Rating: 
Summary: Lies.
Review: "Cat on a hot tin roof" is a play that was filmed in an effort to customize it to the silver screen. The result is average at best; most of the cast seem like they are reciting their lines and not really living their part in the play. The only actor that gives a decent and solid performance is Burl Ives, as Harvey 'Big Daddy' Pollitt, especially when he makes his final confessions near the end and exposes his reality for what it is. That's when the viewers come to realize the true extent of the lies in the lives of the characters.The story as a whole is a harsh examination of human nature and a study in the hypocrisy and falsehood in the society of the fifties. The picture illustrated is quite grim; people are living unsatisfying lives, married to spouses they don't love anymore, get drunk to escape reality, see no way out of their miserable existence, when money serves as the number one motivator for their actions. Have things really changes ever since? I guess it depends on the person that you are and on the choices you make as you go by.
Rating: 
Summary: Humanity at it's best...
Review: "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is a spectacular visual masterpiece about the human spirit.
Every character has three dimensions, and every line is perfectly written and delivered. Credit is needed for the original playright(although I am aware the plot was altered to please the strict critics of the time), who along with the screenplay writers are as important as the actors.
Speaking of actors, Liz Taylor, Burl Ives and Paul Newman were all flawless in their roles. They were human, and as a painting they were more real than reality. My opinions of the characters changed continually throughout the film. It was as if you were peeling away the skin layer by layer to find the truth. Annoyance turned into hate, hate turned into compassion.
The most important element of this film was feelings;emotions the players have, and have to deal with. As well as how you feel about them, and their situations.
Rating:
Summary: MEEEOOOOW!
Review: "Cat on the Hot Tin Roof"
Has so much tension, one can't cut it with a machete... Just another very dysfunctional family, which Tennessee Williams writes so brilliantly. You have Maggie (the cat) The only character in the extended family who is 'Normal' The only one who seems to be keeping the family from killing one another. Liz, of course plays her beautifully, superbly, very sexy as 'The Cat' (Brick) Paul Newman plays her husband...A drunk with many devils he needs to let out, such as why he will not sleep with Maggie, why won't he stop thinking about his foot-ball buddy who killed himself. The viewer will wonder if his has other preferences... Because who wouldn't sleep with (The Cat)?? Big Daddy...played by Burl Ives... The GOD of the family, the one with all the money, Power, the one who's dying. (Excellent performance) (Goober) Brick's brother and his wife wait impatiently for Big Daddy's fortune. The wife is appalling enough to make one sick. Continually taunting Maggie about not having children, having a bad marriage, not controlling Brick. Her kids run around the house like little, foul animals. This family is a disaster waiting to happen...The pressure cooker is on high, baby, and when she blows
Watch out...All hell will break loose all over the place. They don't make um' like this anymore. MEEEEOOOOOW!
Rating:
Summary: Humanity at it's best...
Review: "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is a spectacular visual masterpiece about the human spirit.
Every character has three dimensions, and every line is perfectly written and delivered. Credit is needed for the original playright(although I am aware the plot was altered to please the strict critics of the time), who along with the screenplay writers are as important as the actors.
Speaking of actors, Liz Taylor, Burl Ives and Paul Newman were all flawless in their roles. They were human, and as a painting they were more real than reality. My opinions of the characters changed continually throughout the film. It was as if you were peeling away the skin layer by layer to find the truth. Annoyance turned into hate, hate turned into compassion.
The most important element of this film was feelings;emotions the players have, and have to deal with. As well as how you feel about them, and their situations.
Rating:
Summary: Raw Emotion on Screen
Review: 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' is based on Tennessee William's play of the same name. I do shamefully admit that I have not read or seen the play but I do intend to. It is about the trials and tribulations of a Southern family who learn that the patriarch, Big Daddy, played brilliantly by Burl Ives, is dying and how they want to stake their claim on the inheritance he will give. It concentrates on the problems in the marriage between Brick(Paul Newman:those EYES!) and Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor), the favouritism towards Brick, and Brick's alcoholism. Paul Newman & Elizabeth Taylor gave terrific performances in this film. They are the kind of actors who co-exist perfectly and I wished they could have done more films. This is a fantastic film. Don't miss out.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb
Review: Acting doesn't come any better than this. Newman and Taylor have such chemistry its unbelievable, and although the movie may drag in certain parts, overall it is a great character study.
