A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

The Pulitzer prize winning play by Tennessee Williams was such a large hit on Broadway that Hollywood came calling only one year after the play's run ended.

Certain liberties would obviously have to occur in a film version; particularily the sexual nature of the play. But what was also obviousd was that the film would need two major ingredients from the play to be successful, Elia Kazan and Marlon Brando.

Kazan had directed several films already by the time a Streetcar film formulated, and Brando had made his film debut in 1950's The Men. But they would need to return to Streetcar before vitually every door in Hollywood would open for both.

The cast was rounded out with Karl Malden and Kim Hunter, reprising their roles from the stage version. It was detirmined that Jessica Tandy wasn't a large enough name at the time, and so Vivien Leigh (of Gone With The Wind fame) would replace her.

Much has already been said of the importaqnce of A Streetcar Named Desire. Every great actor of the late 20th Century has some roots in this play. This is, of course, due to the profound affect Marlon Brando had on the acting world. His utilization of method acting revoloutionized the future of film acting, which is backed by the likes of Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson.

What I see to be the most culturally significant aspect of this film is the affect Marlon Brando had on America's youth. Without his tough guy role, there quite possibly may not have been an Elvis Presley or a James Dean. Without such names, the rebellious nature of the younger demographic in the 1950s  may never have transitioned into the anti-war protests of the 1960s. It goes on an on and I believe it starts with Brando.

Without a doubt one of the most important films in cinema history, and also one of the best.

The Cars (1978)

By 1978, the sound of mainstream Rock N Roll has transitioned from the rawness of the early 70s into what would become known as arena rock. This was essentially rock bands that put out highly polished records that some would consider generic. Although I am a fan of bands such as Boston, Foreigner, etc, I can understand this argument.

But along with the punk rock revolts occuring at the time, there was something else formulating, and a band called The Cars were helping define it.

New Wave was an experimental form of rock that would catch on with the success of band like Blondie. But in my opinion, the true first success of the genre came in the form of 1978's "The Cars", the band's self titled debut.

The album was without a doubt Rock N Roll, for Buddy Holly's influence can easily be heard on tracks such as "My Best Friend's Girl". If someone states that The Cars don't play guitar driven music, they would be referring to their later, 80s efforts. This first album has a ton of heavy guitar playing in the form of "Just What I Needed" and "You're All I've Got Tonight".

The more experimental tracks on the album, such as "I'm In Touch With Your World" and "Moving In Stereo" are where the band truly shines, for it is their area of expertise. This was a group of oddballs playing music, so naturally their songs would be joyfully wacky.

The Cars's debut is one of the greatest rock records of all time due to its originality and for not delving too far into experimental New Wave.

Rock Of Ages (2012)

For those of us who are fans of the late 80s Los Angeles Hair Metal scene, but not entirely fond of Hollywood musicals, we find ourselves at a crossroad. Is Rock Of Ages a good representation of the period or a teeny-bopper musical recreation? Luckily, it's mostly the former with little of the latter.

The film stars Julianne Hough as Sherrie, a young rock star wannabe who travels to LA in search of fame. There, she meets Drew, played by Diego Boneta. Drew is also a rocker hopeful and, natrurally, the two fall for one another.

Rock Of Ages does a stellar juob of recreating the era in which it depicts, in particular the feud between Rock music and the censors.

However, it is Tom Cruise who gives this film its superiority over other musicals of recent memory. His performance as aging rock god Stacee Jaxx is perhaps one of his greatest. No, it isn't Cruise showing off his dramatic acting chops like in Rain Man (1988), this is Cruise showing his talents in a comedic role. His characterization is a perfect parody of the over-the-top musicians, a perfect blend of Motley Crue and Jim Morrison.

My final verdict is, if you love rock and roll (I won't make a Joan Jett pun) and can stomach musicals, check this out. At the very least, go for Cruise's awesome performance.