Elia Kazan: A Life

Rating:
Summary: Mostly Interesting
Review: The first of the book is alittle slow. The end is depressing. Between the two I found this book very interesting about Mr. Kazan's career in the theatre and movies. He knew many big names, and worked with alot of them. I rented the video "On the Waterfront," for the first time while reading this book. Mr. Kazan said "Waterfront" was his movie, his statement on how he felt about testifying before the Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, D.C. Personally, I applaud Mr. Kazan for his courage in naming names. Communism was a real threat to our country. Elia Kazan should know. He was one of them at one time.

Rating:
Summary: An epic and personal journey of a theatrical giant
Review: This book is perhaps one of the greatest autobiographies of the modern Theatre. Kazan pulls no punches in depicting his epic journey from Greek immigrant to one of the greatest theatre and film directors of all time. His life parallels the crucial artistic movements and conflicts of the Twentieth Century: The Group Theatre, The HUAC hearings, The height and fall of the Hollywood Studio System, the founding of the Actor's Studio, and the development of the American Theatre. Kazan, along with Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams played a crucial role in creating a strong and vibrant American Theatre. All throughout this amazing journey are insights into the craft of acting as well as the trials and tribulations of a man struggling for personal identity. This book demands to be on the shelf of any student, practitioner or fan of the Theatre. Five out of five stars

Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: This is simply one of the finest books I have ever read in any genre. Brutally honest, relentlessly engaging, furiously analytical without being pompously intellectual, stunningly written, Kazan tells his life story without pretense and with no holding back. His family origins, early years with the group theatre, breakthrough work on Broadway and Hollywood, gossip raised to the level of art, stories of the great theatrical and film figures of the second half of the twentieth century--it's all here. We get to know about Brando, Dean, Clift, Williams, Miller, Inge, Monroe, Beatty, and on and on, in ways we haven't before. His relationship with his wife, who is as rich a character as in a great novel, is told with such warmth and complexity, and his profound ambivalence about his relations with others, is also at the heart of this work and it fuels our interest in Kazan's private life as he weaves connections with his art and his public life. It's also as good a political and artistic portrait of the times as you could wish for. And it's all just so damn entertaining