IslandGuru Who payed the critics

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

tcmay-1 I might give it a rating higher than 7, except that I have not seen it since 1964.We had access to the USO in Nice, France when I was a Navy kid living in nearby Villefranche sur Mer, then the flagship port of the USS Springfield, the flagship of the Sixth Fleet.I had found an English copy of "The Diary of Anne Frank" in the villa we rented for the early part of 1964, so I knew a little about some past massacres and atrocities. But I didn't know a lot, and I knew zero about Armenians and their history.But this film, which I saw in a grainy print in an only slightly-dark theater (we kids saw movies during the day) had a lasting effect on me. FWIW, the other film in this theater which had a lasting memory on me was "Lawrence of Arabia." Such a treat to later see it in a widescreen, properly-dark, Dolby 70mm print (maybe even Cinerama, as it was shown at the Santa Clara, CA "Cineramadome," when it was re-released some years ago.)For several decades I had vague memories along the lines of "What was that movie I saw at the USO that involved the killing of Armenians and a long trek to America?" But before our new era of search engines, it was nearly impossible to track down.Some years ago I used Google and IMDb to narrow it down to this film. Sorry for the long delay in commenting here.Why is it shown so rarely that I cannot find a copy? Why in all the years I knew the name Elia Kazan did I not see clear references to it?I'd like to see it again.--Tim May, California

swearingen_ar Masterful direction and cinematography...!!!! It was watching a series of wonderful black and white photographs taken by a skilled professional photographer. This movie is a joy to watch and enjoy.The actors, most of them unknowns at the time, are excellent. It is so well dome it is like watching a documentary. The hand-held camera work helps give you this feeling.The story, basically a true story about an uncle of Elia Kazan and his efforts to get to America, is riveting. The characters seem real because they are real. It will hold your attention. SEE IT..!!!! You won't be sorry.

bandw Director Kazan tells the story of his uncle (named Stavros in the film) who grew up in Turkey and emigrated to the United States as a young man. Stravos was Greek and, in the late 1800s when the movie takes place, Greeks were an oppressed minority in Turkey, along with the Armenians. The movie does a good job of showing how incensed Stavros is to see his father's obsequious behavior toward the Turks, and he suffers humiliation in an early scene where the Turks take what they want from an ice cart without any recompense. Stavros's yearning to escape this oppression is well motivated and his feelings are no secret within the family. Seeing his outrage, the family gives Stavros everything they can spare so that he can get to Constantinople to work with his uncle, a rug seller. From there we follow Stavros through some difficult adventures as he pursues his monomaniacal quest to get to America. When someone says, "I would kill to do such and such," it is usually spoken metaphorically, but it becomes a reality for Stavros. The stories of Kazan's real life uncle came down to him as family history. As any tale handed down through several tellers this story gives evidence of embellishments. Whether these came down to Kazan as presented in the movie, or whether he added his own we don't know, but consider the chance meeting on a trail in the countryside between Stavros and Hohannes, an impoverished compatriot who also is bent on getting to America. Stavros gives Hohannes his shoes and this established a bond between the two. Then years later it turns out that Stavros and Hohannes are on the same boat to America and, through a complicated plot point, Hohannes gives his life so that Stavros can make it. Seems to stretch believability. And I have to think that the scene where Stavros is taken for dead and happens to fall off the burial cart is overplayed.The black and white photography by Haskell Wexler is impressive. Black and white is appropriate for the stark nature of this movie; there are hardly even any shades of gray in Stavros's personality. Even as much a fan of black and white as I am, I was left wondering how filming this in color would change the the tone of the movie.While the forces driving Stavros to his destiny were clear, in his portrayal of the man I felt that Stathis Giallelis did not emote the strength of character that Stavros must have had in order to accomplish what he did. Think of a young Anthony Quinn in this role. The last part of the movie is quite emotional. The scenes at Ellis Island are so realistic that I assume many of them come from documentary footage. Poignant to see how the ancestors of many of us born in this country came to be here.The score by Manos Hadjidakis is memorable.

ma-cortes The picture talks about a Greek young from Anatoly ( Turkey ) named Stavros ( Stathis Giallelis ). He is sent by his father to Constantinopla for helping their family . Howewer Stavros only thinks on America . Across the journey he will suffer several misfortunes , risks and odds in his relationships to friends (Frank Wolff, John Marley, Lou Antonio) and enemies . Later on , Stavros will work in laborious employments to obtain a passage in a splendid ship for the promised land.The movie is a magnificent adaptation based on the autobiographic novel of Greek-Turkish director Elia Kazan who being a child emigrated along with his family to United States . Since the initiating he describes memories , emotions and infancy images , besides narrates the persecution to Greeks and Armenians by Turkish that finished in genocide . Kazan reflects the particular characters , rural sets in realism way , folkloric customs , glimmer landscapes as well as interior homes . Kazan achieved a real emotion and sensibility by means of slow-moving scenes and close-ups of protagonists full of dialogs dealing with essential feeling as familiar love , friendship or happiness . These images contrast with the breathtaking outdoors of the mountains and countrysides where are developed the events . Magnificent cinematography in black and white by Haskel Wexler . Awesome and evocative musical score in oriental style by Manos Hadjidakis ( Topkapi ). The motion picture is very well directed by Elia Kazan ( On the waterfront ) . The release won Academy Award , an Oscar for production design and attained three nominations referred to Director and original screenplay , plus obtained a Golden Globe for Director and the biggest prize in Festival of San Sebastian . Rating : Above average and astounding movie. Well worth watching .