Product Details

• Actors: Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield, Marlon Brando, Jean Peters
• Directors: Elia Kazan, John Ford, Kent Jones, Martin Scorsese
• Writers: Anita Loos, Betty Smith, Borden Deal, Budd Schulberg
• Format: Box set, Color, Dubbed, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Mono), French (Mono), Spanish (Mono)
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 18
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: November 9, 2010
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0042DN4UY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,986 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Elia Kazan Collection" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Master director Martin Scorsese brings you this unprecedented collection of fifteen cinematic treasures from fellow Academy Award® Winner Elia Kazan. From classic film noir to timeless period pieces, Kazan made a singular impact on the art of the motion picture, while evoking milestone performances from Hollywood's very best, including Marlon Brando, James Dean, Warren Beatty, Natalie Wood and Walter Matthau. Also included in this extraordinary set is A Letter to Elia (2010), the new, full-length documentary on Kazan's life, produced and presented by Scorsese himself. Disc 1
A Letter to Elia (2010): Martin Scorsese directs and narrates this look at director Elia Kazan. From his triumphs with films such as On the Waterfront to his controversial naming of names during the McCarthy hearings, Kazan is shown in all his complexity.

Disc 2
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945): Based on Betty Smith’s novel, the film tells the story of a girl who strives for a better life, despite her family’s poverty, which is caused in part by her father’s alcoholism. Joan Blondell co-stars as free-spirited Aunt Sissy. James Dunn won an Oscar for his role as the girl’s father.

Disc 3
Boomerang! (1947): When a local priest is murdered, a nervous drifter is fingered as the murderer. He denies committing the crime, but it’s up to a prosecutor (Dana Andrews) who believes the man is innocent to convince the court. The film is based on a true story. The film was nominated for an Oscar.

Disc 4
Gentleman’s Agreement (1947): A journalist (Gregory Peck) poses as a Jew, and soon discovers what is to be a victim of religious intolerance. The film won three Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.

Disc 5
Pinky (1949): A light-skinned black woman (Jeanne Crain) who’s been passing for white at a northern nursing school returns to the South, where she’s asked to care for an ailing white woman (Ethel Barrymore), who wants nothing to do with her. Pinky must negotiate tricky racial politics in life and love. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Disc 6
Panic in the Streets (1950): A public health worker (Richard Widmark) and a police captain (Paul Douglas) have only 48 hours to stop a pneumonic plague outbreak from spreading across New Orleans. Zero Mostel and Jack Palance co-star in the film, which won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

Discs 7 and 8
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951): Based on Tennessee Williams’ play, Vivien Leigh stars as Blanche DuBois, a fading Southern belle who’s not quite what she pretends to be. All is revealed when she comes to New Orleans to stay with her sister (Kim Hunter) and her volatile husband (Marlon Brando). Leigh, Hunter, and Karl Malden took home Oscars for their performances.

Disc 9
Viva Zapata! (1952): Marlon Brando stars as Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata who takes on corrupt president Porfirio Diaz, topples him, and then becomes disillusioned with his brother (Anthony Quinn) who takes Diaz’s place. John Steinbeck wrote the film’s screenplay and Quinn took home a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

Disc 10
Man on a Tightrope (1953): Fredric March stars in this story of a Czechoslovakian circus troop whose members are drafted into the military when the communists take over. But as they near the Bavarian border, they decide to make a break to escape to the West.

Disc 11
On the Waterfront (1954): Marlon Brando stars in this controversial film about an ex-boxer turned longshoreman who decides to stand up to his corrupt union bosses. The film won eight Oscars, including Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Supporting Actress for Eva Marie Saint.

Discs 12 and 13
East of Eden (1955): Based on John Steinbeck’s novel, this film is a loose retelling of the Biblical Cain and Abel story. James Dean stars as Cal, who competes with his brother Aron (Richard Davalos) for the love of his father (Raymond Massey). Jo Van Fleet won an Oscar for her role as Cal’s opportunistic mother.

