Elia Kazan Dead at 94

Started by cine, September 28, 2003, 07:56:53 PM

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ElPandaRoyal

#15
September 29, 2003, 10:08:40 AM
QuoteI'm glad he ratted out his commie friends.

:roll:  tsc tsc..... You know, he was a great director, but ratting out the commies doesn't make him such a great person. Bet, hey, it's one of those cases when we have to separate the work from the person...
Si

Gold Trumpet

#16
September 29, 2003, 10:09:30 AM
Thing is, some of them likely weren't even communist and lost their careers because of it.

~rougerum

SoNowThen

#17
September 29, 2003, 10:16:06 AM
I hope you all realize I'm 80% kidding here...

(But seriously, what's up with communists, really?)
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

Fernando

#18
September 29, 2003, 10:37:46 AM
Just yesterday TCM ran its series The Essentials with Sidney Pollack screening On The Waterfront, unfortunately I couldn't watch it, does anybody know what Sidney commented on this one?


I reallly laughed at your commie joke Sonowthen.

ElPandaRoyal

#19
September 29, 2003, 10:44:38 AM
We know you're kidding, even though only 80% kidding. But well, I don't know if you're kiding when you ask

Quote(But seriously, what's up with communists, really?)

:?
Si

SoNowThen

#20
September 29, 2003, 10:46:02 AM
:shock:
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

ElPandaRoyal

#21
September 29, 2003, 10:51:01 AM
I just asked because, even though I'm not a communist, I think many people are just misinformed about the whole communism thing. I'm no expert in politics, but it's a well known historical fact that the fear of communists resulted in some very stupid consequences.
Si

Wesabeck

#22
September 29, 2003, 04:33:40 PM
Today, while taking a theatre class, I learned of Elia Kazan's death, and although he was quite old, his passing still him me quite hard.

If anyone wants to read a excellent work of self evaluation read A LIFE by Elia Kazan.  Kazan is... was a genius and brought so many new elements to theatre and film.  His artistry will surely be missed.  Rest in peace, gadg.
Good looking people have no spine.

modage

#23
February 09, 2005, 11:42:13 PM


watched my third Kazan film tonite (after On The Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire), Splendor in the Grass.  after reading the synopsis, "Young lovers are driven apart by their parents in the 20's.", i had expected a melodramatic 1961 romeo and juliet-esque teenage romance.  I WAS SO WRONG.  this movie was like an exposed nerve.  some of it was so raw and heartwrenching, i couldnt believe i was watching a movie made in 1961 about the 20's.  natalie wood was great, as was (to a lesser extent) warren beatty in his debut role (starring no less).  one of the great things the film did was not make any 'bad guys'.  every character was a flawed person who didnt always make the right decisions but couldnt really be the scapegoat for the things that happened to them.  it was just a serious of unfortunate events that kept them from each other, and that was really great and much more complex than i had expected out of this film.  recommended.  :yabbse-thumbup:
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Alethia

#24
February 09, 2005, 11:57:57 PM
that is easily one of my top films of all time.  i adore it.  kazan was an absolute master and in my opinion Splendor In the Grass was his best film.

Quotethis movie was like an exposed nerve.

that very well may be the perfect description.

MacGuffin

#25
February 10, 2005, 12:56:42 AM
Quote from: themodernage02watched my third Kazan film tonite (after On The Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire), Splendor in the Grass.

Time for number four:

Set for release on 5/31 (SRP $26.99) is East of Eden (available for the first time on DVD).

Which I think is his best.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

modage

#26
February 10, 2005, 09:27:45 AM
oh, sweet.  i had been wanting to see that film next but as it was unavailable on dvd i was keeping an eye out on tcm.  this makes things easier.  i also have Gentlemans Agreement from my fox best picture boxset which i plan on getting to soon.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Alethia

#27
February 10, 2005, 09:29:54 AM
what a great month may's gonna be.

wilder

#28
December 13, 2012, 02:15:48 PM
Martin Scorsese's documentary A Letter to Elia (2010) is now available to view online at PBS

wilder

#29
April 10, 2014, 02:37:16 PM
Elia Kazan's Private Letters: Sleeping With Marilyn, Chastising Beatty and Discovering Newman
via The Hollywood Reporter

An excerpt from a new book of the director's correspondence reveals his infidelities, fights with censors and true feelings about Brando, Dean and other stars.

Director Elia Kazan remains one of Hollywood's most polarizing figures. He directed such classics as A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), On the Waterfront (1954), East of Eden (1955) and Splendor in the Grass (1961). The native New Yorker's career began on the stage and, as such, Kazan was an actor's director; he discovered Marlon Brando, James Dean and Warren Beatty. He also loved writers and proved a nimble collaborator for such icons as Tennessee Williams and John Steinbeck.

But when he testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee about being a member of the Communist Party in the '30s, he "named names" -- an act that drew scorn from some of his contemporaries and colored his career and his 1999 honorary Oscar (some of the attendees, like Kirk Douglas, steadfastly refused to applaud).

While a look at the correspondence he left when he died in 2003 at 94 -- collected in The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan, out April 22 -- can't form a complete portrait of the man, it offers invaluable insight into the mind of one of the 20th century's great cinematic artists.

He was a man who admitted to various marital infidelities, including one with Marilyn Monroe ("a touching pathetic waif"), recognized the appeal of Paul Newman ("plenty of power, insides and sex"), scolded Beatty for being a diva and fought tooth-and-nail with censors and studio heads to preserve his directorial vision. He was a man who loathed much about Hollywood -- writing his wife, Molly Day Thacher, that he hated it "in a shrieking insane way. ... It's like the grave, the tomb, the charnel pit -- except it's all very fancy ... full of really very fine people, all in various stages of decomposition, without knowing" -- but came to Tinseltown anyway because that's where movies are made.

The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan - Amazon
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