Poll

Your Favorite John Cassavetes Film Is...

Shadows
4 (9.8%)
Too Late Blues
0 (0%)
A Child Is Waiting
0 (0%)
Faces
0 (0%)
Husbands
0 (0%)
Minnie and Moskowitz
0 (0%)
A Woman Under the Influence
16 (39%)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
4 (9.8%)
Opening Night
0 (0%)
Gloria
1 (2.4%)
Love Streams
1 (2.4%)
Big Trouble
0 (0%)
haven't seen any
13 (31.7%)
don't like any
2 (4.9%)

Total Members Voted: 40

Author Topic: Cassavetes, John  (Read 10432 times)

MartinTeller

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Re: Directors Best Poll - John Cassavetes
« Reply #10 on: October 04, 2010, 03:33:12 PM »
1. A Woman Under the Influence
2. Love Streams
3. Faces
4. Husbands
5. Opening Night

6. Shadows
7. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1978)

8. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
9. A Child is Waiting
10. Gloria

11. Minnie & Moskowitz
« Last Edit: October 25, 2014, 05:50:47 PM by MartinTeller »

1SO

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Cassavetes, John
« Reply #11 on: June 27, 2011, 04:34:07 PM »
1. A Woman Under the Influence
2. A Child is Waiting
3. Too Late Blues

4. Opening Night
5. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
6. Shadows
7. Faces
8. Love Streams

9. Gloria
10. Minnie and Moskowitz
11. Husbands
12. Big Trouble
« Last Edit: December 02, 2017, 12:39:07 AM by 1SO »

Antares

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Re: Directors Best Poll - John Cassavetes
« Reply #12 on: February 09, 2012, 12:04:04 PM »
Looking for recommendations for my first venture into a Cassavetes film. My options are...

Faces
A Woman Under the Influence
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Opening Night
Masterpiece (100-91) | Classic (90-80) | Entertaining (79-69) | Mediocre (68-58) | Cinemuck (57-21) | Crap (20-0)

MartinTeller

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Re: Directors Best Poll - John Cassavetes
« Reply #13 on: February 09, 2012, 12:12:47 PM »
Definitely either Faces or Influence.  Influence is all-time top 10 for me (and Rowlands #1 performance) so obviously I'm leaning towards towards that one.

jbissell

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Re: Directors Best Poll - John Cassavetes
« Reply #14 on: February 09, 2012, 02:00:29 PM »
Definitely either Faces or Influence.  Influence is all-time top 10 for me (and Rowlands #1 performance) so obviously I'm leaning towards towards that one.

Influence is my favorite as well. It was the first of his films I saw and made me want to check out the rest. Of course the rest don't quite reach the pinnacle of Influence, so maybe it's not the "best" starting point.

Verite

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Re: Directors Best Poll - John Cassavetes
« Reply #15 on: April 18, 2012, 07:11:52 AM »
And can we get a Love Streams write-up?

I've got a brief one here.

Now #1 in my queue.
"When in doubt, seduce."
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roujin

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Re: Directors Best Poll - John Cassavetes
« Reply #16 on: April 18, 2012, 08:14:48 AM »
Worm will deliver. She always does. Just you wait!

oldkid

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Re: Directors Best Poll - John Cassavetes
« Reply #17 on: October 21, 2012, 12:35:07 AM »
I've only seen A Woman Under... but it is marvelous.  I will see more.  Eventually.  Any suggestions for my next one?
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

verbALs

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Re: Directors Best Poll - John Cassavetes
« Reply #18 on: June 30, 2013, 06:22:26 AM »
1. Faces
2. A Woman Under the Influence
3. Shadows
4. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
5. Husbands
6. Minnie & Moskowitz
7. Gloria
8. Opening Night
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore. - Banksy

1SO

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Re: Directors Best Poll - John Cassavetes
« Reply #19 on: May 21, 2014, 07:51:27 PM »

Opening Night

After an early rehearsal performance, an emotionally unstable fan waits backstage to meet actress Myrtle Gordon (Gena Rowlands). The fan looks like something from a horror movie through the rain soaked glass, and her encounter with Myrtle will unleash all of the star's anxieties, insecurities and emotional insanity. Cassavetes once again places his spouse under the influence, this time swinging for the fences. He injects supernatural moments. The fan haunts Myrtle, sometimes seeming to take a material form. Is Myrtle under attack from an evil spirit or is she doing this to herself? Rowland's performance appears to hit close to home, with Cassavetes taking the part of a less famous co-star.


Rowlands rises to the challenge, but the results are more than a bit uncertain. That's a typical side effect to Cassavetes indulgent technique, but what you end up with is a film with great potential that only fulfills greatness a few times. One such moment is when Rowlands breaks the 4th wall at the end of one performance and puts a meta spin on the whole evening. Like “I’m walking here” in Midnight Cowboy, her emotional outburst works for the character and gives the show an interesting artistic flourish.

I really liked the supernatural moments. Cassavetes isn't great at horror payoffs, but he can bring the creepy and build it up pretty strong. However, the entire last act stretches credibility pretty far by putting more onto Rowlands than any human could possibly stand up to. It also presents the Cassavetes version of a Broadway play, which weirdly reminded me of a similar turn at the end of Staying Alive. I dunno. I think audiences watching such indulgent improvisation in a live setting probably wouldn't be reacting the way they are here.
RATING: * * 1/2

 

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