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![John Cassavetes: Five Films (The Criterion Collection) [Shadows / Faces / A Woman Under the Influence / The Killing of a Chinese Bookie / Opening Night]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81V3JinZRpL.jpg)
John Cassavetes was a genius, a visionary, and the progenitor of American independent film, but that doesn’t begin to get at the generosity of his art. A former theater actor fascinated by the power of improvisation, Cassavetes brought his search for truth in performance to the screen. The five films in this collection—all of which the director maintained total control over by financing them himself and making them outside the studio system—are electrifying and compassionate creations, populated by all manner of humanity: beatniks, hippies, businessmen, actors, housewives, strippers, club owners, gangsters, children. Cassavetes has often been called an actor’s director, but this body of work—even greater than the sum of its extraordinary parts—shows him to be an audience’s director.FIVE-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURESNew high-definition digital restorations of all five films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracksNew high-definition digital restoration of Cassavetes’s 108-minute 1978 version of The Killing of a Chinese BookieA Constant Forge: The Life and Art of John Cassavetes (2000), a 200-minute documentary by Charles KiselyakNew interviews with actor Lelia Goldoni and associate producer Seymour Cassel about ShadowsSilent footage from the Cassavetes-Lane Drama Workshop, from which Shadows emergedRestoration demonstration for ShadowsAlternate eighteen-minute opening sequence for FacesEpisode of the French television series Cinéastes de notre temps from 1968, dedicated to CassavetesMaking “Faces,” a new documentary featuring interviews with actors Cassel, Lynn Carlin, and Gena Rowlands and director of photography Al RubanAl Ruban on Lighting and Shooting “Faces,” a new video programAudio commentary for A Woman Under the Influence by sound recordist and composer Bo Harwood and camera operator Mike FerrisNew conversation between Rowlands and actor Peter Falk about A Woman Under the InfluenceNew interview program featuring actor Ben Gazzara and Ruban discussing The Killing of a Chinese BookieNew conversation between Rowlands and Gazzara about Opening NightNew interview with Ruban about Opening NightThree audio interviews with Cassavetes from the 1970sTrailers for Shadows, A Woman Under the Influence, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and Opening NightStills and poster galleriesTrailersEnglish subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearingPLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Gary Giddins, Kent Jones, Kiselyak, Stuart Klawans, Dennis Lim, and Phillip Lopate; writings by and interviews with Cassavetes; and tributes to the filmmaker by director Martin Scorsese; actor and writer Elaine Kagan, Cassavetes’s former secretary; and novelist Jonathan LethemSHADOWSJohn Cassavetes’s directorial debut revolves around a romance in New York City between Lelia (Lelia Goldoni), a light- skinned black woman, and Tony (Anthony Ray), a white man. The relationship is put in jeopardy when Tony meets Lelia’s darker-skinned jazz singer brother, Hugh (Hugh Hurd), and discovers that her racial heritage is not what he thought it was. Shot on location in Manhattan with a mostly nonprofessional cast and crew, Shadows is a penetrating work that is widely considered the forerunner of the American independent film movement.FACESJohn Cassavetes puts a disintegrating marriage under the microscope in the searing Faces. Shot in high-contrast 16 mm black and white, the film follows the futile attempts of the captain of industry Richard (John Marley) and his wife, Maria (Lynn Carlin), to escape the anguish of their empty relationship in the arms of others. Featuring astonishingly nervy performances from Marley, Carlin, and Cassavetes regulars Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel, Faces confronts modern alienation and the battle of the sexes with a brutal honesty and compassion rarely matched in cinema.A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCEThis uncompromising portrait of domestic turmoil details the emotional breakdown of a suburban housewife and her family’s struggle to save her from herself. Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk give unforgettably harrowing performances as a married couple deeply in love but unable to express their ardor in terms the other can understand. This landmark American film is perhaps the most beloved work from the extraordinary John Cassavetes.THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIEJohn Cassavetes engages with film noir in his own inimitable style with The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Ben Gazzara brilliantly portrays a gentleman’s club owner, Cosmo Vitelli, desperately committed to maintaining a facade of suave gentility despite the seediness of his environment and his own unhealthy appetites. When he runs afoul of loan sharks, Cosmo must carry out a terrible crime or lose his way of life. Mesmerizing and idiosyncratic, the film is a provocative examination of masculine identity. It is presented here in two versions: Cassavetes’s original 1976 edit and his 1978 one, nearly thirty minutes shorter.OPENING NIGHTWhile in the midst of rehearsals for her latest play, Broadway actor Myrtle Gordon (Gena Rowlands) witnesses the accidental death of an adoring young fan, after which she begins to confront the chaos of her own life. Headlined by a virtuoso performance by Rowlands, John Cassavetes’s Opening Night lays bare the drama of a performer who, at great personal cost, makes a part her own, and it functions as a metaphor for the director’s singular, wrenched-from-the-heart creative method.A CONSTANT FORGECharles Kiselyak’s A Constant Forge—The Life and Art of John Cassavetes is a detailed journey through the career of one of film’s greatest pioneers and iconoclasts. Assembled from candid interviews with Cassavetes’ collaborators and friends, rare photographs, archival footage, and the director’s own words, the film paints a revealing portrait of a man whose fierce love, courage, and dedication changed the face of cinema forever. Review: Great buy - Great movies! Arrived in good condition. Review: Wonderful collection - Wonderful collection. I only wish that the regon was specified clearly, which is not. By the way, the region is A.