Taylor is heartbreaking as the sexually deprived wife as Newman, a hardened man who suspects his wife of infidelity. Once again the theme of homosexuality is present ( as it is in all of Williams' plays), but in the movie it is thankfully downplayed and subtle. The definitive film version of the play, whose highlights are pretty much every scene in which Maggie and Brick are alone in their room bickering.
Rating:
Summary: All Steam
Review: Being from Mississippi, and actually born in the same town as Williams himself, I have a cultural right to be extremely picky about this film, so I must begin with two down-home criticisms. A Mississippi delta accent is a very, very specific sound, and most of the cast miss it by a mile--with Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman the worst offenders of the lot. That aside, the Mississippi delta simply doesn't look like the brief bits of landscape we're allowed to see in the film, and the archetecture of the big house is also extremely unlikely for that area. So if you're actually expecting to find any sense of the region, you're out of luck. Most viewers probably won't notice these problems, but they are a drawback, for William's work is always as much about place as about character and plot, and the film's failure to accurately capture it is a diservice to both audience and creator. That said, the big problem with CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is 1950s censorship: it simply wasn't possible to film a play about an unconciously homosexual man's inability to forgive his oversexed wife for her role in his pseudo-lover's death. As a result, the film sidesteps the entire issue and focuses on the sub-plot of just who is going to inherit Big Daddy's estate when he dies. Accents aside, the cast does quite well, with supporting players Anderson, Carson, and Sherwood particular standouts--but the end result is just so much steam without substance, well done but not particularly meaningful.
Rating:
Summary: FAN THE FLAMES!
Review: CENSORSHIP reigned supreme when this daring and difinitive version of the Williams play hit the big screen, and that's why this IS the landmark version! It's totally unnecessary to spoon-feed an audience - if you 'don't get it' - move on and watch something from 1970 or was it slightly earlier when it all flew out of the window and imagination died. ELIZABETH TAYLOR? Got to hand it to her - she's magnificent as Maggie [a true Southern belle!], and knows just how to handle the impaired Paul Newman - also stellar as the doubting Brick. The Young viewier must always bear in mind that during those times artistic expression was severely restricted - you had to find other ways to convey 'the message' instead of being graphic. The newer versions are interesting - but this one set the ground rules - subtle and straight to the point! Odd note, even back then - this movie was 'age restricted'. [Also with Burl Ives as the difinitive 'Big Daddy' with doyenne of American Theatre - Judith Anderson as'Big Mama']
Rating:
Summary: Taylor in top form
Review: Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman star in the film version of Tennessee Williams' play CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor) and her husband Brick (Paul Newman) return to Brick's father's plantation to celebrate Big Daddy's (Burl Ives) birthday. Little does Big Daddy know that he's dying of cancer, and that Brick is a hopeless alcoholic, and that he hasn't touched Maggie in months. The whole sordid truth will soon be revealed, while Big Daddy enjoys his final months on the plantation.... Taylor, Newman and Ives all are in top form here. Both Taylor and Newman were nominated for Oscars, while the supporting cast includes Judith Anderson, Madeleine Sherwood and Jack Carson. The jazz score is haunting, while the expert direction by Richard Brooks is faultless.
Rating:
Summary: Smell That Mendacity
Review: Excellent screen adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play. Newman and Taylor shine in the lead roles as an alcoholic ex-athlete and his money grubbing sexpot of a wife. However, the film is stolen by Burl Ives' portrayal of dying family patriarch, Big Daddy Pollitt. Ives deserved an Academy Award for this film instead of The Big Country for which he won. He's much better in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
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