The problem with best-of DVD collections is that they usually include so much more than you need -- or even want. But The Elia Kazan Collection (20th Century Fox DVD), which includes 15 Kazan treasures selected by Martin Scorsese, is lean, mean and essential.
This set includes, of course, the movies we all instantly associate with Kazan, like On the Waterfront, East of Eden and A Streetcar Named Desire. But even beyond those astonishing pictures, this is a set to get lost in over the holiday season and the year ahead: It includes one of Kazan's greatest, and least-appreciated, works, the 1960 Wild River, starring Montgomery Clift and Lee Remick, a picture that wasn't a huge hit upon its release and, over the years, hasn't surfaced commonly even in repertory.
This box also includes A Letter to Elia, a superb new documentary by Scorsese and Kent Jones in which Scorsese annotates clips from his favorite Kazan films. Scorsese has always revered Kazan -- in the doc, he mentions "stalking" East of Eden upon its release, as it moved from theater to theater in New York -- but his readings of Kazan's work ring with humility and affection, as well as pure admiration. It's the best kind of tribute he could give his idol.
$136.99 @ Amazon