Cinematheque Ontario presents - Elia Kazan

Cinematheque Ontario presents – Elia Kazan

For the full month from October 23rd to November 23rd, Cinematheque Ontario presents the films of controversial director Elia Kazan.  Turkish-Born American director and theatre director, Kazan won two Oscars for his films GENTELEMAN’S AGREEMENT and ON THE WATERFRONT and a life-time achievement Oscar. 

My favourite Kazan films are the faulted THE ARRANGEMNT with Kirk Douglas and Faye Dunaway at the height of her fame and the James Dean vehicle, John Steinbeck’s EAST OF EDEN which I consider his best work.

One thing to note is that Kazan is sure to elicit the strongest performances from his actors.  Marlon Brando won the Oscar for Best Actor in Kazan’s ON THE WATERFRONT and his films won Eva Marie Saint, Jo Van Fleet, Celeste Holm and Anthony Quinn Oscars for best supporting roles.

For more information on the life of Kazan including the testimony he gave before the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) naming communists in the film industry, check WIKIPEDIA for a summarized write-up.

Cinematheque Ontario will screen 18 Kazan films as listed below:-

A FACE IN THE CROWD

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN

AMERICA, AMERICA

BABY DOLL

BOOMERANG!

EAST OF EDEN

GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT

MAN ON A TIGHTROPE

ON THE WATERFRONT

PANIC IN THE STREETS

PINKY

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS

THE ARRANGEMENT

THE LAST TYCOON

THE SEA OF GRASS

VIVA ZAPATA!

WILD RIVER

For full information of schedule, screening times, venue and ticket pricing, check the cinematheque website at:

http://www.cinemathequeontario.ca

Below are capsule reviews of 4 of the films to be screened.  I have included my favourite EAST OF EDEN which is guaranteed to use up your entire box of Kleenex.

Capsule Reviews:-

BABY DOLL (USA 1956) ***
Directed by Elia Kazan

An admiral work here by director Kazan, his cinematographer especially and all the actors concerned but still a disturbing unlikable film, even on my second viewing.  BABY DOLL Carroll Baker is promised in marriage by her dying father to cotton gin owner Karl Malden.  They live together with but consummation of the wedlock is to occur on her 20th birthday.  In the meantime, Malden peeps at her through a hole he makes in the wall while she sleeps thumb in mouth in her crib.  Not a nice scene at all!  And not a nice picture either!  Everyone else either jeers at Malden or flirts with BABY DOLL.  None of the characters are likeable or have any redemptive qualities – playwright Tennessee Williams makes sure of that – so the only people having a good time at this move seems to be the actors screaming at each other and acting the time of their lives.  BABY DOLL should be seen only if one is in the mood, but the pleasure can surely come to those who like this sort of odd drama.
(Screening: Tue Oct 27. 7 pm)

EAST OF EDEN (USA 1955) *****
Directed by Elia Kazan

A highly shortened but by means no less effective adaptation of the John Steinbeck’s most ambitious novel of the same name, director Kazan and scriptwriter Paul Osborn have created one of the most compelling dramas ever experienced on screen.  The film is set in Northern California at the start of the depression just before the 1st World War.  Adam Trask (Raymond Massey) is a self-made man when the film opens but is facing financial failure due to an invention project gone wrong.  James Dean plays here, a rebel with a cause.  As son Cal (short for Caleb), the non-favourite son of Adam Trask, he goes all out to win his father’s love, even to the point of destroying the entire family.  The book/film is full of biblical references right from the two sons Cain and Abel (here Cal and good son Aron played by Richard Davalos), to the beating of one brother by the other.  The cinematography and period atmosphere by Ted McCord captures the mood and film’s setting and Leonard Roseman’s score is magnificent though it tends to overplay the film’s more dramatic segments.  But the film succeeds thanks to the actors.  Though Jo Van Fleet won the Best Supporting Oscar as the ‘bad’ mother, Kazan draws remarkable performances from his entire cast especially Julie Harris, Burl Ives (as the sheriff) an even from Barbara Baxley in the small but important role as the unwanted nurse at the end.  The script has many choice lines, the best of which hits the nail on the head when Abra (Julie Harris), Cal’s girl tells the father that Cal needs to be loved in order to become a man.  The final scene at the father’s (Raymond Massey) bedside is guaranteed to have your eyes swelling in tears.
(Screening: Sat Oct 24. 8.30 pm)

GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT (USA 1947) ****
Directed by Elia Kazan

Winner of 3 Oscars including Best Picture and the Best Director Oscar for Kazan, GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT based on Laura Hobson’s novel contain many strong words like: “We have to stand for everything that America stands for….” The last segment in which everything turns out for the best is a bit overdone less credible, but at least Kazan clearly makes his point.  The plot concerns journalist Phil Green (Gregory Peck) taking an assignment on anti-Semitism.  The angle he takes (no profundity here) involves him pretending to be one for a full 8 weeks which causes his to expose underlying prejudice and acceptance rather than hate.  Kazan concentrates on the romance between Phil and Kathy (Dorothy McGuire) which comes under great strain.  Lots of drama and fine acting (Celeste Holm won the Best Supporting Actress here) cover what many critics consider limitations of Hobson’s novel.  Still, the film is compelling drama from start to finish and forces one to confront ones own prejudices.
(Screening: Mon Nov 16, 7 pm)

THE LAST TYCOON (USA 1976) **1/2
Directed by Elia Kazan

Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s unfinished novel of the same name, Kazan’s adaptation is a simplified story in which a very successful hot shot movie producer sees his downfall after a doomed love affair.  Monroe Stahr (Robert De Niro) has all the answers and solutions to the problems the studio faces.  He calms down the bitchy aging star, Didi (Jeanne Moreau), the drunk writer, Boxley (Donald Pleasance) while carrying on with his boss’s (Robert Mitchum) daughter (Theresa Russell).  But when he meets a young unknown actress Kathleen Moore (Ingrid Boulting), his life and the movie starts to fail.  Kazan’s film holds attention when he focuses on the goings-on of the studio.  The affair between Kathleen and Monroe is hardly interesting despite the nudity scenes.  At least the great cast that includes Jack Nicholson, Tony Curtis, Dana Andrews, Ray Milland and Peter Strauss keep the film moving.
(Screening: Tue Nov 17, 7 pm)