Disc 14
Baby Doll (1956): Based on Tennessee Williams’ play “27 Wagons Full of Cotton,” this film’s racy plot about a virgin bride (Carroll Baker) caught between her husband (Karl Malden) and his rival (Eli Wallach) provoked an outcry from the Catholic league. The film was nominated for four Oscars.

Disc 15
A Face in the Crowd (1957): Andy Griffith stars as Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes, a drunken drifter stumbles into fame and power on a new medium called television. But will he be unmasked as a fraud?

Disc 16
Wild River (1960): Montgomery Clift stars as a Tennessee Valley Authority administrator who must deal with the racial politics of hiring black workers. He also must evict and old woman (Jo Van Fleet) from her home, but then he falls in love with her daughter (Lee Remick).

Disc 17
Splendor in the Grass (1961): Warren Beatty made his film debut in this story of a girl (Natalie Wood) who love for a local boy and pressure to be a “good girl” from her parents drives her to madness. The film won an Oscar for Best Screenplay.

Disc 18
America, America (1963): This film is the loose adaptation of the real-life story of Elia Kazan’s uncle who grew up as part of the Greek minority in Turkey. He travels to Constantinople to escape persecution, but dreams of living in America. The film was nominated for four Oscars.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 95 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Five stars for the movies themselves, BUT... November 16, 2010

By Kert Conrad

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

There's no question that many of the films in this collection are among the greatest movies of all time, but there is a major quality control issue in the release of this set. I just received a new, sealed copy, and while the packaging itself is very handsome, I was stunned when I took the discs out to examine them. In the set I received, EVERY one of the 18 discs had scuffs, scratches and what appeared to be flecks of adhesive on the playing surface. The DVD of PINKY in particular looked liked it had been scraped against a rough piece of metal. I can only assume this was the result of careless handling somewhere in the production process. My advice to anyone thinking of purchasing this pricey set is: if you really want to add the rarer films like VIVA ZAPATA! and WILD RIVER to your collection right now, you might take a chance and get it. Otherwise, I would hold off until these titles are (hopefully) released individually in the future.

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Great films marred by 20th Century Fox's disregard for customers. January 22, 2011

By Gary W. Urivetzky

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

From a motion picture standpoint most of the films in this collection are "must sees" for any one who loves movies, or are a serious student of film. Unfortunately if you bought this box set your chances of enjoying these movies have been compromised by the cheap and shoddy way that 20th Century Fox has chosen to release it. Instead of providing individual DVD cases for the DVDs, the discs are packed into a booklet. However the glue that has been used to keep the booklet's pages together have gotten on to the discs rendering them defective. In the first set that I received of this collection, more than a half dozen of the discs had multiple globs of the glue on them and could not be played. Additionally almost all of the discs in the collection had scratches, scuff marks and some even had finger prints on them. Apparently 20th Century Fox has no quality control or regard for the consumer otherwise the disgraceful packaging of this set wouldnt have occured. The second (replacement) box set that I received had the same problems. 20th Century Fox should be ashamed to degrade Elia Kazan and his remarkable films by releasing them like trash.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish Tree Grows in Brooklyn Would be Issued Separately November 5, 2010

By Dennis J. Pauly

Format:DVD

I think this is great for collectors who don't have many of the films but many of us have many in this collection.
TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN is absolutely wonderful and deserves to be issued separately. I can imagine how many high
schools alone would buy it. They could do it in their CliffsNotes series like they did with JANE EYRE and ANNA
KARENINA. I am greatful to TCM for showing TREE often and they have a terrific print. Another great film, SUNRISE,
was never issued separately but at least it was in its own case and many copies turn up on e-bay. For me, the greatest child performance is still Peggy Ann Garner's in this film and there are terrific performances by Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell and James Dunn. Please, 20th Fox, put this out as a separate entity.