I really loved this documentary on Elia Kazan, put together in 1995 by Richard Shickel. Instead of the usual interviews with people talking about the subject, Kazan and his films speak for him. We gain tremendous insight into the way he worked, what attracted him to the film topics he tackled and the actors he directed. He speaks frankly about all of them, and surprisingly doesn't take credit for some remarkable performances or even his own screenplays. Of playwright William Inge, he says, "I wrote the screenplay from a novel he wrote. Then he worked on it and made it better." There are also some wonderful photos and clips from Kazan's early work as an actor.
The shadow over his life, of course, is his testimony to the committee that wanted to unearth communists in the '50s, and this is brought up in Eli Wallach's narration. What he did was wrong, but he didn't testify so he could keep working (although Jules Dassin, one of the Red Hunt's victims, disagrees.) He did it, apparently, because he hated Communism. He had been a member of the Communist party and quit. A lifelong liberal, he probably made his own situation even worse by passionately defending what he'd done and also, by telling his friends the night before he testified that he wouldn't "roll over" on any of them, and then doing so. For those of us who grew up during the "red scare," there was a belief in the country that communism was the embodiment of evil. Kazan seemed to believe it as well.
When discussing "A Face in the Crowd," Kazan speaks of the power of the media and that a person can be sold by their charm and easy smile. "Listen," he cautions the viewer. "Listen to what the person is really saying. Think." I think his work in "On the Waterfront," "Wild River," "East of Eden," "America America," "A Streetcar Named Desire," etc., all speak volumes for Elia Kazan.
The shadow over his life, of course, is his testimony to the committee that wanted to unearth communists in the '50s, and this is brought up in Eli Wallach's narration. What he did was wrong, but he didn't testify so he could keep working (although Jules Dassin, one of the Red Hunt's victims, disagrees.) He did it, apparently, because he hated Communism. He had been a member of the Communist party and quit. A lifelong liberal, he probably made his own situation even worse by passionately defending what he'd done and also, by telling his friends the night before he testified that he wouldn't "roll over" on any of them, and then doing so. For those of us who grew up during the "red scare," there was a belief in the country that communism was the embodiment of evil. Kazan seemed to believe it as well.
When discussing "A Face in the Crowd," Kazan speaks of the power of the media and that a person can be sold by their charm and easy smile. "Listen," he cautions the viewer. "Listen to what the person is really saying. Think." I think his work in "On the Waterfront," "Wild River," "East of Eden," "America America," "A Streetcar Named Desire," etc., all speak volumes for Elia Kazan.