From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia America America
America America
America, America years old at the time of production, who is in virtually
every scene of the nearly three-hour movie.
The film begins in the late 1890s, as young Greek
Stavros Topouzoglou (Giallelis), living in an impover-
ished village in Turkish Anatolia witnesses brutal oppres-
sion by the Turkish authorities of the Greek and Armen-
ian minorities. He is entrusted by his father with the fam-
ily’s financial resources in a mission of hope to the Turk-
ish capital Constantinople [renamed Istanbul in 1930],
where he would work in the carpet business of his fa-
ther’s cousin (Harry Davis), although his own dream is
to reach the faraway land of opportunity, America. His
odyssey begins with a long voyage on a donkey and on
foot through the impoverished towns and villages on the
way to Constantinople. Due to his kind nature and
naivete, he allows himself to be deprived of all his money
and arrives at the cousin’s home penniless. The older
man is deeply disappointed at this turn of events since
he was counting on the infusion of funds to rescue his
Film poster failing enterprise. Nevertheless, he attempts to salvage
the situation by proposing that Stavros marry a wealthy
Directed by Elia Kazan
merchant’s (Paul Mann) young daughter (Linda Marsh).
Produced by Elia Kazan Stavros realizes that such a marriage would mean the
Written by Elia Kazan end of his American dream and adamantly refuses,
abruptly leaving the angry cousin.
Starring Stathis Giallelis Now homeless on the streets of the capital, Stavros
Frank Wolff
survives by eating discarded food and working at back-
Elena Karam
breaking and hazardous jobs. After nearly a year of
Music by Manos Hadjidakis scrimping and self-denial, he has some savings, but an
Cinematography Haskell Wexler encounter with an enticing beauty (Joanna Frank) leaves
him, once again, bereft of income. Sinking even lower, he
Editing by Dede Allen now finds himself living in an overcrowded subterranean
Distributed by Warner Bros. hovel, which becomes a scene of chaos and bloodshed
when it is attacked with gunfire by authorities purport-
Release date(s) December 15, 1963
edly searching for anarchists and revolutionaries. Se-
Running time 174 min. verely injured in the mayhem, the unconscious Stavros is
thrown among piles of dead bodies slated for disposal in-
Country United States
to the sea. He subsequently topples from the cart trans-
Language English porting the bodies and painfully makes his way to the
cousin’s residence. The relative takes pity on the young
America, America (British title The Anatolian Smile is a 1963
Smile) man and allows him to recover at his home. Deprived
American dramatic film directed, produced and written now of all resistance, Stavros agrees to marry his intend-
by Elia Kazan, from his own book. ed bride. Upon being questioned by her regarding his
moodiness, however, he admits that he still plans to im-
Plot migrate to America, using the dowry money to pay for his
passage. She then entreats him to take her along, admit-
In this tale, loosely based upon the life of Kazan’s uncle, ting that she feels no hope in her present situation.
the director uses little-known cast members, with the en- At this point Stavros becomes reacquainted with Ho-
tire storyline revolving around the central performance hannes (Gregory Rozakis), a young Armenian, whom
of Greek actor Stathis Giallelis (born 1941), twenty-two Stavros aided with food and clothing during his original
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia America America
voyage to Istanbul. Hohannes informs him that he is be- In 2001, America, America as selected for preservation in
ing sponsored to America by an employer seeking labor. the United States National Film Registry by the Library of
The offer is also extended to Stavros and his dream now Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetical-
seemed within reach. He tells his intended that he could ly significant".
not marry her, and subsequently embarks on the voyage.
There is, however, another major impediment—an affair
with the young wife (Katherine Balfour) of an older busi-
Technical details, premiere
nessman (Robert H. Harris), well-known to his former dates and DVD release
prospective father-in-law. The older man lodges a crimi-
America, America was filmed in 1.66:1 aspect ratio on
nal charge against Stavros, which would result in depor-
35-millimeter film and had its New York premiere on De-
tation back to Turkey. As everything looks bleak, howev-
cember 15, 1963. Between summer 1964 and spring 1965,
er, the tubercular Hohannes exchanges documents with
it was seen in virtually every major Western European
Stavros, allowing him to enter America in Hohannes’
city. Its VHS release came on November 28, 1994 and a
place.
French (region 2) DVD boxed set (with Kazan’s Baby Doll
With the climactic image of the Statue of Liberty as
and A Face in the Crowd was released on December 3, 2002).
the boatload of immigrants docks in New York Harbor,
The film was finally released by Warner Bros. on DVD in
Stavros puts his tribulations behind him, starting out as a
the US on February 8, 2011.
shoeshine boy and gathering the pennies and dollars that
will eventually bring his family to the land where their
descendants, including Elia Kazan, will have the chance References
to fulfill their potential.
[1] "NY Times: America, America". NY Times.
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/83620/
Awards and nominations America-America/awards. Retrieved 2008-12-25.
The film won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction,
Black-and-White (Gene Callahan).[1] External links
The film was nominated for three other Oscars in:
• America, America at the Internet Movie Database
• Best Director - Elia Kazan
• America, America at AllRovi
• Best Picture - Elia Kazan
• Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly
for the Screen - Elia Kazan
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=America_America&oldid=461054819"
Categories:
• 1963 films
• American films
• Black-and-white films
• English-language films
• Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award
• Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe
• Films directed by Elia Kazan
• Films shot in Greece
• United States National Film Registry films
• 1960s drama films
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