Elia Kazan

Regisseur, Producer, Acteur, Schrijver

7 september 1909 — 28 september 2003 (94 years)
Elia Kazan ( September 7 , 1909, Kayseri – September 28, 2003) was a Greek-American director and actor, described as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". He also produced, and wrote screenplays and novels. Born in the Kayseri, Ottoman Empire to Greek parents, they emigrated to New York when he was four. After two years studying acting at Yale, he acted professionally for eight years before becoming a stage and film director. Kazan co-founded the influential Group Theater in 1932 and Actors Studio in 1947, and together with Lee Strasberg, introduced Method acting to the American stage and cinema as a new form of self-expression and psychological "realism". Having been an actor himself for eight years, he brought sensitivity and understanding of the acting process, and was later considered the ideal "actor's director". He himself acted in only a few films, including City for Conquest (1940), alongside James Cagney.

Overall, Kazan influenced the films of the 1950s and 1960s by his run of provocative, issues-driven subjects, and acting. Moreover, his personal brand of cinema, employing real locations over sets, unknowns over stars, and realism over convenient genres, proved influential to a whole generation of independent filmmakers in the 1960s. Film author Ian Freer concludes that "If his achievements are tainted by political controversy, the debt Hollywood — and actors everywhere — owes him, is enormous." In 2010, Martin Scorsese co-directed the documentary film, A Letter to Elia, as a personal tribute to Kazan, who he credits as the inspiration for his becoming a filmmaker.

Movies & Shows on Plex

  • Tramlijn Begeerte
    Tramlijn Begeerte1951
  • A Face in the Crowd
    A Face in the Crowd1957

Known For

  • De wrede haven
    De wrede haven1954
  • Tramlijn Begeerte
    Tramlijn Begeerte1951
  • Ten oosten van Eden
    Ten oosten van Eden1955
  • Gentleman's Agreement
    Gentleman's Agreement1947
  • Splendor in the Grass
    Splendor in the Grass1961
  • A Face in the Crowd
    A Face in the Crowd1957
  • Paniek op straat
    Paniek op straat1950
  • Baby Doll
    Baby Doll1956
  • America America
    America America1963
  • The Last Tycoon
    The Last Tycoon1976
  • Er groeit een boom in Brooklyn
    Er groeit een boom in Brooklyn1945
  • De wilde stroom
    De wilde stroom1960
  • Boomerang!
    Boomerang!1947
  • Pinky
    Pinky1949
  • Salto des doods
    Salto des doods1953
  • The Sea of Grass
    The Sea of Grass1947
  • The Visitors
    The Visitors1972
  • Love, Marilyn
    Love, Marilyn2012
  • Blues in the Night
    Blues in the Night1941
  • Het lied van de grote stad
    Het lied van de grote stad1940

Cinematografie

2025
2024
Faye · as Self - Director
2022
The Last Movie Stars · as Self - Interviewed
2020
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind · as Self - Director
2018
2017
Arthur Miller: Writer · as Self (archive Footage)
2015
2014
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire · as Self - Filmmaker (archive Footage)
2010
A Letter to Elia · as Self (archive Footage)
2007
Trumbo · as SelfOp Plex
2007
Brando · as Self
2005
2004
2004
The 76th Annual Academy Awards · as Self - Memorial Tribute
1999
The 71st Annual Academy Awards · as Self - Honorary Award Recipient
1998
1996
1995
1992
Late Show with David Letterman · as Self - Guest, World's Most Dangerous Band
1991
I Am Wanda · as Self
1989
The Owl's Legacy · as Self
1985
American Masters · as Self
1985
Empire City · as Self
1983
1982
1982
Cinéma cinémas · as Self
1981
1979
1978
1975
Apostrophes · as Self
1968
The Dick Cavett Show · as Self - GuestOp Plex
1964
Cinema · as Self
1964
Die Drehscheibe · as Self
1963
America America · as Self
1962
1962
1961
1956
Cinépanorama · as Self
1955
The 27th Annual Academy Awards · as Self - Winner
1953

1998
1989
The Fog · as Old Man In The Coffee House
1982
1950
Panic in the Streets · as Cleaver - Mortuary Assistant (uncredited)
1941
Blues in the Night · as Nickie Haroyen
1940
City for Conquest · as 'googi'
1935
Strangers All · as Protester Calling For A Ballot At Communist Meeting

1969
The Arrangement · as Novel
1963

2012
Love, Marilyn · as Excerpts From Memoirs
1949
Pinky · as Contributor To Screenplay
1947
Gentleman's Agreement · as Screenplay Revision
1941
Blues in the Night · as Play "hot Nocturne"