Kazan courts controversy

Director Elia Kazan received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement that revived controversy over his role in the Hollywood witchhunt of communist sympathisers in the 1950s. Some in the audience rose to give him an ovation while others sat silent and grim faced to protest the award. Nick Nolte, a best actor nominee, remained seated, as did Tom Hanks and Ed Harris.

Kazan, 89, received the statuette from director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro. 8220;More than anybody he inspired us,8221; De Niro said on presenting Kazan. Controversy over the award came immediately after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced it would honour the director, who brought On the Waterfront and East of Eden to the big screen.Kazan8217;s name is still linked to the day of April 10, 1952, when, in the midst of the Cold War, he testified before the infamous US House Committee on Un-American Activities. He named eight people who, like himself, were members of the Communist Party, ruining their careers. But theAcademy defended its decision to honour Kazan, calling him 8220;one of the most extraordinary directors of this century,8221; and said his work 8220;has influenced the very nature of filmmaking through his creation of masterpieces8221;.

Kazan8217;s talent is generally considered indisputable. He was one of the founding members of the Actors Studio, which formed generations of some of America8217;s best screen and stage actors, as well as directors. Kazan discovered James Dean, helped mould Marlon Brando into a star and gave early in their careers some of the best roles to Beatty and De Niro. In 1947, he won an Oscar for best director for A Gentleman8217;s Agreement and again in 1954 for On the Waterfront. But outside the ceremony some of those who were blacklisted by Kazan8217;s testimony joined protestors yelling 8220;Ditch the Snitch,8221; and 8220;Don8217;t Whitewash the Blacklist8221;.