The Rose Tattoo (1955)

Very well executed

i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This is my favorite movie of all time. I think the performance by Anna Magnanni, Marisa Pavan and the rest of the cast were superb. I have lived in Key West for the past 40 years and during that time I have watched the movie many times. All of the locations/scenes shot in the movie are still intact. Serafina's home is still a residence here, the grocery store where she shopped is still here (as a private residence), the Catholic church she attended (in reality it is Episcopal) is still here, the school where the dance took place is still a school here, and the bar scene is still here. When you visit Key West, you can feel the mood and ambiance of the movie even today and the characters from the film seem to come to life. I realize that it was supposed to take place in New Orleans. However, it was a stroke of good luck/genius that it was filmed here in Key West (Tennessee's home is still here) and the story, the film and the memories of the filming are still very much alive here. When you come here take a moment and see if you don't agree.

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.

This wasn't as good as Come Back, Little Sheba which was also directed by Daniel Mann and starring Burt Lancaster. This one stars Anna Magnani in her first English film and she won an oscar for it. It stars out with her husband being killed in a car accident and she becomes very depressed. Three years later and her daughter has started dating. They are Italian and she doesn't like her daughter dating a navy boy. She gets even more depressed when she finds out that her husband was having an affair and she has a rose tattoo just like him. She meets Burt Lancaster, a lonely truck driver who wants to date Magnani. This was written by Tennessee Williams but this wasn't one of his best plays.