Criterion is bringing out a box set of five Cassavetes films (Shadows, Faces, A Woman Under The Influence, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and Opening Night) plus a 200 minute documentary (A Constant Forge) sometime this Fall. Generally, I'm pretty fucking pleased. Cassavetes is one of those directors who deserves the Criterion tiara-and-roses treatment, and maybe this will expand his audience.
Unforutnately: A) I just friggin' got both Shadows and Influence for Christmas! True, I didn't pay for them, and I could hock them to pay for the box set, but still. And B), no Husbands, Minnie & Moskowitz, or Love Streams. (Gloria, I can take or leave.) I'm assuming there are hard-core rights issues involved, which is why it took so long to get this box set going. (I'd bet dollars to donuts that the Criterion guys didn't just wake up a few months ago and say, "Hey! Cassavetes box set! Let's do that!" It must've been in the works for years.)
I remember the first time I saw one of his films. It was just a few years ago, 2000 or 2001, I think. The Grand Illusion was playing the long version of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and Le Tigre's "What's Yr Take On Cassavetes" was in my head. Le Tigre offered three possible takes: Genius, misogynist, and alcoholic. After walking out of the theater, I went with "alcoholic". It was like the film had been dipped in booze just prior to projection. The plot stumbled around like it was drunk, passing out in dark alleys. The characters were sad-sack and pathetic, like a barfly's sob story. Honestly, I didn't get it.
And I didn't get it after Faces, either, despite the killer performances. I think it was with the reviled Husbands that it began to sink in. What a bunch of assholes these three are! Yet their pain was clear. The whole movie is like Harvey Keitel's patented Moan O' Anguish, only hidden behind booze and smiles and songs. It's both heart-breaking and chilling.
But unless you've got something like Scarecrow Video in your neighborhood, you won't be able to see it, or Love Streams, for that matter. While the C-Man had a reputation for a kind of ultra-realism (it wasn't really; his characters were more like opera arias in flesh form, but I digress), in Love Streams, he began to show a willingness to go beyond what we might call a "Dogme-style" world and into some freaky Resnais-type shit. He died about five years later, without completing another film, and one can only imagine what else he could've accomplished.
(I also wonder what Cassavetes would have made of the so-called digital revolution. This was a guy who put his monetary ass on the line with nearly every feature. Would DV have freed him to make more movies more quickly, for less money? Or did he need to walk the tightrope every time?)
Where we saw it: dvd | We deign to rate it: outta 100I know that this is probably cinephile blasphemy or something, but I haven't been able to sit through a single Cassavettes film as of yet. Woman Under the Influence was particularly painful for me to watch; so much so that I bailed after half an hour. What this says about me, I'm not sure. I'm willing to give him another try, though. Can you give me the name of a particularly accessible Cassavettes film?
Posted by: Scott at May 29, 2004 07:26 AMHeh heh. No.
In some ways, I wouldn't worry about it. I think/suspect there's a lot of true-blue cinephiles who can't stannem either. He's a *real* acquired taste. Like blowfish. Or something.
But should you ever try again: In the post, I made a big deal about Husbands being my "a-ha!" point, but also what helped was Cassavetes on Cassavetes, by Ray Carney. It's very very good, very helpful in understanding what JC's about. But it's huge, and Carney can be a bit of a crank, so bring salt. Another good, shorter book is Cassavetes: Lifeworks by Tom Charity.
As for films: Again, I liked Husbands, but the characters can be *so* loathsome that it can be off-putting. Shadows is pretty good, especially if you go in knowing it's going to be pretty shoddy technically. There's some real wonderful moments in that film. Minnie & Moskowitz is pretty straightforward; it's kinda like a gender-reversed Buffalo '66, only with a relentlessly positive hippie instead of Vincent Gallo. (Bet that sounded appetizing :-) ) Opening Night is also straight-forward; it's also got the wonderful Zohra Lampert, and, despite what I said in my post, actually features the first instance of JC showing something beyond the realm of normal reality.
Actually, inna final analysis, I'd say go with Elaine May's Mikey & Nicky. It's got JC and JC-regular Peter Falk doing the talky, macho-yet-vulnerable thing, but with a more accesible plot than JC ever came up with. And if that made your boat float, then perhaps try Opening Night.
Which ones have you seen/tried, other than Influence?
Posted by: Kza at May 29, 2004 10:59 AMI didn't really give SHADOWS a chance. Same with FACES. The CHINESE BOOKIE DVD is of such horrid quality that I couldn't watch more than 5 minutes. I might try OPENING NIGHT since MIKEY & NICKY isn't available on disc yet, but I'm not sure I can stick with it for two hours and twenty-four minutes. Maybe Cassavettes just isn't my thing, at least not as a director. He was swell as an actor in ROSEMARY'S BABY and TEMPEST.
Posted by: Scott at May 29, 2004 12:36 PMAw geez, I forgot how fucking long Opening Night is. It's not the slog that Faces is, but it may be a bit much. And I thought Mikey & Nicky was on DVD, but guess not; I must've saw it on VHS.
Maybe you should just give him a pass. No shame in that game.
The Chinese Bookie DVD is bad quality? Maybe I should just unload my Shadows and Influence DVDs sight-unseen.
Posted by: Kza at May 29, 2004 02:32 PMI'll probably wait on Cassavettes at least until I have the opportunity to see one of his movies on the big screen. Of course, living in New Orleans without a repertory theatre, that could mean never seeing any Cassavettes at all. What do you think about the DVD vs. theatre movie-going experience thing? I just posted something stupid on it at my site.
Posted by: Scott at May 29, 2004 03:01 PMHey y'all--
Come on over to Scott's site (www.dayfornight.net) and talk about film vs. video. I've posted there, and dang it, you should too. Besides, I get a kickback for every referral! (Not really.)
Posted by: Kza at May 29, 2004 04:17 PM