KAZAN, ranked.

By: Drew.

I think Kazan is one of the most underrated directors ever. Along with Bergman and Dreyer he is one of the few who consistently knows how to pull such immense emotions out of me. I love the first ten, and like the last two. East of Eden and On the Waterfront are both in my top 10 films of all time. I think that says something about my love for Kazan

If I could make East of Eden and On the Waterfront tied I would.

TO SEE:
The Arrangement – available on DVD from NetFlix
The Last Tycoon – own on DVD

01

East of Eden

Elia Kazan
02

On the Waterfront

Elia Kazan
03

Wild River

Elia Kazan
04

Baby Doll

Elia Kazan
05

Splendor in the Grass

Elia Kazan
06

A Streetcar Named Desire

Elia Kazan
07

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Elia Kazan
08

A Face in the Crowd

Elia Kazan
09

America, America

Elia Kazan
10

Viva Zapata!

Elia Kazan
11

Gentleman's Agreement

Elia Kazan
12

Pinky

Elia Kazan
13

Man on a Tightrope

Elia Kazan
14

Panic in the Streets

Elia Kazan
15

The Sea of Grass

Elia Kazan
16

Boomerang!

Elia Kazan
17

The Visitors

Elia Kazan

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joey Noodles

26Mar13

How did you see Baby Doll?

Drew.

27Mar13

I'm lucky enough to own the OOP dvd. You can get it pretty cheap on Amazon.

Renee Hirshfield

22Dec10

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS is my favorite movie, period. As for WILD RIVER, I believe it to be one of the most underrated of Kazan's films, possibly because of its longtime unavailability on DVD. (It shows up occasionally on the Fox Movie Channel.) At least the newly released box set of Kazan's films enables a wider audience to discover WILD RIVER, along with other previously unavailable titles such as A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. By the way, I have loved EAST OF EDEN since I first saw it, when I was 12. And in my early and brief mini-career as a film critic/historian in New York in the 1970s, the editor of a local, long-defunct film publication asked me to write an article about ON THE WATERFRONT. I called it "The Agony of Kazan's Informer." One last comment: Just before the release of THE LAST TYCOON, I was walking somewhere near West 57th Street in Manhattan and spotted Elia Kazan, whose office was in the area. New Yorkers pride themselves on not being starstruck, so I just made quick eye contact and walked past. To this day, I regret with all my heart that I did not stop to tell Kazan how much I revered his work.