Elia Kazan Film Collection Due Nov. 9, Fox Acquires Scorsese's 'Letter to Elia'

The Elia Kazan Film Collection, featuring 15 of the director's classic films in a collectible DVD gift set will be released November 9  by Twentieth Century Fox Home. The set also will include Martin Scorsese’s new documentary A Letter to Elia, recently acquired by Fox and Thirteens' "American Masters" series.

Scorsese's film, which he co-directed with Kent Jones, made its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival and its North American premiere at the Telluride Film Festival.  It is also an official selection of the New York Film Festival where it will screen alongside Kazan’s America, America  September 27. 
 "It took many years. I asked my old friend and collaborator Kent Jones to work with me, and we spent quite a long time looking at the films, talking about them, looking at the life, the fame, the infamy, and finding the tone, the balance that felt right for this picture," Scorsese said in a statement. "I feel that the finished film speaks to the power of art, in this case the art of Elia Kazan.
"I’m very excited that Fox is making our film available as part of a box set of Kazan’s work," he added. "I’m especially pleased by the inclusion of five pictures that have never been released on DVD, Wild River and America, America in particular. Getting the movies seen – that’s what we’re all aiming for.”   
The Elia Kazan Film Collection is an 18-disc DVD gift set including A Letter to Elia and 15 of Kazan’s most acclaimed and noteworthy films. In addition to the documentary, includes:   A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), Boomerang! (1947), Gentleman’s Agreement (1947), Pinky (1949), Panic in the Streets (1950), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Viva Zapata! (1952), Man on a Tightrope (1953), On the Waterfront (1954), East of Eden (1955), Baby Doll (1956), A Face in the Crowd (1957), Wild River (1960), Splendor in the Grass (1961), and America, America (1963).  Films such as Gentleman's Agreement and Waterfront delivered powerful social messages that still impact us today. Five of the films have never before been released on DVD:  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Viva Zapata!, Man on a Tightrope, and as Scorcese noted, Wild River, and America, America. The set will retail for just under $200. 
The Scorsese documentary, along with several of Kazan’s films, will tour the country, playing at a variety of art house theaters, cinematheques and film societies, including The Guild Cinema in Albuquerque, NM; The Plaza Theatre in Atlanta, GA, hosted by Emory University; The Brattle Theater in Cambridge, MA; The Burton Theater in Detroit, MI; The Phoenix Art Museum in Phoenix, AZ; The Northwest Film Center in Portland, OR; and the AFI Silver Theatre and Conference Center in Silver Spring, MD.
For more information on the documentary, the complete list of screening engagements, and pre-order details for the collection, visit www.lettertoelia.com.