Tennessee Williams Film Collection Released May 2

A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Night of the Iguana, Baby Doll and The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone--six films featuring the poetic writing of Tennessee Williams--will be included in a new DVD set that will be released on May 2nd by Warner Home Video.

"The Tennesee Williams Film Collection" will also include a bonus DVD of the documentary feature Tennessee Williams' South. Of the films included, The Night of the Iguana, Sweet Bird of Youth, Baby Doll and Sweet Bird of Youth are receiving their DVD debuts.

A Streetcar Named Desire--starring Marlon Brando as brutish Stanley Kowalski and Vivien Leigh as aging Southern belle Blanche DuBois--will be featured in a two-disc Special Edition set that will also include a screen test by Brando, commentary by Karl Malden (who played Harold) and film historian Rudy Behlmer, outtakes, documentaries and three minutes of footage (deemed too racy by the Legion of Decency) that were cut from the original film. The 1951 film was directed by Elia Kazan.

Cat on a Hat Tin Roof--featured in a Deluxe Edition DVD--stars Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Burl Ives. The 1958 film, directed by Richard Brooks, is a tale of sex and mendacity concerning an ex-football player and his alluring wife.

The Night of the Iguana, from 1964, concerns a spinster and a defrocked clergyman who become attracted to one another. It stars Richard Burton, Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner and Sue Lyon; John Huston directed.

Sweet Bird of Youth follows a faded movie star and the man who she holds under her sway. Directed by Brooks, the 1962 film stars Geraldine Page, Paul Newman, Shirley Knight, Ed Begley and Rip Torn.

With an original screenplay by Williams, Baby Doll concerns two rivals and the 19 year-old that one of them has married. The 1956 film, directed by Kazan, stars Carroll Baker, Karl Malden and Eli Wallach.

Based on a novel by Williams and with a screenplay by Gavin Lambert, 1961's The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone stars Vivien Leigh, Warren Beatty and Lotte Lenya in a tale of a middle-aged actress finding romance in the Eternal City. Jose Quintero directed.

Williams plays, which are frequently revived, are known for their lyricism as well as for their sympathetic treatment of their ne'er-do-well, drifting or faded characters. Other plays include The Glass Menagerie, Summer and Smoke, Orpheus Descending, The Rose Tattoo, Vieux Carre and Camino Real.

"The Tennessee Williams Film Collection" is available for $48.29 on Amazon.com.