4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Elia Kazan Edition


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

116 years ago, on this date, Elia Kazan was born Istanbul.  Kazan would go on to become a groundbreaking director, both for the stage and in movies.  He would play a key role in turning both Marlon Brando and James Dean into stars and he made films, like Gentleman’s Agreement and A Face In The Crowd, that challenged the political pieties of the day.  Of course, he also named names in front of HUAC, a decision that continues to be controversial to this day.  Two of Kazan’s films — Gentleman’s Agreement and On The Waterfront — won the Oscar for Best Picture.  A Streetcar Named Desire was widely expected to win before it was upset by An American In Paris.  A Face In The Crowd is often cited as being one of the most prophetic films ever made.  When Kazan was given an honorary Oscar in 1999, many in the auditorium refused to applaud but his influence as a filmmaker cannot be denied.

It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Elia Kazan Films

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951, dir by Elia Kazan, DP: Harry Stradling)

On The Waterfront (1954, dir by Elia Kazan, DP: Boris Kaufman)

East of Eden (1955, dir by Elia Kazan, DP: Ted D. McCord)

A Face In The Crowd (1957, dir by Elia Kazan, DP: Gayne Rescher and Harry Stradling)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Elia Kazan Edition


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

114 years ago, on this date, Elia Kazan was born Istanbul.  Kazan would go on to become a groundbreaking director, both for the stage and in movies.  He would play a key role in turning both Marlon Brando and James Dean into stars and he made films, like Gentleman’s Agreement and A Face In The Crowd, that challenged the political pieties of the day.  Of course, he also named names in front of HUAC, a decision that continues to be controversial to this day.  Two of Kazan’s films — Gentleman’s Agreement and On The Waterfront — won the Oscar for Best Picture.  A Streetcar Named Desire was widely expected to win before it was upset by An American In Paris.  A Face In The Crowd is often cited as being one of the most prophetic films ever made.  When Kazan was given an honorary Oscar in 1999, many in the auditorium refused to applaud but his influence as a filmmaker cannot be denied.

It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Elia Kazan Films

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951, dir by Elia Kazan, DP: Harry Stradling)

On The Waterfront (1954, dir by Elia Kazan, DP: Boris Kaufman)

East of Eden (1955, dir by Elia Kazan, DP: Ted D. McCord)

A Face In The Crowd (1957, dir by Elia Kazan, DP: Gayne Rescher and Harry Stradling)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Hill Number One, East of Eden, Rebel Without A Cause, Giant


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.

On this date, 64 years ago, James Dean was killed in a tragic car accident.  At the time of his death, he had already filmed East of Eden, Rebel Without A Cause, and GiantEast of Eden would be the only one of his starring roles that Dean would live to see.  Dean went on to be nominated for two posthumous academy awards and, in death, he became an icon that will live forever.

If James Dean were still alive today, he would be 88 years old.  Would he still be acting?  It’s hard to say, of course.  Some actors retire and some don’t.  (Robert Duvall, for instance, is 88 and still doing films.  For that matter, Norman Lloyd is 104 and apparently still reading scripts.)  If Dean were alive today, he wouldn’t be that much older than the stars of The Irishman.

In honor of James Dean’s career and his legacy, here are….

4 Shots From 4 James Dean Films

Hill Number One (1951, dir by Arthur Pierson)

East of Eden (1955, dir by Elia Kazan)

Rebel Without A Cause (1955, dir by Nicholas Ray)

Giant (1956, dir by George Stevens)

Screentests I Love: James Dean and Paul Newman for East of Eden


Here’s a blast from the past:  In 1954, James Dean and Paul Newman audition for Elia Kazan’s East of Eden.  Dean, famously, was cast and earned his first posthumous Oscar nomination.  (His second nomination came for his work in Giant.)  Dean was 23 here.  Newman was 29.