Poll

Your Favorite Elia Kazan Film Is...

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
1 (2.7%)
The Sea of Grass
0 (0%)
Boomerang!
0 (0%)
Gentleman's Agreement
0 (0%)
Pinky
0 (0%)
Panic in the Streets
0 (0%)
A Streetcar Named Desire
6 (16.2%)
Viva Zapata!
0 (0%)
Man on a Tightrope
0 (0%)
On the Waterfront
15 (40.5%)
East of Eden
3 (8.1%)
Baby Doll
1 (2.7%)
A Face in the Crowd
4 (10.8%)
Wild River
0 (0%)
Splendor in the Grass
0 (0%)
America, America
0 (0%)
The Arrangement
0 (0%)
The Visitors
0 (0%)
The Last Tycoon
0 (0%)
haven't seen any
7 (18.9%)
don't like any
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 37

Author Topic: Kazan, Elia  (Read 4706 times)

roujin

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Re: Directors Best Poll - Elia Kazan
« Reply #20 on: March 21, 2014, 01:34:14 PM »
I don't really remember most of the ones I watched, but I'm definitely very curious after watching Wild River. It was incredible.

roujin

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Re: Directors Best Poll - Elia Kazan
« Reply #21 on: August 25, 2014, 07:49:43 PM »
1. Wild River (1960)
2. On the Waterfront (1954)

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Baby Doll (1956)

1SO

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Re: Kazan, Elia
« Reply #22 on: July 01, 2015, 02:02:11 AM »
Baby Doll (1956)
* * 1/2
Being such a huge fan of Elia Kazan, this left me wondering why. Why would such talented people want to spend their time on a sleazy overheated sex farce that looked just as difficult to put together as one of their satisfying dramas? It's like Kazan and Tennessee Williams came off Streetcar and went, "we can't do a sequel, but you know what we should do? Something in the same vein, but so outrageous people will wonder if it's a comedy." Because of the talent, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and laugh with it, but I completely understand if somebody decides to laugh at it. Eli Wallach is great in this, as he is in most all things, but especially so here.

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Kazan, Elia
« Reply #23 on: July 01, 2015, 04:13:37 AM »
A Streetcar Named Desire
« Society is dumb. Art is everything. » - Junior

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chardy999

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Re: Kazan, Elia
« Reply #24 on: July 01, 2015, 06:39:02 AM »
On the Waterfront
A Streetcar Named Desire

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pixote

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Re: Kazan, Elia
« Reply #25 on: July 01, 2015, 10:06:26 AM »
Baby Doll (1956)
* * 1/2
Being such a huge fan of Elia Kazan, this left me wondering why. Why would such talented people want to spend their time on a sleazy overheated sex farce that looked just as difficult to put together as one of their satisfying dramas? It's like Kazan and Tennessee Williams came off Streetcar and went, "we can't do a sequel, but you know what we should do? Something in the same vein, but so outrageous people will wonder if it's a comedy." Because of the talent, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and laugh with it, but I completely understand if somebody decides to laugh at it. Eli Wallach is great in this, as he is in most all things, but especially so here.

I've started this movie a couple times but never got through it — more just because of external circumstances than anything wrong with the film itself. I definitely remember it being overheated, though I was curious/excited to see how that tone would play out over the course of the movie.

pixote
Great  |  Near Great  |  Very Good  |  Good  |  Fair  |  Mixed  |  Middling  |  Bad

Corndog

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Re: Kazan, Elia
« Reply #26 on: March 29, 2016, 08:27:45 PM »
1. Splendour in the Grass (4)
2. A Streetcar Named Desire (3.5)
3. Gentlemen's Agreement (3.5)
4. On the Waterfront (3)
"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Kazan, Elia
« Reply #27 on: November 08, 2016, 04:27:25 AM »
A Streetcar Named Desire
On the Waterfront
Wild River
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1SO

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Re: Kazan, Elia
« Reply #28 on: January 21, 2018, 11:03:25 PM »
Updated Rankings

Man on a Tightrope (1953)
* * * - Good
Based on the true story of a Czech circus owner (Fredric March) who led his company on a daring escape from Communist rule. Typical of Kazan, the story constantly amps up the dramatic stakes for personal and thematic gain, and the acting is excellent from the bigger names (Gloria Grahame, Adolphe Menjou, Richard Boone) to the small roles. The circus is more than a little goofy but it also makes this unique and it forms a nice contrast with the joyless military trying to prevent their escape. That contrast of chaotic life against a grim backdrop makes me think this is one of Emir Kusturica's favorite films.


The Visitors (1972)
* ½
There is nothing about this film that convinces me Kazan actually made it. It looks like a grimy exploitation film, the material (which is actually a sequel to Casualties of War) is unsavory with the constant threat of bad stuff about to happen, even though for the longest time NOTHING HAPPENS. (The middle third of the film is spent watching a football game and having dinner.) Meanwhile, character interactions often make no sense which has me wondering if the story is meant to be more of a metaphor, like mother! This came out the year after Straw Dogs, and that's what it's like, Straw Dogs with no money and no buttons to push. Stars James Woods and Steve Railsback, but the acting from everyone is half-asleep. Kazan's worst.

 

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