East of Eden (1955)
Directed by Elia Kazan
In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, how to get ahead in business and in life, and how to relate to his estranged mother.
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What critics compared East of Eden to
There are echoes of East of Eden (for which Newman tested, losing the role to James Dean), and the story of how Hank and Viv met actually recapitulates the plot of The Wild One.
Nominated in four Globe categories, including best picture (drama division), director (Edward Zwick) and actor (Brad Pitt), "Legends of the Fall" plays like a Really Bad Cinema version of "Bonanza," with quite a bit of the plot from "East of Eden" thrown in for bad measure.
At first, the picture plays like “East of Eden” with a bonus brother; it gets sillier as it goes.
But, in a way, "Legends" is closer in mood to another Dean movie, "East of Eden"-or to what "East of Eden" might have been if director Elia Kazan had filmed John Steinbeck's whole epic novel, instead of merely its last section.
With his tattoos covered by a hooded sweatshirt and his piercings on hiatus because of the film's 1995 setting, the actor has something of the quality of an updated James Dean (the director suggested he watch "East of Eden," but apparently that never happened) and he carries the picture like it's second nature.
Her grandfather, filmmaker Elia Kazan, was both legendary ( On the Waterfront , A Streetcar Named Desire and East of Eden are all on his directorial resumé´) and controversial (he ratted on lefties in McCarthy-era Hollywood).
And yes, for those old enough to remember, she is the granddaughter of film and stage director Elia Kazan (“On the Waterfront,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “East of Eden,” etc.) and playwright Molly Kazan, as well as the daughter of screenwriters Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord.
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Where would we be – we readers, playgoers, screen spectators – without the screaming matches, weeping fits and confessional unravellings of US drama, from Long Day’s Journey Into Night to East of Eden to Dallas?
It’s more like a contempo East of Eden starring Baby Goose with face tats, a multi-generational tale of intertwined families and the invisible hand of tradition.
Cianfrance’s story just keeps spiraling out from there, aspiring to the multigenerational reach of Wuthering Heights or East of Eden.
And Jo Van Fleet (the Best Supporting Actress winner for East of Eden) has a small but memorable part as Luke's dying mother.