The two versions of Imitation of Life are equally worthwhile for their historical significance, their aesthetic divergences, and their narrative variations. It’s a great cinematic case study in adaptation and modernization.
#20. The Exorcist (1973) Lost to: The Sting Crammed in between two Best Picture wins for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Godfather” films was an interesting little year that rewarded another pairing of Robert Redford and Paul Newman (trivia: “The Sting’s” Julia Phillips is the first time female producer to ever win Best Picture). The other big landmark …
Ford himself was not a fan of ‘My Darling Clementine,’ though through the years, many critics have understandably held it up as one of his finest achievements
“Ace in the Hole” is a quintessential Billy Wilder movie… [with] all the hallmarks one associates with his best work: cynicism, humor, terrific performances, sharp dialogue, and impeccable direction. Here, to keep within the theme of the title, we get it all in spades.
10: Gentleman’s Agreement Perhaps a bit tame by today’s standards, but Kazan’s message drama was an extremely important film in 1947, marking one of the first times that the word Jew was explicity used in a Hollywood picture. Kazan was known throughout his career as a champion of social causes, and Gentleman’s Agreement earned him the first of …
Elia Kazan is one of my top five favourite American filmmakers of all time, and so I decided to ask our staff to rank his films. If you are not yet familiar with the filmmakers work, now would be a good time to start. Kazan was one of the most honoured and influential directors in …
Elections are won and lost for a multitude of reasons, many of which are of public knowledge.. Even so, the tactics of certain politically oriented manoeuvres in campaigns are just as frequently a secret to the public eye, inviting constant speculation as to what is transpiring behind the well guarded curtain.
Four small time gangsters, Kochak (Lewis Charles), his cousin Poldi (Guy Thomojan), Fitch (Zero Mostel) and their de facto leader Blackie (Jack Palance) are playing cards in a seedy part of New Orleans. Kochack, a little dizzy and very sweaty, is visibly ill and demands to leave, much to the consternation of his playing mates, who have unfinished business with him, namely, the cold hard cash he owes them.
Baby Doll Directed by Elia Kazan Written by Tennessee Williams 1956, USA Two of Tennessee Williams’ one-act plays – Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton and The Long Stay Cut Short – are the basis for Elia Kazan’s Baby Doll. The film stars Karl Malden as a sexually frustrated, dimwitted, middle-aged owner of a Southern cotton …
Harmony Korine explores the oft avoided subcultures of the United States, John Carpenter’s greater strengths lie in sharing thriller and horror tales and Elia Kazan’s most famous and respected projects were those which directly concentrated on critical social issues affecting the United States during this time, issues which far too many preferred to either shove under the rug or virulently disagreed to reach compromise on. Gentleman’s Agreement, Pinky and On the Waterfront come to mind. He did venture into different territory however, although it felt like even in such attempts his desire to comment on politics or society was never far behind. In 1950 he made Panic in the Streets, a film that falls firmly into the film noir mould while turning a few of its perceivable qualities on their heads.
Throughout January, SOS writers will be biting the bullet and finally sitting down with a film they feel like bad film buffs for not having seen already. On The Waterfront Directed by: Elia Kazan Written by: Budd Schulberg Starring: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint Genre: Drama Year: 1954 On the Waterfront is, on its …