Elia Kazan Collection 4-DVD Set ( A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / Wild River / The Visitors / Panic in the Streets )

Elia Kazan Collection 4-DVD Set (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / Wild River / The Visitors / Panic in the Streets
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Berlin International Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
Oscar Academy Awards
Venice Film Festival

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Spain ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
405 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Box Set
Interactive Menu
Multi-DVD Set
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 1945-1972 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Elia Kazan

Written By:
Frank Davis
Tess Slesinger
Paul Osborn
William Bradford Huie
Chris Kazan
Richard Murphy

Actors:
Dorothy McGuire ..... Katie Nolan
Joan Blondell ..... Sissy Edwards
James Dunn ..... Johnny Nolan aka The Brooklyn Thrush
Lloyd Nolan ..... Officer McShane
James Gleason ..... McGarrity
Ted Donaldson ..... Neeley Nolan
Peggy Ann Garner ..... Francie Nolan
Ruth Nelson ..... Miss McDonough
John Alexander ..... Steve Edwards
B.S. Pully ..... Christmas Tree Vendor
Montgomery Clift ..... Chuck Glover
Lee Remick ..... Carol Garth Baldwin
Jo Van Fleet ..... Ella Garth
Albert Salmi ..... Hank Bailey
Jay C. Flippen ..... Hamilton Garth (as J.C. Flippen)
James Westerfield ..... Cal Garth
Barbara Loden ..... Betty Jackson
Frank Overton ..... Walter Clark
Malcolm Atterbury ..... Sy Moore
Patrick McVey ..... Harry Wayne
Patricia Joyce ..... Martha Wayne
James Woods ..... Bill Schmidt
Steve Railsback ..... Mike Nickerson
Chico Martínez ..... Tony Rodrigues
Richard Widmark ..... Lt. Cmdr. Clinton 'Clint' Reed M.D.
Paul Douglas ..... Capt. Tom Warren
Barbara Bel Geddes ..... Nancy Reed
Jack Palance ..... Blackie (as Walter Jack Palance)
Zero Mostel ..... Raymond Fitch
Dan Riss ..... Neff - Newspaper Reporter
Tommy Cook ..... Vince Poldi - Younger Brother

Synopsis:

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn:
One-time movie song-and-dance man James Dunn won an Academy Award for his "comeback" performance in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Based on the best-selling novel by Betty Smith, the film relates the trials and tribulations of a turn-of-the-century Brooklyn tenement family. The father, Dunn, is a likable but irresponsible alcoholic whose dreams of improving his family's lot are invariably doomed to disappointment. The mother, Dorothy McGuire, is the true head of the household, steadfastly holding the family together no matter what crisis arises. The story is told from the point of view of daughter Peggy Ann Garner, a clear-eyed realist who nonetheless would like to believe in her pie-in-the-sky father, whom she dearly loves. Joan Blondell co-stars as the family's brash, freewheeling aunt, whose means of financial support is a never-ending source of neighborhood gossip. This first film directorial effort of Elia Kazan earned a special Oscar for "Most Promising Juvenile Performer" Peggy Ann Garner. A Tree Grows From Brooklyn was remade for TV in 1974, and also served as the basis of a Broadway musical.

Wild River:
Filmed on location in the Tennessee Valley, Wild River is set in the early 1930s. Montgomery Clift plays an idealistic TVA agent, assigned to convince the locals to move from their property so that a beneficial dam can be built. The principal holdout is feisty octogenarian Jo Van Fleet, who refuses to budge from her land, convinced that she will die if she ever gives an inch. Her prophecy turns out to be true, as Van Fleet becomes yet another sacrifice to progress. Clift also runs into opposition because of his fair treatment of the local black population. Lee Remick costars as Van Fleet's granddaughter, who comes to love and understand the sensitive Clift. Some dated fuzzy-headed liberalism aside, Wild River is a masterful recreation of a difficult, complex period in American history. Watch for an uncredited Bruce Dern in his film debut.

The Visitors:
This melodramatic thriller is not one of Elia Kazan's directorial shining moments. Kazan, who is better-known for such great films as On the Waterfront, made this film, with his friends, on a very low budget. It is probably most notable for featuring James Woods in an early role. Bill Schmidt (Woods) is a Vietnam veteran who has returned home and wants to take it easy. His father-in-law Harry Wayne (Patrick McVey), who hates his guts, takes exception to this. When two other veterans show up looking to harass Schmidt, Harry helps pave their way straight to his door. Bill prosecuted them in Vietnam for murder and rape, and they've just gotten out of prison.

Panic in the Streets:
Filmed entirely on location in New Orleans, Panic in the Streets stars Richard Widmark as Dr. Clinton Reed, a physician from the U.S. Health Service who must race against time to stop a plague. The carrier was an illegal alien, murdered by criminals Jack Palance and Zero Mostel. When local officials note the strange condition of the corpse, they fear that the germs will spread to epidemic proportions, and thus summon Reed to wrest control of the situation. At first facing opposition from rule-bound police captain Paul Douglas, Widmark is finally able to work hand-in-glove with Douglas in tracking down Palance and Mostel, who have themselves become plague carriers. Many of the actors in Panic in the Streets are local nonprofessionals, selected by director Elia Kazan because of their "rightness" within the framework of the story; the rest of the cast is peopled by such film veterans as Barbara Bel Geddes, Tommy Cook, Emile Meyer and H.T. Tsiang. Widmark's son is played by an uncredited Tommy Rettig, four years before he starred on the Lassie TV series. Though Elia Kazan liked to claim that much of Panic in the Streets was improvised, there was a script, adapted by Richard Murphy and Daniel Fuchs from a story by Edward Anhalt and Edna Anhalt.

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 08 October, 2008.

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