Fresh and Exciting

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Anna Magnani was a revelation in this, her American debut film, as an earthy, tempestuous and full-blooded woman whose grief over the death of her husband is complicated by the discovery of his infidelity and the attentions of an unwelcome new suitor who holds out the offer of passion now gone from her life. Few actresses had ever made such a fiery arrival on American screens and her performance won her an Oscar as Best Actress. Subsequent screen appearances clearly showed that her acting range did not extend far beyond what she showed here, leading her to be somewhat typecast as a hyper-emotional Italian, but even if her legacy had only been this film, it would be memorable. Burt Lancaster is rather oddly cast as a slightly simple truck driver who has a crush on Magnani's character. Burt's physicality works here, but his obviously greater depth and awareness at times run counter to the live-in-the- moment needs of his not very bright character, and the resulting performance is never completely convincing. Marisa Pavan, the twin sister of better known Italian star Pier Angeli, got a nomination as best supporting actress as the fragile daughter struggling to hold her own grief in check, while searching for her place in a recognizably Tennessee Williams world of sultry Southern backwardness and soap opera passions. Excellent black and white cinematography by James Wong Howe won the film another Oscar and evocative production design created a believable Southern town square around which this otherwise rather stagy adaptation plays out. Like all Tennessee Williams dramas, this one can get somewhat overwrought at times, but Magnani and Pavan make it watchable - if ultimately dismissible - entertainment.

A truck driver corts a troubled widow.This film is o.k. Anna Magnanis' character can be a tad bit annoying. But I think that is on purpose. Burt Lancasters' performance seems to be forced at times. But,it took a truck driver to help a troubled widow find purpose in life. Burt Lancaster drove the White big tuck!!Burt Lancaster was a permanent A list actor!!Anna Magnani, Virginia Grey and the girls dancin on the bar were hot!!Marisa Daven is hot!!---One Truck Drivers' Opinion---erldwgstruckermovies.com

It has been over fifty years since Anna Magnani played the wonderful and tormented Serafina Della Rosa for Tennessee Williams' Rose Tattoo. Anyway, I think it's time somebody out there reconsidered updating this film to today's color. How about Linda Fiorentino who is about the same age as Anna Magnani was for The Rose Tattoo? Sadly, I wrote and sent a DVD and an original first edition book of The Rose Tattoo to Linda's representatives in Los Angeles but to no response as of yet. Maybe they think that nobody would be interested in a story about a mature Italian American woman tormented inside, pretending to be outside. Of course, there are other actresses who can do the role whether on stage which it still is or for a television movie or film. I thought Anna's performance was remarkable in that she was raw, determined, fierce, yet vulnerable and heartbroken. It reminds us that good films are not about special effects, violence, or sexuality but about a story, characters that we love and never forget.

I recommend this film solely to witness Magnani's performance, which was an utterly beautiful piece of acting, indeed. Although I did not feel pulled into the plot very much, I did sympathize with Magnani's character because she played her part with such heart. I must admit that I was disappointed by Lancaster's overacting, and the minor actors also were not at all impressive. Also, I do not feel inspired to read the play itself because I don't think that reading it could compare to watching Magnani's riveting performance through which Magnani's soul itself seems to bleed.Although I cannot think of another film with such an engaging actress, the beginning tone and ambiance of this film reminded me of other Tennessee Williams works. The atmosphere is open, naked, and almost frightening; Williams's plays always introduce characters that are very human--weak, lonely, unsettled--and deeply passionate. He doesn't take care to hide the frightening and desperate side of people even though we may not want to see that. He makes no exception in this piece, and this sense of humanity is most effectively portrayed through Magnani.