Controversial Oscar-Winning Director Elia Kazan Dies at 94

[QC]

Director, actor, writer Elia Kazan, responsible for two Academy Award-winning best pictures, "Gentleman's Agreement" and "On the Waterfront," died in his home in New York at the age of 94 on Sunday (Sept. 28), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Kazan, who won best director for "Gentleman's Agreement" in 1947 and "On the Waterfront" in 1954 was also nominated for his work with Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1951 and James Dean in "East of Eden" in 1955.

Known as an innovative, experimental actor's director, he was scorned by many in Hollywood for presenting a list of names of alleged Communists during the witch hunt of the House Un-American Activities Committee probe in the 1950s run by Sen. Joe McCarthy.

http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/story/0,1259,---18888,00.html

[piece sine]

1. This is huge!

Elia Kazan is with us in spirit. ALways was, always will be.

[IndianaGreen]

17. Elia Kazan was a tool of Joe McCarthy

Honestly, I thought he died years ago!

Ask Douglas Trumbull what he thought of Kazan, but he is dead too!

Speaking of Kazan the artist, I really liked his book America, America that he made into a movie. I never saw the film.

[EX-CONservative]

26. Kazan and Refenstahl

Most right-wing assheads and cinematic geniuses.

Kazan was a dirty rat but his films are great.

We hardly knew ye, Mr. Kazan.

[Kahuna]

2. It's Kazan night on TCM. Just finished watching..

On the Waterfront. Babydoll is on now followed by Streetcar....

RIP Mr. Kazan. Well done.

[FlashHarry]

3. Great director...

...but, didn't he 'name names' during the HUAC hearings?

[Unknown Known]

4. Yes, he did. And one was Lee Strasberg's wife, Paula Miller.

He co-founded the Actor's Studio with Strasberg and other actors. Kazan had a falling out with Arthur Miller after his congressional testimony.

However, "Gentleman's Agreement" remains one of my all time favorite films.

[diplomats]

8. I just saw a show on PBS about his relationship

with Arthur Miller and how their friendship ended after he testified before HUAC. Another thing they had in common was Marilyn Monroe. Kazan had an affair with her and Miller, of course, eventually married her.

[minkyboodle]

22. Great Docu

I saw the same Docu and it had lots of really fascinating info about Kaazan and Miller and the fallout of the blacklist. Personally I very mixed emotions about Kazaan, obviously his naming names and defiant attitude about it rub me the wrong way. But even On the Waterfront (as mentioned in the this thread) with its defense of Kazaan's position is a powerful pro-Union film at the same time. Kazaan's ability to hold on to what he considered his progressive values at the same time his penetence naming (thats really what it was HUAC had the names already) seems to betray these very same values. About the Oscar I tended to think that those who sat on their hands were correct, let him have his Oscar but express your feelings all the same. Like Zero Mostel a blacklisted author said, " We On the left don't blacklist."
Scott

[EX-CONservative]

28. Kazan and Arthur Miller

We're friends. Miller was a confidante of Kazan but Miller had the good taste not to continue to bare his soul to a guy to sold out his associates for the almighty dollar.

That said, his films are worth watching though.

Ronald Reagan, while his politics stunk, was great in King's Row. When he passes, I will honor him for his cinematic work but not his politics.

[EX-CONservative]

29. A Face in the Crowd

That film had Andy Griffith in the rare role of a villain.

Griffith plays a hobo that's found and goes on TV, gets an audience and is secretly an evil fascist until he's exposed for the creep he is.

If you can't see the movie, just watch Pat Robertson. Same kinda guy except he hasn't been exposed yet...

Life imitates art more than you can ever imagine.

[mark0rama]

5. Yes, he did...

...which got him a less than thoroughly warm reception when he claimed his lifetime achievement Oscar a few years ago.

He was a great director, though.

[stanwyck]

9. Some refused to stand for him

and I don't blame them. They didn't forget his victims. I remember Ed Harris resolutely refusing to stand and clap. Thanks, Ed, for remembering those who suffered.

[mark0rama]

10. Ed Harris is the one I specifically remember, too.

He didn't make an ass of himself like the people who booed Michael Moore this year, he simply refrained from applauding. Dignified. One of my favorite actors, too.

[stanwyck]

6. Yes. He ruined careers.

I respect him as a director. But am saddened by his inhumanity to others in the motion picture business. It's appalling to me that the right has chosen to resurrect Joe McCarthy as a hero. So many people suffered because of the witch hunts. This is an ugly period in our history. Film of the HUAC hearings was on recently...absolutely chilling and inspiring. The "No, you're out of order!" fighting back should be a rallying call for us all.

[EX-CONservative]

31. It was sad.

The Arthur Miller classic "The Crucible" while about the Salem Witch Trials, has paralells to the McCarthy hearings.

It's also sad of all the talented actors and actresses that didn't have a chance to show their talent because of this. We are all the poorer as well. How many would-be Cary Grant's, Gary Cooper's, Grace Kelly's, Humphrey Bogart's and Kate Hepburn's have we been denied the opportunity to experience and enjoy because of all that shit?!?!?! :cry:

I judge an actor by his or her performance. It's rediculous to throw out the baby with the bathwater because of ideology. The exception is, of course, if a person (the director for instance) uses the film to promote evil.

If someone really doesn't like the work of an actor because of his or her politics, don't pay and see it. Don't deny us the right of those actors to prove their stuff and deny us the privilege of the laughs, tears, shivers and cheers that a good performance gives us and prosperity.

