This Property Is Condemned

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Summary: This property is Condemned
Review: This in many ways is a small movie, especially when compared to the blockbuster giants of the Starwars movies and the large epics of the 50's and 60's. What makes this so special is that the people that starred in it and those who were responsible for the making of this movie are BIG. Tennessee Wlliams writes the screenplay, Natalie Wood, Robert Redford were rising stars when they took on the roles. Even direction, music and production are from some of Hollywood's best. The story is a favorite for those who lived in the South in 30's or 40's. Overall, while I have many big favorites, this is my little great favorite.

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Summary: why isnt this on dvd?
Review: this is one of my favorite movies...i am 35 yrs old and this movie has so many stars with so many talents, i just cant comprehend why this masterpiece isnt on dvd? but they'll release garbage like "american pie" "friday after next" and the list goes on...am i missing something here? this is a classic...keeps you interested throughout the entire movie...and natalie wood...wow! what a stunner! shame her husband pushed her overboard...whatever studio made this film needs to wake up and realize their priorities in what is released on dvd and whats not...really now, does earnest saves christmas get released before this property is condemned? something is definately warped here...classic movie...yet sad.

Rating:
Summary: Great film
Review: This is probably one of the most underrated performances by these two actors. I am a HUGE Natalie Wood film, and I had been wanting to see this film forever. She gives such a raw and uninhibited performance, and she was absolutely stunning the entire time. I loved the chemistry between her and Robert Redford, too. I can't believe such a sexually charged movie was made in 1966! I liked the music, the hot and and sticky location, and the daring story! A must see movie about the "American Dream!"

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Summary: You Must Scratch Beneath the Surface
Review: This largely misunderstood film, based on the Tennessee Williams play and co-screen written by Francis Ford Coppola, paints the stark portrait of a dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship that is doomed to end in tragedy. Natalie Wood (Alva) continues to demonstrate her unusual knack for deep psychological roles. To this she adds her own blossoming to full womanhood with a beauty that is at once mezmarizing and perfectly wedded to her seductively meschievous character. Kate Reid excels as the "toxic parent" whose ruthless possessiveness and manipulation form a trap from which Alva only escapes through fantasy. Robert Redford (railroad exec Own Legate) delivers as her unlikely would be savior, while at the same time sounding the death knell for the small Depression Era railroad town that sustains her. And Carles Bronson adds a surprisingly fit performance as the roughneck who courts the mother only to get close to the daughter, but instead unwittingly plays a role in her destruction.

Critics panned this film that clearly goes against the grain of what was considered tasteful for the times, but that deftly describes the destructive patterns of co-dependency and toxic parenting before they were understood in those terms. Indeed, this movie offers much to the discerning viewer who can crack its promiscuous surface.

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Summary: Natalie Wood at her Best
Review: This movie completely blew me away. It's so rare to see such unique characters, such as Alva. Tennessee Williams always seems to completely capture such awesome women in his stories. Dramas do make the best movies and you just can't get any more dramatic than this one. Truly a magical, sweet, romantic, tearjerker. I cried through the whole thing.

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Summary: A powerful story of love, duty and idealism.
Review: This movie is vastly underappreciated. It is a timeless and powerful story of love and cultural differences. Owen grapples with his duty which is in conflict with his compassion. Alva's idealistic view of the world clashes with its realities. Her dreams are impractical yet they are exactly what Owen lacks and what draws them together. The rest of the cast delivers great supporting performances, especially Badham, Bronson and Blake. This is one of my favorite movies. It always transports me and I leave it grudgingly, wishing I too could be caught up in Alva's world. Although it has an all star cast, the star is the story, which is as it should be.

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Summary: the great Natalie Wood does it again!
Review: Wanna burn up your VCR? Pop this great film in and watch it smolder!Natalie Wood, in a change of pace, plays the Southern hooker to absolute perfection! Where was her Oscar for this role? It is a great film with wonderful performances from the entire cast but the amazing Natalie walks away with it, hands down! From her opening scene in the boardinghouse kitchen to her final run through a rain soaked New Orleans she is pure and utter magic! They don't make stars like this anymore!! ONE QUESTION...WHERE IS THE DVD!?!?

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Summary: TEST OF TIME.......
Review: WELL, this one certainly survives it all!
Damned by the critics when it opened - based on a curtain-raiser by Mr. Tennessee Williams and 'expanded' somewhat NATALIE WOOD brings great depth to this [sigh yet another] tarnished Southern Belle - now part of the 'bone orchard'

Mr. Redford is the love-interest and perhaps salvation - interesting double bill with "Summer and Smoke".

GREAT final scene with Miss Wood and scheming mother .......

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Summary: I loved it as a kid and I love it still today!
Review: When I first saw this film, as a preteen, I thought it was the ultimate romance. Well, I got older ... and saw it again. And it's still pretty romantic. In fact, it's still a film I watch over and over.

The performances are really juicy. Everyone in it seems to understand the over-the-top quality of Tennessee Williams, and no one disappoints. You'll find Charles Bronson and a very young Robert Blake in supporting roles here. Both Kate Reid, as Wood's driving, ambitious `Mama' using her beautiful daughter to hook the town's men, and Mary Badham, as `Willie', the not-so-beautiful younger sister who idolizes Wood, are quite simply superb. Every move, every look from both are truly sublime.

Natalie Wood has always been one of my favorite stars, and she is every inch the star in this one. It's clear from her first closeup how special, how different, and how exciting Alva Starr is to everyone she comes in contact with. She meets her match in Robert Redford, the man who has no dreams, who sees her in unvarnished black and white but comes to appreciate her need to color life ... in fact, realizes he can't live without it when he's separated from her.

Is it great drama? No. But it's glorious soap opera. The best soap opera, the most memorable Southern soap opera, you're likely to find. These people have real problems, real needs, and they're beautifully drawn by the screenwriters (thank you, Francis Coppola, among others) and by the actors who play them. We're given a lot of time to know them and care about them, and we do care, very much.

It's one of my favorite guilty pleasures, and I expect I'll keep watching it for years to come. Don't miss it.

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Summary: Robert Reford and Natalie Wood: How can you go wrong?
Review: When I first started to see this film, I noticed it was from the 60s so I was about to turn it off, when I reelaized that both Redford and Wood were in it. When I saw Charles Bronson was also in it, I said I was going to give it a try. I loved Redford's style from the very beginning. He was a mistery man all dressed up coming into to town and catching everyone's attention because he was different than all the rest. It took a while for Natalie Wood to come into the scene, but when she finally did...Oh my god! If there is anything more prettier that her, you have to search in some other planet. Gosh, she was so pretty. Wathing her and Redford fall in love in that movie was so fascinating. She, a beutiful, full of alife, with a vivid imagination young girl, and he, A handsome, cold, and smart man. They make a strange couple tied only by the bond of love. The ending surprised me a bit. It was not a happy ending, but from the very beginning the movie tells you is not going to be happy. Your concentration is so great, you forget about the sadness, at least for a while. Great acting, top of the line. I surely agree with the preious reviewer. Leonard Maltin does not know what he is talking about. I wonder, this is supposed to be the guy who knows about movies, yeah...whatever. A must see film, ignore Maltin on this one.