ENCW 205: Art & Identity in New Orleans

The differences between the play and film version of “A Streetcar Named Desire”, effect the way the reader interprets each. In the beginning of the book, Blanche arrives at her sister’s apartment where Stella and Stanley’s neighbor, Eunice, confirms she is in the right place. In the movie, a sailor directs Blanche to where she is supposed to go. Not only this but Blanche and Stella reunite at the bowling alley, not at their apartment. Another difference between the play and the film is the mentioning of Alan, Blanche’s ex husband. Not once in the film does it mention Alan being found with another man where in the play, this is a key detail. One of the final main differences between the play and film version of “A Streetcat Named Desire”, is the ending. At the ending of the film, Stella tells Stanley to never touch her again, followed by her running off with the baby and leaving him. This does not happen in the play, in fact, Stella returns to Stanley and remains with him in the play version. Overall, the play incorporates a lot more details that is left out in the film. The film is extremely fast paced and makes it difficult to understand all of the dialogue that is included. The film is straight to the point, resulting in a lot of details and dialogue left out compared to the play version. Despite there being minimal and maximal changes, the loss of key details from the play and the movie caused me to interpret these two pieces completely different.