A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951
125 minutes

A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1951 American drama adapted from Tennessee Williams's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 play of the same name. Starring Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden, it tells the story of a southern belle, Blanche DuBois, who, after encountering a series of personal losses, leaves her aristocratic background and seeks refuge with her sister and brother-in-law in a dilapidated New Orleans tenement. In 1999, A Streetcar Named Desire was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." With age as a theme in My Art, Simmons, as Ellie, comments on the ages of the actresses who have played Blanche DuBois.

Tuesday Evenings at the Modern: Films is an extension of the Modern’s weekly speaker series, Tuesday Evenings at the Modern. This special winter version of Tuesday Evenings at the Modern: Films is in conjunction with Laurie Simmons: Big Camera/Little Camera, as it traces references made in Simmons’s own feature-length film, My Art, 2016. In My Art, the film’s protagonist, Ellie, a 65-year-old artist played by Simmons, enlists those around her to play various roles in restaging excerpts from old movies, which are threaded together in Ellie’s art to address nostalgia and memory.

To create a full experience for audiences, as with the lecture series, these presentations include a brief introduction and opportunity for discussion following the films. Seating is available in the Modern’s auditorium at 6:30 pm, and the program runs from 7 pm to no later than 9 pm. With this special program, the museum’s galleries and Café Modern are open until 7 pm. Tuesday Evenings at the Modern: Films is free and open to the public. Up to two free tickets can be attained at the admission desk beginning at 5 pm the day of each screening.

Cafe Modern will be open for happy hour until 7 pm. Enjoy a beverage and The Modern Lights before the film.