"); but in Laura 's life , he 's only passing through and Naughton makes us feel his regret and his pity .
Perhaps closer to filmed stage production than to cinema ,yet the close-ups allow us to enjoy outstanding performances.
Like in Irving Rapper 's movie ,it's a flashback : on his ship ,Tom remembers;in the color version ,he returns to the house where he used to live with his mom and sister Laura.
Paul Newman shows much respect for Williams' play (some will say "too much") ,but when you deal with first class actors ,who cares? Unlike Rapper , Newman filmed the play as it was written (although Williams' stage directions were not generally kept),and if one does not leave the apartment (except for the fire escape),it makes the place where two characters tear themselves to pieces all the more stiffling ,unbearable .
Except for the knowing lightings , his direction leaves the lion's share to his thespians :
His wife Joanne Woodward displays of the nuances of an overpossessive mother, beyond good and evil ;deserted by a man whose picture is still hanging on a wall ,she tries to help her children avoid her sad life ;the more she tries,the more Tom ,who can 't assume his manliness -he's told to chew his food!-, feels resentful ,the more Laura retreats in her imaginary world she makes live in her glass menagerie.Wearing a horrible grey wig ,she still thinks she's attractive and she puts on her coquette act before Jim.A great performance by an actress.
John Malkovich is prodigious (it would be unfair to write he outdoes the excellent performance of Arthur Kennedy because of the limitations this actor was working under :a watered down screenplay,too much time given over to his pal Jim ) ,being both childlike and mature ;the way he depicts his imaginary crazy nights gives the jitters ; for the voice over ,he uses a monotonous tone, close to recitative ,accentuating the break with the past .
Karen Allen is a cute frail dainty Laura ;the actress is perfect when she retreats in her imaginary world ; she does not relate to their world; facing such a monstre sacré as Woodward was not an easy task ,and she rose to the occasion.
James Naughton as Jim O'Connor appears late (in the play in the sixth of the seven scenes) ,and he has much less time than Kirk Douglas in the 1950 version ;nevertheless he makes his lines count ;particularly in the moment when he he shares chewing-gum with Laura ,both sitting on the floor ,then dance ("somebody needs to build your confidence up and make you proud instead of shy"); but in Laura 's life , he 's only passing through and Naughton makes us feel his regret and his pity .
Perhaps closer to filmed stage production than to cinema ,yet the close-ups allow us to enjoy outstanding performances.