Director Focus: Elia Kazan

Content of Course

The course takes a (mainly) chronological approach to the career of a famous American film director, concentrating specifically on the time and place in which Elia Kazan’s work developed in the United States.

We will discuss how Kazan’s background in theatre was both an advantage and a disadvantage as Kazan began his desired career in the film industry. Seeing the films in the order of their making and setting them in their contexts will highlight the learning process in a creative career. Critical analysis will be illustrated with excerpts from Kazan’s autobiography and director’s notes, which provide background.

Awareness of societal concern was apparent from his work in the theatre with Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams and continued throughout his career with varying degrees of subtlety. We will consider his ability to capture the zeitgeist of the times while challenging existing conventions. Through his films we will reflect on issues of class, racism, civil rights and the ‘American Dream’. We will also appreciate how individuals, within Kazan’s America, struggled to cope with US society’s demands and expectations.

Week by week content:

1. Introduction: background, Group Theatre, Actors’ Studio and making his theatrical mark. Extract from America, America (1963) and first film A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945).

2. Hollywood calls: MGM, Tracy, Hepburn and Sea of Grass (1947).  Boomerang (47) is Kazan’s response.

3. Social issues or ‘cause’ movies: Gentleman’s Agreement (47) and Pinky  (48).

4. The law, location and Civil Rights: Panic in the Streets (50).

5. Theatre and Cinema: A Streetcar named Desire (51) and the Production Code.

6. Corruption, betrayal and McCarthy in On the Waterfront (54).

7. East of Eden (55): a perennial tale that catches its time.

8. Sexuality, civil rights and the Production Code in Baby Doll (56).

9. Populism and A Face in the Crowd (57).

10. Individualism and social need in Wild River (60).

Teaching method(s)

The course will take place in the Guild cinema of Filmhouse over a period of ten weeks. Each session will follow the same pattern:introduction which sets the film or extract within its context historically, socially and cinematically; screening of the film or extract; discussion. Students will be provided with background reading, reviews, criticism, on a weekly basis. Reflection on the course will continue throughout with consideration of the learning outcomes and the general development of the course.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Locate the development of Kazan as a director within the US film industry from 1947 to 1963;

• Examine chosen cinematic techniques in creating narratives and conveying meaning;

• Relate themes and concerns in the films to the times in which they were set and produced;

• Apply key concepts of the auteur theory to the cinema of Elia Kazan.

Sources

Core Readings

• Kazan, E., 2009. Kazan on Directing. New York: Random House, Inc.

• Schickel, R., 2005. Elia Kazan, a Biography. New York:  Harper Perennial.

• Kazan, E., 1988. A Life. New York: Alfred a Knopf.

• Neve, B., 2009. Elia Kazan: the cinema of an American outsider. London: I.B.Tauris.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.