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Kazan - The Master Director Discusses His Films: Interviews with Elia Kazan

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I was surprised and delighted to a find a galley copy of this soon-to-be released book at my local store, especially in light of the recent furor over Kazan's Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. Done long before Kazan was awarded this Honorary Oscar, the book focuses, as it should, on Kazan's work in film and theatre. And in that regard, it is universally agreed that Kazan is one of a small handful of Pantheon directors of the 20th Century.

Mr. Young asks all the right questions, guiding Kazan into revealing the innermost workings of the creative process.. . . so much so, it should be required reading in film and theatre schools across the land. And if Kazan's answers to Young's subtle political probing don't satisfy everyone, they at least illuminate his view of a dark period in our nation's history - the era of the McCarthy / HUAC witch hunts and blacklistings. Mr. Young's objectivity in this regard is both refreshing and remarkable, given that Mr. Young's uncle was himself "blacklisted" during this wrenching period. It's an object lesson every media interviewer should heed.

But don't be deceived - this is not a book just for filmmakers, but for everyone. It is about Art and Life, with the emphasis on Life. And as a leader of the revolutionary "New" theatre of the `30s and 40s, Kazan was instrumental in bringing true realism - the elusive merger of Art and Life - to both stage and film.

As a journey through a tumultuous and significant life that both incorporates and encapsulates most of this last century, this book has everything a serious reader could ask for - it's both sensitive and smart. As such, it's one of the best, most revealing books I have read in years.

KAZAN is a must-read book even for those whose interest in film is casual, because along with its depth of film knowledge it also illuminates much human activity with insight and wisdom. I'm sorry to have read it in a single sitting because the unique pleasure of reading it for the first time is now denied me. It is a baedeker for actors, writers, directors, dramatists and even critics. The fuss about Kazan's Academy Award is an irrelevance in the face of his knowledge, acuity and insight as revealed in this book. (We are entitled to criticize Wagner's opinions - but to ignore his music is only damaging to ourselves.) It is easy to see, after reading Kazan, why American movies have so utterly dominated world cinema. This is a deeply interesting and worthwhile book for the general reader as well as the specialist.

Elia Kazan was one of the most important film directors of the late forties to early fifties. Besides blazing a trail as one of Broadway's top theatre directors, Kazan also established himself as a top Hollywood director. His films helped blaze new ground covering social themes like anti-semitism (Gentleman's Agreement), racism (Pinky), corrupt unions (On the Waterfront), and the abuse of television (A Face in the Crowd). Films like "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Baby Doll" challenged the censorship of the day with their depiction of raw sexuality.

Kazan also pioneered the use of cinematic realism with his location shooting and the realistic performances of his cast through the use of "method" acting. Kazan would be responsible for launching the careers of Marlon Brando and James Dean.

However all these achievements have been overshadowed by Kazan's appearance before the House Un-American Activitees Committee in 1952. Unlike many other moviemakers and actors, Kazan cooperated with HUAC and named names. One of the most high profile entertainment figures to turn informer, Kazan helped to consolidate the Hollywood blacklist of the 1950s. This has made Kazan arguably one of the most hated and controversial figures of the McCarthy era. As a result many people are uncertain of where to stand on Kazan.

In this book, reporter Jeff Young interviews Kazan extensively about each of his films. It's very interesting to hear a little about what it was like working with his actors and how he would coax great performances from them. Kazan was a very good actor's director in large part, I think, because he was good at empathizing with them and making them feel comfortable. Instead of telling them what to do as most directors would, he told them what to think and what to feel. It was touching hearing how when the neurotic James Dean came onto the "East of Eden" set, Kazan moved in to a trailer across from him to keep an eye on him.

It was also quite interesting hearing how Kazan got some of the ideas for his films. For instance, I didn't realize until I read it that much of the ideas for "On the Waterfront" were based on real cases and that the Terry Malloy character was based on a real person who worked on the docks. Nor did I realize that "East of Eden" was a semi-autobiographical film. "Wild River" (alas, to date never released on video), stemmed from some of Kazan's documentary work during the Depression, and "America, America" stemmed from the experiences of Kazan's Greek uncle's journey to the America.

