The Communist are out to communalize your garden and socialize your children!

[Jackmannii]

*Originally posted by Ilsa_Lund *
**What the hell are you talking about?
I am neither condoning nor judging Kazan’s actions during the HUAC hearings, I am simply stating that this has no bearing on the effect or quality of the cinematic masterpieces he created. His geniues in the medium of film has nothing to do with his politics. He did the things did for a reason. Good or bad, it was justifiable to him and that’s all that matters. Rocks. Glass houses.

Will you deny that Triumph des Willens was not a cinematic masterpiece? The message was evil and horrible, but it was an excellent film. One has no bearing on the other. **

Hell, throw in Birth of a Nation and make it a trifecta.
I think I lost you right around the part about the rocks and glass houses and stuff.

Unfortunately, people are always going to think of these directors, to one degree or other, in the context of slimy or outright evil things that they did. And at some point when one defends them too vigorously, one begins to sound like Arnold Schwartzenegger.

“Ja, Hitler vas evil. But such a beautiful speaking voice.
And he could paint a whole house in one day. Two coats!!”

[Ilsa_Lund]

“Ze Fuhrer vas also an excellent dancer!”

I wasn’t defending the people, I was defending their work. To judge work by it’s artist’s unrelated politics is dumb. I don’t give a you-know-what about Roman Polanski or Elia Kazan. And I have Birth of a Nation DVD.