Elia Kazan: The Cinema of an American Outsider (Cinema and Society) (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Elia Kazanâ' s reputation has been kicked around - since his controversial Life Achievement Award at the 1999 Academy Awards and his obituaries four years later - in ways which have seriously obscured an understanding of his work as a filmmaker. Brian Neve's book, by judicious use of archive material (notebooks, letters, scripts) and careful analysis of the films themselves as well as their critical afterlife, at last sets the record straight. The books sensitive treatment of the HUAC hearings of 1952, and well-informed analysis of such key films as 'Viva Zapata', 'On the Waterfront', 'Baby Doll' and the underrated 'The Arrangement', amount to a major critical achievement. 'Elia Kazan: The Cinema of an American Outsider' is less interested in settling old scores than in taking the work of this deep-thinking, driven artist - who made one big mistake in April 1952 - as seriously as it deserves - Christopher Frayling. Working with an impressively wide variety of archival material, including Kazanâ  s personal papers and notebooks, Brian Neve here offers a solidly researched, insightful, and historically grounded portrait of Elia Kazan, his working methods, his 19 feature films from 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' (1945) to 'The Last Tycoon' (1976), and his place in the cinematic and social world of his age - Chuck Maland, Professor of Cinema Studies & American Studies, University of Tennessee.

Product Description

Drawing on new and previously neglected sources, this book is an expert and timely reassessment of Elia Kazan’s life in the cinema. The result is a fresh and memorable portrait of both the man and his work which highlights the remarkable and enduring contribution to American, and world, cinema of this ever fascinating, Oscar-winning director.

Author Brian Neve examines Kazan’s key artistic collaborations--with actors such as Marlon Brando and James Dean and playwrights such as Tennessee Williams and John Steinbeck--and analyzes his cinematic style, from visual techniques to recurrent themes in films such as A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront. He takes an in-depth look at the controversial Congressional testimony which Kazan gave to HUAC in 1952, for which he was ostracized by many, and which often overshadowed his cinematic achievements. Neve also assesses Kazan and his films in a wider political and cultural context, tracing the evolution of the filmmaking process through the changing role of the studio, the Red Scares of the late 1940s, and the censorship debates of the 1950s and 1960s.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris (February 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845115600
• ISBN-13: 978-1845115609
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,525,082 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)