Thanks, Senator McCarthy. *sarcasm* :eyes:

[flamingyouth]

7. "The Red and the Blacklisted"

is a great book on this era. Hope there's a hot poker awaiting this "great director."

[EX-CONservative]

27. Whew!

He dies the same night that his films are being shown.

Is it karma or just shitty timing?

[Dirk39]

11. Just one question towards Kazan:

I was wondering about how much protestantism and puritanism must have been mixed with communism in the american left. Kazan recognized East of Eden somehow as his personal accounting with communism and his past as a left-winger. And he somehow recognized himself and his discussion with this past in Steinbecks' novel.
For me as an european, this sounded very strange somehow. To describe it a bit easier than it is: I'm pretty sure, european marxists would rather sympathize with the figure of "Cain" in the film and see his brother as a kind of pathetic moral bigot creature of captialism and protestantism.
Is this link between moral fundamentalism and marxism just "natural" for americans?
Greetings from Germany,
Dirk

[stanwyck]

12. Very interesting, Dirk39

and greetings from all your American friends. Germany is a true friend to our country. The kind of friend who is not supportive of whatever you do, but gives you the straight story...actually trying to help and not just tell you what you want to hear. That is invaluable.
It's been years since I read East of Eden, can't remember the priggish brother's name...the self-righteous businessman. But he was insufferable. I'm not qualified to comment on how much protestant puritanism affected the American communist movement. But your question is intriguing. Perhaps some other DUers will be able to enlighten me.

[Zhade]

23. Hey, thanks to you from Occupied America. You Germans really rock.

NT!

[rocktivity]

13. Watched A Face In The Crowd just last night

It's as if he knew exactly where television was going. But yes, it is too bad that he disabled his body of work.


rocknation

[stanwyck]

15. Isn't that movie amazing?

It's even more fascinating now, considering what's happened with this administration. I think Rove used this movie as a blueprint on how to market Junior. All that folksy rustic drawling and "plain spokenness".

[EX-CONservative]

32. Life imitates art...

Although, I think Pat Robertson is closer in character to Lonesome Rhodes. If you go with the whole story, it's Jim Bakker.

King Dumbass II is too stupid to be compared to Lonesome Rhoads. I would classify Dumbya more as "Moon Over Parador" or "The Hunsucker Proxy".

[mndemocrat_29]

14. He did name names

But he was a fantastic director. A Streetcar Named Desire is one of my all time favorite movies, and I also loved A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and On the Waterfront.

[AP]

16. He named low level people who were already outed.

He thought it would take the heat off the whole thing. But, in fact, having such an important person name names put an incredible chill on everyone. It didn't help that he signed a huge deal practically the next day. There was a real sense that, if you named names, you'd be taken care of, and if you didn't, you'd be fucked.

Arthur Miller really detested Kazaan afterwords, as did most sensible people.

[UTUSN]

18. Goodbye-----------WINGNUT!!!!!!!!

[UTUSN]

19. No Sympathy---------If He Were 25 Instead of 94

He would be jerking us around.

[David__77]

20. Weasel.

What he did was wrong--on every level. That was a fascist witch-hunt, and he was an accomplice. People's lives were ruined. To my knowledge, never did he apologize. At least he was confronted about it at times, even recently, when he received an award--though not a for weasel services rendered.

[stumblnrose]

21. On the waterfront is a metaphor for ratting out the left

Marlon rats out his brother and the mob and gets the crap kicked out of him but triumphs over evil. Bud Schulberg wrote and coproduced this flick. He too was one of the namers of names along with Kazan before the committee.

[roguevalley]

When I think of him,

Leni Riefenstahl comes to mind. Same kind of cowardice and same kind of partitioning of the mind to accomodate *art* and not *politics*, as if you can do that with either.

[roguevalley]

24. When I think of him,

Leni Riefenstahl comes to mind. Same kind of cowardice and same kind of partitioning of the mind to accomodate *art* and not *politics*, as if you can do that with either.

[EX-CONservative]

25. Mr. Kazan....

Please say hi to Joe McCarthy and Ol' Adolf for me down there, y'hear?

[SoCalDem]

30. Kazan sold his friends out..

There was little regard for him, even after he was "welcomed" back..

Lots of lives were ruined because he sang like a canary.. Most of what he told was not even true..

[moof]

33. HE named names

to be clear, he made some great films but as the recent documentary about Kazan & Miller pointed out as well as a few posters here have,
the comittee already had the names. What they wanted was Kazan saying the names to give the comittee credibility. So it is important to remember that what Kazan was resented for afterwards was not so much that the names were given but that a person of Kazan's stature was the one doing the naming thus making the comittee even more poweful.

So it is
HE named names

not
he named names.

It was also made clear that Kazan was denied his Oscar for streetcar by his hollywood bosses because he was not willing to cooperate with the committee. No one can know for sure how much this was a factor in his decsion the second time to cooperate but it is hard to think it did not cross his mind & for choosing epaulets over friends he deserves any and all destain. It is lousey to be sold out by a friend but to be sold out for a small trophy ! In years to come he will be long remembered as the sell out rat that directed Streetcar and On the Waterfront. Most people now would have to guess at what movie he won an oscar for but no one will forget he soldout his pals.

[regnaD kciN]

34. Good riddance...

...sorry that I can muster so little sympathy for a Grade-A slimeball.