Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7656 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-11-11
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Black & White, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, German, Italian, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 110 minutes

Amazon.com
This black-and-white film adaptation of Tennessee Williams's Southern gothic play is perhaps more famous for the rumored off-screen shenanigans of its stars than for its over-the-top repressed sexuality (only Williams could pull off that paradox, and pull it off he does). Supposedly, stars Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor battled for screen time; Hepburn warred very publicly with director Joseph Mankiewicz; and a post-accident Montgomery Clift relied heavily on painkillers and support from friend Taylor during the gruelling shoot. Even this, however, cannot top the events of the film itself, revolving around the unseen playboy Sebastian and his mysterious death, which has something to do with young boys, a decadent European vacation and Taylor in a provocative wet, white bathing suit. To give away the plot would spoil the fun, but suffice it to say that what Taylor saw was so horrible it drove her nuts, and Sebastian's mother (Hepburn) wants her to have a lobotomy in order to keep it from coming out; Clift is brought in to do the procedure. It's all a hoot and a holler, but as played by the two leading ladies (both of whom nabbed Oscar nominations), it's also compelling, chilling, and utterly gothic. Taylor gives a fierce performance, as the climaxing monologue that reveals Sebastian's "secret" rests entirely on her shoulders, and Hepburn plays brilliantly against type as Sebastian's manipulating, overbearing mother. Only Clift, saddled with a dreary character in charge of plot exposition, fails to deliver. Adapted by Gore Vidal. --Mark Englehart

Special Features
filmographies; photo gallery; photo montage.

Synopsis
Gore Vidal's stark, powerful screen adaptation of Tennessee Williams's play explores the trauma of Catherine (Elizabeth Taylor), whose homosexual cousin dies an unspeakable and gradually revealed death while traveling with her in Europe. Katharine Hepburn as the murdered man's mother can't bear to hear the details of her son's death, preferring instead to have a lobotomy performed on her niece, insisting that the girl is mad. But a doctor (Montgomery Clift) is determined to explore the reasons behind the girl's inexplicable actions and words, eventually uncovering the secrets the mother wants to hide. Williams's play explicitly stated why the murdered man's death so traumatized his cousin, but this adaptation written by Vidal and filled with wild, moody tension by director Joseph L. Mankiewicz allows viewers to read between the lines and gather their own suspicions about Sebastian Venable's death. Taylor radiates uncertainty and fear as the girl terrorized by her cousin's death and her fierce aunt's obsession to keep her quiet, while Hepburn sways with menace in one of her few, deliciously played roles as a villainess. Both actresses were nominated for Best Actress Oscars for their performances.

Customer Reviews

Good example of Southern Gothic in cinema
"Suddenly, Last Summer" was adapted by Gore Vidal from the one-act Southern Gothic play by Tennessee Williams. Southern Gothic is a genre of American writing which appeared after the civil war which choose to maintain the atmosphere of gothic writing but focus modern social concerns such as race, gender and sexual orientation. Southern writers such as Harper Lee, William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams all fall into this category. "Suddenly, Last Summer" deals with the issues of homosexuality and the attempts of Violet Venable (Katherine Hepburn) to cover up her sons homosexuality to point of trying to get her niece, Catherine Holly (Elizabeth Taylor), lobotomised in order to prevent her from talking. Due to the production code of the period explicit references to homosexuality had to be implied and not spoken of directly which in a dialogue driven film can be difficult. Its not really until the end when Catherine states that women as companions were used for "procurement" does this become apparent.

Katherine Hepburn's character for me felt out-of-character in relation to her real life persona which I found at times difficult to reconcile although it was a great performance. Montgomery Clift's performance is good but really the star for me was Elizabeth Taylor who is wonderful however difficult it is to believe that she could be duped by Sebastian's motives. I would certainly recommend this film to fans of hers. It is a dark and creepy psychologically driven film although by no means a horror picture. For a further example of southern gothic see "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951, Kazan).

Directed by Joseph L Mankiewicz (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, 1946; A Letter to Three Wives, 1949; All About Eve, 1950)

Cinematography: Jack Hildyard (Henry V, 1944; The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957)

Highly melodramatic Tennessee Williams drama
Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor dominate this film with acting that matches the gothic darkness of the plot where Violet Venable (Hepburn) tries to have Catherine Holly (Taylor) operated on for a frontal lobotomy to erase her memories of what happened last summer to Mrs Venables playboy son Sebastian (an absent role).

Due to censorship restrictions in 1959 the disturbing nature of the plot can only be dealt with obliquely, resulting in embarrassing histrionics by current standards.

However this is very fine acting by Hepburn and Taylor and good production of the time, and we should not be too hard on Montgomery Clift for a below par performance as he was recovering from a car accident.

An important film of its time that is well worth viewing.

What does Cathy know? What happened last summer?
"Suddenly Last Summer" (1959) is a strange, dark movie, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and based on a play written by Tennessee Williams. This film touches many subjects that where highly controversial at the time it was made, for example mental illness, homosexuality and cannibalism. Truth to be told, a lot is to be inferred, and not much is shown. However, the fact that the characters hardly ever mention things that so obviously have to do with what happens makes those themes stand out even more.

The central question in this movie is, of course, "what happened last summer?", and the spectator will be immediately drawn into the mystery. Unfortunately for us, the only witness to what happened is Catherine Holly (Elizabeth Taylor), a beautiful and traumatized young woman who became mentally unbalanced after witnessing the death of her cousin Sebastian Venable. Her aunt, wealthy Mrs. Violet Venable (Katharine Hepburn), thinks that Catherine should be lobotomized. That is the reason why she urges neurosurgeon Dr. John Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift) to perform the operation. However, Dr. Cukrowicz believes that his patient may not be mad, after all, and that Mrs. Violet Venable might want the lobotomy in order to destroy Catherine's mind. But what does Cathy know? What happened last summer?

On the whole, I think that you will like this movie, if you don't mind the somber tone that pervades it. Recommended!