Synopses & Reviews
Elia Kazan was the mid-twentieth centurys most celebrated director of both stage and screen, and this book shows us the master at work.
Kazan directed virtually back to back the greatest American dramas of the eraby Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williamsand revolutionized theatre and film with dynamic action, poetic staging, and rigorous naturalism. His list of Broadway and Hollywood successesA Streetcar Named Desire (stage and screen), All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, On the Waterfront, East of Eden, Baby Doll, America America, to name only a fewis a testament to his profound impact on the art of directing. Kazans insights into these and other classic stage works shaped their subsequent productionsand continue to do so. There is no directorial achievement in America equal to his.
This remarkable book, drawn from his notebooks, letters, interviews, and autobiography, reveals Kazans method: how he uncovered for himself the “spine” or core of each script and each character; how he analyzed each piece in terms of his own experience; how he determined the specifics of his production, from casting and costuming to set design and cinematography. And we see how he worked with writers on scripts and with actors on interpretation.
The final section, “The Pleasures of Directing”essays Kazan was writing in his last decadeis informal, provocative, candid, and passionate; a wise old pro sharing the secrets of his craft, advising us how to search for ourselves in each project, how to fight the system, and how to have fun doing it.
Published in Kazans centenary year, this monumental, revelatory book, edited by Robert Cornfield, is essential reading for everyone interested in American movies and theatre.
From the Hardcover edition.
Synopsis
Elia Kazan was the twentieth century’s most celebrated director of both stage and screen, and this monumental, revelatory book shows us the master at work. Kazan’s list of Broadway and Hollywood successes—A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, On the Waterfront, to name a few—is a testament to his profound impact on the art of directing. This remarkable book, drawn from his notebooks, letters, interviews, and autobiography, reveals Kazan’s method: how he uncovered the “spine,” or core, of each script; how he analyzed each piece in terms of his own experience; and how he determined the specifics of his production. And in the final section, “The Pleasures of Directing”—written during Kazan’s final years—he becomes a wise old pro offering advice and insight for budding artists, writers, actors, and directors.
About the Author
Elia Kazan was born in 1909 in Istanbul. He graduated from Williams College and attended the Yale School of Drama before joining the Group Theatre. He was the founder of the Actors Studio, and he won three Tony Awards for direction (for All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and J.B.) and two Academy Awards (for Gentleman’s Agreement and On the Waterfront), as well as an honorary Oscar in 1999 for lifetime achievement. He died in September 2003.
Table of Contents
Foreword by John Lahr
Preface by Martin Scorsese
Introduction by Robert Cornfield
THE DIRECTOR’S NOTES
PLAYS
For the Group Theatre
Style and Spine, Style in the Theatre, Quiet City
Hot Nocturne
The Skin of Our Teeth
Dunnigan’s Daughter
Truckline Café
All My Sons
A Streetcar Named Desire
Death of a Salesman
Camino Real
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
J.B.
Sweet Bird of Youth
SHORT TAKES
The Young Go First; Casey Jones; It’s Up to You;One Touch of Venus; Jacobowsky and the Colonel; Deep Are the Roots; Tea and Sympathy;The Dark at the Top of the Stairs; After the Fall;The Changeling; The Chain
FILMS
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Boomerang!
Gentleman’s Agreement
Panic in the Streets
A Streetcar Named Desire
Viva Zapata!
On the Waterfront
East of Eden
Baby Doll
A Face in the Crowd
Wild River
Splendor in the Grass
America America
The Arrangement
The Last Tycoon
SHORT TAKES
Sea of Grass; Pinky; Man on a Tightrope; The Visitors
THE PLEASURES OF DIRECTING
On What Makes a Director
The Pleasures of Directing
Afterword by Robert Cornfield
Chronology
Bibliography
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index