American Masters

A Letter to Elia

For Martin Scorsese, growing up in Little Italy, seeing On the Waterfront and East of Eden as a young man was a life-changing experience. Scorsese appears on and off camera throughout A Letter to Elia, taking us through Kazan's life and through his own as well, and through his growing realization that there was an artist behind the camera, someone "who knew me, maybe better than I knew myself."

A Letter To Elia - Preview

20s

Composed of clips, stills, readings from Kazan's autobiography and his speech on directing (read by Elias Koteas), a videotaped interview done late in Kazan's life, and Scorsese's commentary on and offscreen, A Letter to Elia takes a close look at the life of art and its creation - the work, the distractions, the inspirations, the complications, the intersections between art and experience.

Previews + Extras

  • A Letter to Elia - Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    A Letter to Elia - Preview

    S24 E6 - 30s

    Director Martin Scorsese reveals Elia Kazan's life, his sense of himself as an immigrant and as an outsider. Scorsese also recounts his early experiences seeing Kazan's films for the first time - and being forever influenced. 7/12/13

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