Kazan on directing
(Book)

Originally published: New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Elia Kazan was the twentieth century's most celebrated theater and film director, and this monumental, revelatory book shows us the master at work. Kazan's list of Broadway and Hollywood successes - A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, On the Waterfront, to name a few - is a testament to his profound on the art of directing. This remarkable volume, drawn from his notebooks, letters, interviews, and autobiography, reveals Kazan's method: how he uncovered the "spine," or core, of each script; how he analyzed each piece in terms of his own experience; and how he determined the specifics of his production, from casting and costuming to set design and cinematography. And in the final section, "The Pleasures of Directing" - written during Kazan's final years - he is the wise voice of experience offering advice and insight for budding artists, writers, actors, and directors. -- from back cover.