Elia Kazan

Just wondering everyone's thoughts on Kazan and his films.......and of course maybe hoping for a Mark list

Anyways, I've only seen On the Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire.

Love On the Waterfront as it's definitely in my top 100. A Streetcar Named Desire wasn't as good as I thought it would be but that's only based upon 1 viewing thus far.

Other than the two you listed the only other film of his I've seen is, A Face in the Crowd, which I would definitely recommend.

Like you I prefer Waterfront over Streetcar, but still, two very good films.

I really want to see, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn at some point too.

He is a little uneven in the forties. Then starting with Panic in the Streets everything is watchable up to America America, which starts the decline.

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In chronological order,

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (45) +
The Sea of Grass (47) +
Boomerang! (47)
Gentleman's Agreement (47)
Pinky (49)
Panic in the Streets (50)

A Streetcar Named Desire (51)

Viva Zapata! (52)

Man on a Tightrope (53)

On the Waterfront (54)

-
East of Eden (55)

Baby Doll (56)

A Face in the Crowd (57)

Wild River (60)

Splendor in the Grass (61)

America America (63)

The Arrangement (69)

The Visitors (72)

The Last Tycoon (76)

The last three are quite bad, even though The Last Tycoon has an incredible cast. I'd stick with the many earlier films which have lots to offer.

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I knew I saw another one, Gentleman's Agreement. I didn't get much into that one but he seems like a good director.

I think Gentleman's Agreement and Pinky are dated.

Panic in the Streets is the first one that has the identifiable Kazan style of his fifties films.

Mark just have a question, what one should I roll with next: East of Eden, Baby Doll, or A Face in the Crowd?

East of Eden is an intense drama, shot in color, with James Dean's star- making performance. Baby Doll is a Tennessee Williams-written Southern comedy, reeking with sexual overtones, and shot in B&W. A Face in the Crowd is written by Budd Schulberg (who wrote On the Waterfront) and it's a B&W satire about advertising and the cult of celebrity. You can't really go wrong with any of them in my opinion.

I would rank them this way:

East of Eden

A Face in the Crowd

Baby Doll

Streetcar is a classic and my favourite Brando role. On The Waterfront was very good but not as fun as Streetcar, essentially being an apologia for Kazan's decision to inform when questioned about Communism.

East of Eden is well worth watching, although it's been a long time since I saw it. Baby Doll is great- a bit like a Southern Lolita. Splendor in The Grass is a typical coming-of-age story, bit of a downer but well-acted.

The Last Tycoon was just bad. Instead of trying to finish off the famously unfinished novel, they just let the film hang there. It had the potential for goodness but it ended up being ponderous.

On the Waterfront - 10/10
A Face in the Crowd - 9/10
A Streetcar Named Desire - 8.5/10
Gentleman's Agreement - 8.5/10
Splendor in the Grass - 8/10
Baby Doll - 8/10
Viva Zapata! - 7.5/10
Panic in the Streets - 6/10

East of Eden - 6.5/10

Wild River - 6/10
America America - 6/10
The Arrangement - 5/10

Dying to see A Face in the Crowd.

I think I've only seen On the Waterfront, which I was briefly obsessed with when I was 13. I think someone here described it as a movie that proves oldies can be engaging, which was a crutch I had early on.

Fantastic all around. Brando, man. ****ing Brando.

Kazan was a piece of ****.

[quote=mark f;833721]In chronological order,


A Face in the Crowd (57)

Really? I thought this film was freaking brilliant, I gave it . What didn't you like about it?

[quote=Gideon58;1720339]That's a high rating for Mark. It's somewhere between 3rd-6th from Kazan for him if you look at the other ratings.

A Tree in Brooklyn I gave + , but it could be even higher after another watch.