Watch America America For Free

You won't be disappointed!

One of my all time favorites.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Blistering performances.

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.

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.

We forget our roots and the origins of others but this film will nicely remind you of the beginning of may Americans and how they came to this land of the free. First of all one must dream of something greater and for tens of millions of people America was that dream. This is nicely portrayed in this movie as we focus on one family and its one family member that caught the liberty and freedom gene and never let go no matter what came to take it. Today, 3 generations of Americans have forgotten what a privilege it is to be born here and to come here because they are here and have forgotten the contrast which keeps you humble and appreciative for what we tend to take for granted every day. There are a few poignant scenes that will excite emotions as well as a satisfying ending bringing closure to the point made in the movie. Get to America at all costs because whatever it cost is worth it if only everyone could see and have this. Many who came here were so overwhelmed with the experience (for the good) that all they could say or think of was I want all of family back home, wherever that was, to come here and see for yourself. The movie covers that too. We also learn that without passion, life is cheapened and with passion, life has meaning. Next time you go for a burger and fries, or to a movie or a park, give a moment to where you are and why and how beautiful it is to not only be here but to have that "here" in your heart. Good movie for sunflower or pumpkin seeds munching with a tasty drink. Sandwich works too. Take note of America's nick-name: Oh beautiful

Director Kazan tells the story of his uncle (named Stavros in the film) who grew up in Turkey and emigrated to the United States as a young man. Stravos was Greek and, in the late 1800s when the movie takes place, Greeks were an oppressed minority in Turkey, along with the Armenians. The movie does a good job of showing how incensed Stavros is to see his father's obsequious behavior toward the Turks, and he suffers humiliation in an early scene where the Turks take what they want from an ice cart without any recompense. Stavros's yearning to escape this oppression is well motivated and his feelings are no secret within the family. Seeing his outrage, the family gives Stavros everything they can spare so that he can get to Constantinople to work with his uncle, a rug seller. From there we follow Stavros through some difficult adventures as he pursues his monomaniacal quest to get to America. When someone says, "I would kill to do such and such," it is usually spoken metaphorically, but it becomes a reality for Stavros. The stories of Kazan's real life uncle came down to him as family history. As any tale handed down through several tellers this story gives evidence of embellishments. Whether these came down to Kazan as presented in the movie, or whether he added his own we don't know, but consider the chance meeting on a trail in the countryside between Stavros and Hohannes, an impoverished compatriot who also is bent on getting to America. Stavros gives Hohannes his shoes and this established a bond between the two. Then years later it turns out that Stavros and Hohannes are on the same boat to America and, through a complicated plot point, Hohannes gives his life so that Stavros can make it. Seems to stretch believability. And I have to think that the scene where Stavros is taken for dead and happens to fall off the burial cart is overplayed.The black and white photography by Haskell Wexler is impressive. Black and white is appropriate for the stark nature of this movie; there are hardly even any shades of gray in Stavros's personality. Even as much a fan of black and white as I am, I was left wondering how filming this in color would change the the tone of the movie.While the forces driving Stavros to his destiny were clear, in his portrayal of the man I felt that Stathis Giallelis did not emote the strength of character that Stavros must have had in order to accomplish what he did. Think of a young Anthony Quinn in this role. The last part of the movie is quite emotional. The scenes at Ellis Island are so realistic that I assume many of them come from documentary footage. Poignant to see how the ancestors of many of us born in this country came to be here.The score by Manos Hadjidakis is memorable.