Description:For Martin Scorsese, growing up in Little Italy, seeing On the Waterfront and East of Eden as a young man was a life-changing experience. Scorsese appears on and off camera throughout A Letter to Elia, taking us through Kazan’s life and through his own as well, and through his growing realization that there was an artist behind the For Martin Scorsese, growing up in Little Italy, seeing On the Waterfront and East of Eden as a young man was a life-changing experience. Scorsese appears on and off camera throughout A Letter to Elia, taking us through Kazan’s life and through his own as well, and through his growing realization that there was an artist behind the camera, someone “who knew me, maybe better than I knew myself.” The film is about being exposed to the right movies at the right moment in your adolescent life, when you’re wide open and ready to connect, to be spurred on by the work up there on the screen, and then, maybe, to chart a course toward making your own movies.
Composed of clips, stills, readings from Kazan’s autobiography and his speech on directing (read by Elias Koteas), a videotaped interview done late in Kazan’s life, and Scorsese’s commentary on and offscreen, A Letter to Elia takes a close look at the life of art and its creation – the work, the distractions, the inspirations, the complications, the intersections between art and experience.
A Letter to Elia, written and directed by Scorsese and his longtime collaborator Kent Jones, is a deeply personal film, a frank portrait and self-portrait, and an equally frank acknowledgement of the closeness and the distance between artists and their art.
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Martin Scorsese honors Elia Kazan, a great director who pioneered method acting and fell out of favor for naming names of Communists in the film industry."
"Martin Scorsese's heartfelt documentary about a great director who became shunned by many people in the movie business because he named names of Communist actors.
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Mr. Saturn added this to a list 1 year, 1 month ago
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Martin Scorsese's documentary about the controversial director of A Face in the Crowd and On the Waterfront. Elia Kazan named names of Communist actors. Martin Scorsese helped Kazan secure an honorary Oscar for his career, and many people refused to applaud because of his actions."
Mr. Saturn added this to a list 1 year, 2 months ago
"12.5.2011
Scorsesen suhteellisen onnistunut kunnianosoitus Elia Kazanille. Ei niinkään elokuvan historian oppitunti, vaan Scorsesen tilitys Kazanin ja hänen elokuviensa merkityksestä hänelle itselleen. Erityisesti pidin siitä kuinka Scorsese muisteli aikoinaan 50-luvulla koettuja hetkiä Kazanin elokuvien parissa. Itse elokuvakokemuksesta, siitä kun ihminen istuu pimeässä salissa tuijottamassa valkokaankaalle, ei ole koskaan liikaa puhetta.
Tämä sopii parhaiten niille jotka ovat per"
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![A Letter to Elia [American Masters]](http://i2.listal.com/image/1666666/200full.jpg "A Letter to Elia [American Masters]")
Film Diary - 2012
Ranked - Scorsese's Films
2010s Films
Film Documentaries
Watched in 2011
Movie Diary - 2011
Watched in 2010
Sao Paulo Int'l Film Festival