Four-Star Films : ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’

In 1989, a film preservationist at Warner Bros. discovered four minutes of deleted film in this movie that was made appease the Breen Office--enforcer of the old Production Code--without director Elia Kazan’s knowledge. The restored footage, small though it is, clearly adds a different, more sensual tone to the film. Plus, this new print allows us to recognize that “Streetcar” was both a landmark in the fight against censorship and perhaps the most thrilling display of ensemble acting in all of American films. Marlon Brando’s anti-heroic Stanley Kowalksi (left) is one of the most completely realized portrayals ever put on film, notable as much for its sensuality and its regret as its display of naked power. And Vivien Leigh’s Blanche Du Bois (right), Kim Hunter’s Stella and Karl Malden’s Mitch are as alive as the day they were filmed (AMC Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.).

Other four-star films airing this week:

North by Northwest / Cinemax, Sunday, noon.

The Last Picture Show / TNT, Sunday, 9:15 p.m.; Thursday at 12:05 a.m.

East of Eden / AMC, Monday, 11:30 a.m.

Jules and Jim / Bravo, Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday at 8:30 a.m.

Annie Hall / TBS, Wednesday, 10:05 p.m.

Easy Rider / Cinemax, Thursday, 2:50 a.m.