#American masters a letter to elia movie
#American masters a letter to elia series

It aired on June 23, 1986, as one of two episodes not specifically commissioned for the show's first season. The first of the 15 first-season episodes was Private Conversations, a ' cinema-verite documentary by Christian Blackwood done in that trickiest of cinematic forms: a film about a film, in this instance the television version of Death of a Salesman, directed by Volker SchlГ¶ndorff'.

#American masters a letter to elia series

History ДЄmerican Masters, a series 'devoted to America's 'greatest native-born and adopted' artists', was originally scheduled to premiere in September 1985 for 'logistical scheduling reasons' the premiere was delayed until summer 1986, though on October 16, 1985, an American Masters 'special' called Aaron Copland: A Self-Portrait was aired. Groups or organizations featured include: Actors Studio, Algonquin Round Table, Group Theatre, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Women of Tin Pan Alley, Negro Ensemble Company, Juilliard School, the Beat Generation, the singer-songwriters of the 1970s, Sun Records, vaudeville, and Warner Bros. But the influence of KazanвЂ™s deeply emotional films on ScorseseвЂ™s own work was incalculable.American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and those who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States. Later the two directors became friends, and Scorsese reports that Kazan liked some of the younger directorвЂ™s movies and disliked others. Scorsese met Kazan for the first time in 1964 when he was a student at NYU. Scorsese was also overwhelmed by the naturalistic acting of вЂњWaterfrontвЂќ and by the autobiographical nature of вЂњAmerica America,вЂќ which encouraged the budding director to believe that he could draw stories from his own Italian-American experience. In fact, he says candidly, вЂњI stalked it.вЂќ Its themes of family conflict and reconciliation as well as its baroque visual style clearly had a huge impact on him.

#American masters a letter to elia movie

The longest section of the film is devoted to вЂњEast of Eden.вЂќ Scorsese reports that he saw the movie repeatedly when it was released in 1955. So this doc is clearly not intended to be comprehensive but is instead a very personal testament. While this doc includes excerpts from many Kazan movies, it concentrates on three that meant the most to Scorsese: вЂњOn the Waterfront,вЂќ вЂњEast of Eden,вЂќ and вЂњAmerica America.вЂќ Very little attention is given to a couple of KazanвЂ™s most successful movies, вЂњGentlemanвЂ™s AgreementвЂќ (the Oscar-winning best picture of 1947) and вЂњA Streetcar Named DesireвЂќ (which won three acting Oscars in 1951). He gives a brief overview of KazanвЂ™s life and career but has chosen to emphasize the personal influence that some of KazanвЂ™s best movies had on him when he was growing up and contemplating a career as a director. Scorsese acknowledges this controversy in his documentary, but that is not his primary focus. Many in Hollywood never forgave Kazan for cooperating with the House Un-American Activities and supplying names of former Communists during Congressional hearings of 1952. When Scorsese and Robert De Niro presented an honorary Oscar to the ailing Kazan in 1999, the event generated a firestorm of controversy. Going into the film, one might be suspicious that Scorsese is engaging in some special pleading. The most personal of these is вЂњA Letter to Elia,вЂќ a one-hour tribute to Elia Kazan that played at the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals. In the course of his long career, he has been involved with several documentaries celebrating other artistsвЂ™ films. Many people know that in addition to being an Oscar-winning director, Martin Scorsese is a major film buff and historian as well as a champion of film preservation.