bhk

Great Filmmaker. Rest in Peace.

chente

I just watched Gentleman's Agreement last week which I really enjoyed. For those that haven't seen it, the premise is that a reporter portrayed by Gregory Peck pretends to be Jewish to write an anti-semitism article. He analyzes the very nature of discrimination and comes up with some surprising conclusions. Great flick which I highly recommend. One of the supplements to the DVD is a AMC backstory to the movie and they touch on the Kazan testifying thing and its ramifications including having on of the actors from this movie blackballed for years. There is also a direct quote from him in the 70's I believe where he says that he would do the same thing again.

The funny thing is that it wasn't even illegal to be a communist during the McCarthy era.

garolo

It still isn't and won't be until Congress rescinds the Bill of Rights. Political and religious freedom and due process are just some of the little things that make this country a nice target for facists, anarchists, fanatics and other "evil-doers".

That's what made HUAC so patently UN-american. When the voice (and vice) of a few can scare the crap out of so many you know we are in deep.

Giantrobo

I saw the thread. I meant what I said. Thank you.

bhk

People have a right to join any organization, just not the right to be free of consequences for joining those organizations.

Scot1458

Why should he apologize? Turns out the Soviets DID have agents in Hollywood, they even tried to snuff John Wayne out.

Kazan is a hero in my book.

Neeb

And resonant with today in a very uncomfortable way... This needs to be on DVD.

HistoryProf

yeah pretty funny....

If that's hero worship, i'd hate to see your definition of an insult....

What's really funny is how someone like Riefenstahl can be so completely demonized while Kazan is all of a sudden a Hero. I'm not defending either....but the hypocrisy is, shall we say, interesting.....

garolo

This probably belongs in the Other Forum but here goes:

BHK you have voiced what I implied.

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.


This does not cover Congressional Committees weeded out the Red Menace. Conspiring to overthrow the US government was enough of probable cause for them.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

HUAC violated most "witnesses'" rights with this one without actually violating it!

Ninja Gaiden

What the hell kind of book is that?

I hope you don't seriously agree with what happened back then. A lot of innocent people had thier lives ruined. Even if some people did like some communist ideals why is that evil? Oh no, they think everyone should share. I think communism is stupid too and obviously doesn't work on a large scale but since when is it ok for people to be destroyed for a few beliefs.

I love Kazan's movies and do sympathize if he had family to care for but he still helped ruin the lives of a few innocent people. He should never have been put into that situation in the first place. I feel sorry for him.

Giantrobo

Nothing like a little "Selective editing" Brizz...

Sure, you only posted the negative comments Brizz. Listen, many were singing her praises. And you guys know what the **** I was talking about. Don't play games. some hated her others loved her. Just like in here.

I remember one person saying that "they felt bad that she would ONLY be remembered for the Nazi film". Well, couldn't the same be said for this guy?

HistoryProf

The only thing I see in that thread was a handful of people trying to temper the hatred being spewed about by acknowledging that she did indeed make some great movies....nothing more than that....i'm just not sure why you got your undies in such a bunch over it there, but think Kazan is being unfairly castigated in this thread.....

regardless of you opinion of either as people, I don't see why appreciating their work is a bad thing - if indeed their work is deserving of praise....which, along with Polanski, is most definately the case for these particular pariahs. I think most people who cast such vitriol Polanski's way generally don't know the whole story, and I suspect that to be the case with Kazan as well for those on both ends of the spectrum. I don't think he deserves anyone's contempt, but nor does he deserve any praise for what he did.....not in the least. As for Leni, well I see her as a particularly peculiar historical character....her story is fascinating, and I really can't understand why the kind of vitriol quoted above is reserved for her in the end.....but that's just me. I don't feel one way or the other about it....I just find it all very interesting.

Jaymole

The McCarthy era was a scary time, although there are people on this forum who I think would love to bring it back those times again for other people they consider "Un-Americans".

Kazan naming names was done solely to save his career in Hollywood, it was not a sudden urge to be patriotic (unlike actors such as Gary Cooper, Robert Taylor & Aldolphe Menjou who named people willingly because of their ideology). The thing is, Kazan was one of the few people in Hollywood who could have still had a successful career if he didn't speak out (as a director on Broadway, where he started out). By speaking out, he gave further validity to the hearings and helped perpetuate it's disastrous affect on people's lives.

Grimfarrow

I said that. And the reason why the same could not be said about Kazan is not because of what he did. But because he is just not on the same level as Leni Riefenstahl as an artist.

Yes, some of his films were very good, but hardly groundbreaking, IMO. Kazan has always been one to make films that are "Oscar-friendly" - ie., very good films that don't go that far in pushing the boundaries. On the other hand, "Triumph of the Will" influenced a score of groundbreaking directors.

Riefenstahl is on the same level as D.W. Griffiths - both were pioneers who made cinema that changed filmmaking, but both made works of terrible consequences.

On the other hand, Kazan isn't even close to that level. Instead, he is best known for something completely unrelated to his films - ratting out on his peers. And that in itself is a perfect showcase of how little impact he's had on the art of filmmaking.

inri222

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elia_Kazan
Elia Kazan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Elia Kazan (September 7, 1909 - September 28, 2003), born Elia Kazanjoglous, a Greek-born American director of theater and film, was the most visible member of the Hollywood elite. He was one of the few who "named names" before the House Un-American Activities Committee (part of an anti-communist movement spearheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy). His remarkable theater credits included directing The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire (the two plays that made Tennessee Williams a theatrical and literary force), and All My Sons, and Death of a Salesman (plays which did much the same for Arthur Miller).

His history as a film director is scarcely less noteworthy. He won two Academy Awards for Best Director, for Gentleman's Agreement (1947) and On the Waterfront (1954).

Kazan had been a member of the Communist Party USA in his youth, when working as part of a radical theatre troupe in the 1930s. A committed liberal, Kazan felt betrayed by the military atrocities of Stalin and the ideological rigidity of the Stalinists. If there were Communists in Hollywood who were co-opting the liberal agenda, then Kazan felt it was in the best interest of the country and his own liberal beliefs to cooperate with McCarthy's anti-communist efforts. One of those he named, noted actor John Garfield, with whom he had worked in the Group Theatre troupe, was investigated by HUAC, which failed to uncover any corroborating evidence. Garfield was blacklisted by Hollywood, ending a promising career, and died the next year, aged 39.

American playwrights Lillian Hellman and Arthur Miller publicly and bitterly disagreed with Kazan's reasoning. Kazan's On the Waterfront, about a heroic mob informer, is widely considered to be his answer to his critics. Miller's The Crucible, about a heroic New England Puritan who chooses to die rather than make false accusations of witchcraft, was a response to Kazan. (The witchcraft analogy is somewhat flawed, as Miller's protagonist was never a witch and had not seen any witchcraft in Salem, while Kazan had himself at one point actively promoted Communist ideology in the entertainment industry.)

In 1999, Kazan received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement. While many in Hollywood felt that enough time had passed that it was appropriate to bury the hatchet and recognize Kazan's great artistic accomplishments, the decision was controversial. Some footage from the 1999 Oscars suggests that only three-quarters of those present gave him a standing ovation.

Elia Kazan died of natural causes at his home in New York. He was 94.