Back to trending
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Drama · 1958

An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

Movie details

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

“Just one pillow on her bed... and just one desire in her heart.”

1958 Drama 1h 48m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.6 / 10

Community rating

An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Cat on a Hot Tin Roof?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Courageous

Courageous

Drama · 2011

Law enforcement officers Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, and their partners stand up to the worst the streets have to offer with confidence and focus. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood. They know that God desires to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, but their children are beginning to drift further and further away from them. When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God... and to their children?

'night, Mother

'night, Mother

Drama · 1986

A mother and daughter spend a night together after the daughter reveals that she will kill herself by the end of it.

Hamlet

Hamlet

Drama · 1948

Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, Sir Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet continues to be the most compelling version of Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy. Olivier is at his most inspired—both as director and as the melancholy Dane himself—as he breathes new life into the words of one of the world’s greatest dramatists.

Othello

Othello

Drama · 1951

Manipulated by his jealous ensign Iago, the Moorish general Othello is driven to believe that his new wife Desdemona is unfaithful, setting in motion a chain of deception, jealousy, and violence that leads to tragedy.

The Hours

The Hours

Drama · 2002

The story of three women searching for more potent, meaningful lives. Each is alive at a different time and place, all are linked by their yearnings and their fears. Their stories intertwine, and finally come together in a surprising, transcendent moment of shared recognition.

Fathers and Daughters

Fathers and Daughters

Drama · 2015

A Pulitzer-winning writer grapples with being a widower and father after a mental breakdown, while, 27 years later, his grown daughter struggles to forge connections of her own.

The Judge

The Judge

Drama · 2014

A successful lawyer returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder.

Interiors

Interiors

Drama · 1978

When Eve, an interior designer, is deserted by her husband of many years, Arthur, the emotionally glacial relationships of the three grown-up daughters are laid bare. Twisted by jealousy, insecurity and resentment, Renata, a successful writer; Joey, a woman crippled by indecision; and Flyn, a budding actress; struggle to communicate for the sake of their shattered mother. But when their father unexpectedly falls for another woman, his decision to remarry sets in motion a terrible twist of fate…

Mud

Mud

Drama · 2013

Two teenage boys find a fugitive hiding out on an island in the Mississippi River and help him reunite with his lover and escape an avenging family and their armed posse.

Manchester by the Sea

Manchester by the Sea

Drama · 2016

After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Richard Brooks

Written by

Richard Brooks · James Poe

Paul Newman

Paul Newman

Brick

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor

Maggie

Burl Ives

Burl Ives

Harvey 'Big Daddy' Pollitt

Judith Anderson

Judith Anderson

Big Momma

Jack Carson

Jack Carson

Gooper

Madeleine Sherwood

Madeleine Sherwood

Mae

Vaughn Taylor

Vaughn Taylor

Deacon Davis

Court is in session

Put Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.