Masters of Cinema

Elia Kazan bestrode the fifties: a very successful New York stage director who co-founded the Actor’s Studio in 1947 and was then lured to Hollywood. The Actor’s Studio achieved worldwide fame in record time because of the groundbreaking work of three Method-trained actors: Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando and James Dean; and four landmark films: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), On the Waterfront (1954) East of Eden (1955) and Baby Doll (1956)—all directed by Elia Kazan. “Of all the major directors at our studio, I most respected the genius of Hitchcock and Elia Kazan and left them alone to do as they wanted” - Jack Warner. As one of his actors put it: Kazan “was, by far, the greatest director I have ever worked with. A few words from him and you had a full idea of how to play each scene.”.

Paolo Sorrentino has been described as ‘the most promising Italian director of his generation’. This one-day course will explore the cinema of this Neapolitan filmmaker renowned for his ‘commitment to style’. We will look at a number of his films as well as his television work, and examine some of the themes that he has returned to throughout his career, for example, power, nostalgia and solitude. We will also consider his Sorrentino’s relationship with figures such as the cinematographer Luca Bigazzi and the actor Toni Servillo, both of whom have collaborated frequently with the director. So, join us in City Lit’s Cultureplex screening space for day-long immersion into the beautifully stylish cinematic world of Paolo Sorrentino.