SPECIAL EVENTS

THE ELIA KAZAN CENTENNIAL
Fall 2009

All screenings start at 8:00 P.M.
FREE ADMISSION
Center for Film Studies
301 Washington Terrace
Middletown, CT

The Elia Kazan Centennial is made possible with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.

Wesleyan University's Center for Film Studies is sponsoring a comprehensive Elia Kazan retrospective throughout the fall of 2009, in conjunction with the Centennial of the filmmaker’s birth.  The retrospective will include 11 screenings with introductions, a gallery exhibit, and additional related events and speakers.  

All showings will start promptly at 8 P.M. at the Center for Film Studies, and the adjacent Rick Nicita Gallery will be open from 7:00 to 8:00 PM every night there is a screening.

The opening screening and reception for the Kazan Centennial will be on Saturday, September 12, 2009.  The series will then continue on every subsequent Thursday evening through December 3, 2009 (the only exceptions are October 22 and November 26, which will not have screenings due to holiday breaks).   A full listing of screenings is below.

Saturday, September 12
BOOMERANG!
1947. Starring Dana Andrews, Jane Wyatt, Lee J. Cobb, Arthur Kennedy, Karl Malden, Ed Begley. 88 min.
Introduction to the Kazan Centennial by Michael Roth, President of Wesleyan University

Opening remarks by Jeanine Basinger, Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, and Curator, Kazan Archives

Open reception to follow in the lobby of the Center for Film Studies

September 17
A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN
1945. Starring Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, James Dunn, Peggy Ann Garner, Lloyd Nolan. 128 min.
Introduced by Lisa Dombrowski, Associate Professor of Film Studies

September 24
PANIC IN THE STREETS
1950. Starring Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jack Palance, Zero Mostel. 93 min.
Introduced by Scott Higgins, Associate Professor of Film Studies

October 1
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
1951. Starring Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden. 122 min.
Introduced by Joan Miller, Head Archivist, Elia Kazan Collection

October 8
VIVA ZAPATA!
1952. Starring Marlon Brando, Jean Peters, Anthony Quinn, Joseph Wiseman, Mildred Dunnock. 113 min.
Introduced by Marc Longenecker, Center for Film Studies

October 15
ON THE WATERFRONT
1954. Starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint. 108 min.
Introduced by Joan Miller, Head Archivist, Elia Kazan Collection

October 29
A FACE IN THE CROWD
1957. Starring Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau, Lee Remick. 125 min.
Introduced by Scott Higgins, Associate Professor of Film Studies

November 5
EAST OF EDEN
1955. Starring James Dean, Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Jo Van Fleet, Burl Ives. 115 min.
Introduced by Lisa Dombrowski, Associate Professor of Film Studies

November 12
WILD RIVER
1960. Starring Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, Jo Van Fleet. 110 min.
Introduced by David Laub, Center for Film Studies

November 19
SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS
1961. Starring Warren Beatty, Natalie Wood, Pat Hingle, Phyllis Diller. 124 min.
Introduced by Steve Collins, Assistant Professor of Film Studies

December 3
THE LAST TYCOON
1976. Starring Robert De Niro, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Nicholson, Anjelica Huston. 125 min.
Introduced by Marc Longenecker, Center for Film Studies

Parking for all shows will be available in Wesleyan's Parking Lot T (right next to the Center for Film Studies), as well as on the street.

The Rick Nicita Gallery

The Rick Nicita Gallery will be open from 7:00 to 8:00 P.M. every night there is an Elia Kazan film screening (this is one hour prior to show time). 

The gallery’s exhibit will be on Kazan, with materials all taken from Wesleyan Cinema Archives’ Elia Kazan Collection, including rare photos, clippings, scripts, posters, private notebooks, personal and professional correspondence, and more. 

The Rick Nicita Gallery is located within Wesleyan’s Center for Film Studies, 301 Washington Terrace, Middletown, CT.

Elia Kazan was born on September 7, 1909 in Istanbul, Turkey, to Greek parents. He was brought to America at the age of four, but he never forgot his Greek and Turkish roots. Described by one critic as “a towering figure in American theater and film history,” Kazan was a primary influence on American theatrical arts during his era. From his first work with the Group Theatre in the 1930s, through his Broadway collaborations with such playwrights as Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller in the 1940s and 1950s, to his motion picture work, to his ultimate career as a novelist in the 1980s, Kazan defined what it meant to be an American artist. Our Kazan Centennial celebrates his contributions to the history of the motion picture. Through his movies, Kazan reached a wider, more eclectic audience outside of New York City. His films brought Method acting to the screen, and his direction of such actors as Marlon Brando, James Dean, Montgomery Clift, and Warren Beatty, among others, defined a new era of performance style and launched a fresh generation of stars. Kazan’s film work is rich with intelligence, a personal point-of-view, a strong cinematic and theatrical style, and a passion that is palpable. We are proud to present selected films directed by Elia Kazan in our beautiful Goldsmith Family Cinema to celebrate the occasion of his centennial.

Kazan died on September 28, 2003 in Manhattan at the age of ninety-four. He received many honors in his lifetime, among them two Academy Awards as Best Director (for On The Waterfront and Gentleman’s Agreement), three nominations, and an Honorary Oscar in 1999 that recognized his remarkable lifetime achievement and his dominant presence in the motion picture medium.

Please contact Joyce Heidorn at 860-685-2220 or David Laub at 860-685-2125 with any questions regarding this series.