T**R
Great buy
Great movies! Arrived in good condition.
A**O
Wonderful collection
Wonderful collection. I only wish that the regon was specified clearly, which is not. By the way, the region is A.
M**H
John Cassavetes 5 films!
Gave as a gift, but I already had the box. 3 of the 5 movies are Cassavetes classic films. If you have a chance to pick it up during the 50 % off sale this should be in your criterion collection. They are just releasing A Woman Under the Influence but it’s not getting a 4k release. Owning these 5 films are a good start with the great John Cassavetes.
A**E
IN SEARCH of LOST CINEMA
Cinema d’auteur american way. No kidding, in the days Casavettes was in charge, the american movie scene had intellectual aspirations.The world had problems, people had problems & clever cieneasts used that material to give us top films.
J**N
John Cassavetes and friends. Wonderful cinema
There’s never been anyone quite like John Cassavetes and his friends that accompany him acting out these titles with flair and elegance and drama and all the tension and all the emotional pyrotechnics. A wonderful addition to any library.
S**Z
This flame will always burn
It's sad that some peolple (most infact) don't want to see films like these, they couldn't handle them. The're people out there who worship cassavetes' films. I've only ever gotten two kinds of replies from showing people his movies - it either bowled them over and changed what they thought cinema could do or just recoiled in boredom or disgust for one reason or the other. I've read cass on cass by Carney and tried to make films with the same punch and it's very hard to do, most film makers are chicken s**t and alot of actors are even worse. If you are an idealistic film maker out there still about to make something like this or your own equivelant - a long desparate and dissapointing road awaits you. Anyone reading this - please buy the box set and track down the other films - cherish them - there may never be another film maker like him again.
B**S
A COVETED COLLECTION
I HAD BEEN PROMISING MYSELF THIS CRITERION COLLECTION FOR QUITE AWHILE AND FINALLY I BOUGHT IT AND IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY! IT BROUGHT BACK MY MEMORIES OF WHEN I FIRST SAW THE MOVIES IN A CINEMA. A DVD TRIBUTE TO CASSAVETES HAS BEEN LONG OVERDUE. JUST SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE WORKS OF A GENIUS. SO MANY FILMMAKERS OF TODAY HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED AND INSPIRED BY HIS DISTINCTIVE STYLE, GIVING AMERICAN MOVIES A CINEMA VERITE LOOK. AS A BONUS THERE IS AN EXCELLENT DOCUMENTARY "A CONSTANT FORGE" AND LOTS OF EXTRAS ON EACH DVD TOO. A PRIZED POSSESSION FOR CASSAVETES FANS!
R**S
Glad to Finally Own This
This Box Set IS the "Masterclass " from the "Cassavetes Factory"
D**Z
John Cassavetes - Schon mal gehört? Wenn nicht, kennen sie einen der besten Filmregisseure nicht. Noch tief in DDR-Zeiten liefen seine Filme im BRD Fernsehen. Sie faszinierten und verstörten mich zugleich, ähnlich wie Ingmar Bergmans Filme und später die dänischen Dogma-Filme. Vielleicht lieben ja diese Filmemacher den heute vielen Filmfreunden nicht bekannten Regisseur, denn auch seine Art des Erzählens ähnelt im vielen den Dogma-Prinzipien. John Cassavetes (eigentl. Ioannis Kassavetes), Sohn griechischer Einwanderer,1919 in New York geboren, studierte an der Colgate University und an der New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. Cassavetes hatte zunächst Erfolg als Schauspieler in "Ein Mann besiegt die Angst" (1956), "Das dreckige Dutzend" (1967), "Rosemaries Baby" (1968). Das brachte das nötige Geld für eigene Regieprojekte. 1956 eröffnete Cassavetes einen Workshop für arbeitslose Schauspieler, wo nach der Stanislawski-Methode gearbeitet wurde, bei der sich die Schauspieler ihren Rollen völlig hingeben sollen. Daraus entstand der Film "Shadows" (1959), mit kleinstem Budget als 16-mm-Film gedreht. Auf 35-mm-Film überspielt erhielt der Film den Kritikerpreis in Venedig 1960. Der Film "Faces" (1968) war Cassavetes Befreiung von Hollywood. Für "A Woman Under The Influence" (1974) gründete er eine eigene Produktionsgesellschaft. Von 1954 bis zu seinem Tod war John Cassavetes mit der Schauspielerin Gena Rowlands verheiratet, die ihn durch ihre Rollen in seinen Filmen maßgeblich beeinflusste. Ein Sohn und zwei Töchter sind ebenfalls in der Filmbranche als Schauspieler und Filmemacher tätig. John Cassavetes verstarb am 3. Februar 1989 an den Folgen einer Leberzirrhose. Durch seine Arbeit als Drehbuchautor und Regisseur, gilt John Cassavetes heute als geistiger Vater des amerikanischen Independentfilms. Die meisten seiner Darsteller waren Freunde, frühere Kollegen von der Schauspielschule, Laien und Familienangehörige wie z.B. Peter Falk, Seymour Cassel, Ben Gazzara und Gena Rowlands. „Ich mache gern schwierige Filme, bei denen die Leute schreiend rauslaufen. Ich bin schließlich nicht in der Unterhaltungsbranche.