American Masters

A Letter to Elia

Season 24 Episode 6

For Martin Scorsese, growing up in Little Italy, seeing On the Waterfront and East of Eden as a young man was a life-changing experience. Scorsese appears on and off camera throughout A Letter to Elia, taking us through Kazan's life and through his own as well, and through his growing realization that there was an artist behind the camera, someone "who knew me, maybe better than I knew myself."

Aired: 10/02/10

Support for American Masters is provided by AARP, The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, Burton P. and Judith B. Resnick Foundation, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, Jeffrey Katz and Beth Rogers, Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, The Marc Haas Foundation, Lillian Goldman Programming Endowment, Seton J. Melvin, Candace King Weir, Koo and Patricia Yuen, Laura Richards and Jim Naughton, Filomen M. Dagostino Foundation, André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Ellen and James S. Marcus, Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, The Charina Endowment Fund, and public television viewers.