Glucedee
It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
Roy Hart
If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
Walter Sloane
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
deickos
This film is the best of Kazan's because it is so personal and there is 100% commitment. The method is worthy of the story: this epic of salvation is intertwined with many smaller stories that all have an essential contribution to the moral of the film.
We watch scenes of the Armenian Genocide alongside the main story, while the selection of characters is never left to chance - everyone stands for something, everyone represents a certain moral value that is constituent of the final outcome.
While the journey of the hero looks unique, it is actually only one of the thousands of those who managed to escape the Turkish oppression at the time.
Kirpianuscus
a masterpiece. about a reality who remains contemporary. about the roots of success. about family. and, sure, about the image of America, this image more powerful than the reality. it is unfair to say why it is a great film. because, behind the image, the impeccable script, the portrait of the lead hero and his struggle to be a successful man , ignoring each detail against this desire, it is a form of poetry of the East , bitter, sad, sandy, cold. the need to escape from yourself. result, a great movie. like fresco of the self definition of an entire world.
Howard Schumann
As the Ottoman Empire's stability crumbled in the nineteenth century as a result of internal corruption and perceived outside threats, oppression and intolerance of Greek and Armenian minorities multiplied. Pogroms organized by the Sultan in 1895 and 1896 resulted in the deaths of 200,000 Armenians and the displacement of thousands of Greeks, many of whom looked to America as a salvation. Between 1890 and 1917, 450,000 Greeks (90% male) arrived in the U.S. seeking freedom and opportunity. One of their stories is told by director Elia Kazan in his 1963 film America, America, based on his novel of his uncle's journey to America in 1896 from his homeland of Anatolia. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, but lost to Tom Jones.Shot by legendary cinematographer Haskell Wexler in black-and-white using non-professional actors, America, America is the story of a young Greek, Stavros Topouzoglou (Stathis Giallelis) and the enormous obstacles he faces in trying to reach America's golden shores. Under Wexler's guidance, the film has the look and feel of a documentary, marred only by its awkward dubbing (Stavros' grandmother, for example, sounding like Sadie from Brooklyn). As the film opens, we hear the words of the director, "I'm Elia Kazan. I am a Greek by blood, a Turk by birth, and an American because my uncle made a journey." After Vartan (Frank Wolff), a close Armenian friend of Stavros, is murdered by the Turks and Stavros is dismayed by his father's compromising attitude towards the Turkish oppressors, he is entrusted by his parents, Isaac (Harry Davis), and Vasso (Elena Karam) with all of the family's wealth and sent on a two-hour journey to Constantinople to join his cousin Odysseus (Salem Ludwig) in the rug business. Along the way, however, Stavros is robbed by the despicable thief Abdul (Lou Antonio) who pretends to be his friend but betrays him and takes of all of his wealth. Penniless but still determined to go to America, Stavros rejects the offer of an arranged marriage with the daughter (Linda Marsh) of a wealthy rug dealer, even though she is devoted to him and can look past his deceitful purposes.He is able, however, to use his dowry money to buy a third-class passage to the United States but must first get past additional and seemingly impossible obstacles once onboard ship and eventually must rely on the sacrifice of a young Armenian indentured shoeshine boy, Hohanness Gardashian (Gregory Rozakis). America, America is obviously a heartfelt and personal film for Mr. Kazan but will never be thought of in the same light as On The Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire, even though it is said to be Kazan's favorite.There are segments that are authentic including the scene at Ellis Island when the passengers wait for their turn to be approved or denied, and also those involving Ms. Marsh and Katherine Balfour, a lonely wife Stavros entertains aboard ship. While the film is a powerful rendering of the immigrant experience, it never becomes a cohesive whole. Limited by a banal script, an unwieldy running time, a lack of character growth, and a lead actor whose expression ranges from dour to morose, America, America ultimately stumbles in its attempt at being a work of true epic stature.
Sturgeon54
Imagine a film like "The Godfather" receiving almost no audience, relegated to the occasional appearance on the AMC channel, barely being released on VHS or DVD, and you will have some idea of the tragic fate of this lost epic masterpiece. As hard as it is to believe, this may be the prolific director Elia Kazan's greatest film achievement, yet hardly anyone has seen it. This is a film on the epic scale of "The Godfather," about a young Armenian man's escape from Turkish persecution, flight from Anatolia, and eventual immigration to Ellis Island - all based upon the the experiences of the director's uncle. What is also tragic is the fact that I can think of no other film which portrays the cruel persecution and genocide inflicted upon the Armenian minority by the Ottoman Turks in the early 20th century (which Hitler correctly pointed to as proof that the world would look the other way at the genocide he had planned in Europe in the 1930s). Every period detail in the film is perfect, from the Oscar-winning costume design to the set design, Greek folk music score, veteran Haskell Wexler's cinematography, and acting - especially lead actor Giallelis, whose intensity brings to mind some of Brando's early work.It is obvious that this film was a very personal piece of film-making for Kazan. And though I don't want to dwell as others do on Kazan's checkered past in his naming of communist colleagues for HUAC in the 1950s, it is interesting to note a parallel in the main character Stavros' personal anguish in making the choice to leave his wealthy wife and use her money to immigrate to the United States; both men made the conscious decision to drive a wedge between them and their past relationships. This is truly a film for all Americans to treasure, and if I had my way, I would make sure it was broadcast every 4th of July just as "It's a Wonderful Life" is broadcast every Christmas. As a nation of immigrants and descendants of immigrants, this is a film virtually every American can relate to. I can't figure out why it is so obscure.