“ – John Cassavetes Wichtige Stilmittel sind die entfesselte, unruhige Handkamera, die ganz nah an den Gesichtern ist, sozusagen in sie hineinkriecht (wie übrigens auch in vielen Bergman-Filmen), scheinbar unlogische Schärfenverlagerungen und Unschärfen im Bild, der sparsame Umgang mit Kunstlicht, die Arbeit an Originalschauplätzen, ein schonungsloser, oft bedrückender Realismus, freie Improvisation der Schauspieler und plötzlich abbrechende Filmszenen. Peter Falk sagte einmal, dass es in allen Filmen von John Cassavetes um dasselbe Thema gehe: Der Mensch als Gott in Ruinen. „Doch sie versagen und stürzen sich ins Unglück, weil sie unfähig sind.“
J**S
I remember seeing John Cassavetes in The Tempest, which I enjoyed. And Sight and Sound's 2012 critics poll put 3 of these 5 films in the top 100 films of all time., so I gave the set a whirl. As with many Criterion collections, considerable effort is put into the supplements and many of them are interesting. I especially enjoyed the discussions between Gena Rowlands and the male actor who was the lead in the particular film. They all revere Cassavetes, that is for sure. Cassavetes is touted as the independent filmmaker who financed his own films and featured the use of improvisation and a realistic cinéma vérité style. The films certainly are gritty, but part of that is the very low budget and lack of sophisticated filming. He had a reputation for being an actor's director, and to me, many of the scenes don't feel particularly realistic - the actors really look as if they are acting up a storm, not being real characters. They all had their moments, but the films also dragged at times, scenes are allowed to keep going.. My favourite of the bunch was Opening Night, about an aging stage actress who may or may not have seen a young fan killed in a car accident, and the drastic affect it has on her as she and the cast are trying to get a play ready for Broadway. The more famous A Woman Under The Influence provides very meaty roles for Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk, acting with a capital A. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie had some interesting aspects for sure, such as the actual killing of the bookie scenes, but the story seemed really far-fetched for what is supposed a realistic gritty style film. I'm glad I bought the set to see these movies, but none of them will land among my favourites, or even films I really like. I still prefer the Tempest over any of these.
C**N
Le lecture Blue Ray à qui j'ai offert le coffret ne parvient pas à lire ces DVD, pourtant clairement identifié Blue Ray. Des tentatives de lectures ont été fait par plusieurs lecteurs DVD Blue Ray, même en magasin en vue d’acheter un nouveau lecteur, rien n'y fait. Un professionnel et comme le confirme le message erreur, les DVD ne sont pas compatible pour la zone Europe. Ils ne devraient pas être proposé à la vente dans cette partie du monde ! La période de retour étant le 31 janvier, ces DVD et les 130€ sont pour la poubelle. Je demande à Amazon de réactiver et prolonger la période de retour et de surtout ne plus proposer cet article à la vente. Merci pour votre retour et bienveillance.
A**N
No hay manera de darle mala calificación. Tanto la calidad del diseño de las cajas como el contenido es de 10.
G**N
John Cassavetes was arguably one of the key American independent filmmakers and this box set, an overview of his most important movies, was long overdue...but well worth the wait. The "usual suspects" are present and correct from his bravura debut Shadows to the heart-wrenching Faces, the stunning A Woman under the Influence, the patchy Killing of a Chinese Bookie and the underrated Opening Night. Content-wise, this set includes pretty much what you'd expect it to and many of this movies (Faces in particular) are still exceptional to this day. The added bonus here though is the sheer wealth of extras - there are lots and lots of interviews both with Cassavetes and a number of his collaborators which give an interesting insight into his working methods. Not only that but the set itself is extremely attractive; the striking cover is rendered in a smooth, matt cardboard with each disk in its own matt, pastel-coloured sleeve. There's also a weighty booklet with much information about the man and his movies. In all this is an excellent introduction to one of cinema's true mavericks, attractively presented with some splendid extras.
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