People looking for insight into Kazan's decision to name names may be disapointed. This is not really an in depth discussion of those events, but a loving look at Kazan's films. However, in case you think that Jeff Young has fallen too in love with Kazan, there is a probing question that Young asks Kazan near the end of the book. Kazan has always claimed that he named names because he thought that Communism was a threat to America, not because he was interested in personal gain. However, Kazan doesn't seem to have been prepared for the specific question that Young has to ask him. Kazan's emotional response is quite revealing and manages to take some of the gloss off the way he portrays himself.

For anyone interested in Kazan, this is a good place to start.

If you've read this far you may already know about Kazan's career as a filmmaker and Broadway director. But he is probably best known for his actions before the House Un-American Activities committee in the 1950s. Kazan named names. This had made him an enigma to the dominant Hollywood culture. Today, he is recognized as an important filmmaker in the history of movies, but his political views have made his life somewhat bumpy in his chosen profession.

Kazan proves to be erudite and witty and humorous and surprising. He openly hates some of his own movies, though reviewers consider them classics. He does love his version of a STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, which he also directed on Broadway. He speaks with some regret that he didn't also direct the movie version of DEATH OF A SALESMAN (another Broadway play he debuted).

That is just a small bit, but I would recommend the book to anyone interested in the politics of communism in the 1950s and its aftermath, or any film fan that likes to dissect film directors and their work. I am interested in both subjects and found Kazan illuminating on both.

This is quite simply fascinating... It should be required reading for anyone interested in Kazan's work... Jeff Young has done us all a great service in providing this unique examination of the art of one of the greatest directors of all time.

Illustrated with 72 photographs and 19 original movie posters, Kazan: The Master Director And His Films is based on hundreds of hours of interview during the 1970s with master film maker Elia Kazan by Jeff Young who also drew upon his considerable experience and expertise as a writer, producer, and director, and former studio head for three major film companies. This impressive professional biography and analysis features a summary of each of Kazan's film plots and a discussion of 18 of the director's films in his own words. Of special interest is Jeff Young's commentary on Kazan's final film "The Last Tycoon". Kazan: The Master Director And His Films is well commended and highly recommended reading for all students and fans of Elia Kazan films.

Fantastic read for anyone who is either a Kazan fan or just plain fascinated by the medium of cinematic entertainment. Jeff Young has done a first class job of transporting this rather inaccesible figure into a very human but undeniably brilliant talent off the pages and into our hearts, minds and imaginations. A well earned 5 Stars!!

(and did not). This is unfortunately not a good book about Kazan's career as a filmmaker, not even about his films. It contains no real biographical material on his life (10 paltry pages: "he is born where, his father was, studied here", do not justice to the life of a first class director). The reason is that Kazan was writing his own biography (some 800 pages) and Jeff Young was not supposed to infringe on the master's territory. But the films suffer as well. We have no idea, while reading this book, on what was "East of Eden" at the time it came out, we only hear Kazan's voice and Young's persistent questions, most of them too technical to interest even a concerned reader. No general view on the subject, no cutaways (interviews or whatever) on people who have worked with Kazan, not a word from Brando, nor any writer or producer connected with his work, nor even the critics of that time. There are only the obsessive questions Young asks Kazan, going through every single scene of some of his films ("On the Waterfront" has some 80 pages of "why did you do this" and "how did you do that") because the interviewer (a would be director) hoped he could learn his craft from the Master. He was met with the sternest objections (Kazan repeatedly proclaimed "there are no rules") to no avail. The only way to publish a book like that would have been to accompany the printed edition with a CD containing the scenes to which the text refers. As such indeed it would have been "an invaluable addition to film scholarship" as Martin Scorsese is supposed to have said. Without a full library of Kazan's films, this book remains incomplete, but (for scholars) it is still a dignified contribution to the knowledge and remembrance of Elia Kazan's work. PS: By the way: Why does no studio release "Baby Doll" in video? This is one of his best films, and apparently the one Kazan preferred.