Elia Kazan

Director

1909-09-07 – 2003-09-28

Elia Kazan was a Greek-born American film and theater director whose works include On the Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire. He was a major figure in both Broadway and Hollywood in the mid-20th century.

Quotes by Elia Kazan

I have no spy stories to tell, because I saw no spies. Nor did I understand, at that time, any opposition between American and Russian national interest.
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The world was like a huge red carpet out ahead of me to be walked on. And it stretched on and on, no end.
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Stylized acting and direction is to realistic acting and direction as poetry is to prose.
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Whatever hysteria exists is inflamed by mystery, suspicion and secrecy. Hard and exact facts will cool it.
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The essence of the stage is concentration and penetration. Of the screen action, movement, sweep.
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I was an outsider... but I was also sympathetic with people that were struggling to get up, because I struggled to get up.
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I said to Tennessee, this thing is becoming the Marlon Brando show.
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I think there should be collaboration, but under my thumb.
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I question the value of stars. I think they're overrated. They get too much money, too much praise.
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I will say nothing to an actor that cannot be translated into action.
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The more ambivalent you are and the more uncertain you are, then you can get something that you cannot anticipate.
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To be a member of the Communist Party is to have a taste of the police state. It is a diluted taste but is bitter and unforgettable.
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