Wednesday
, November
10 ~
Sunday, November
14
Directors in Focus: John
Cassavetes
 Since
his death in 1989, recognition of John Cassavetes’ significance
has grown steadily—a recognition that often eluded him in life.
Cassavetes’ dedication to the pursuit of his highly individualistic
brand of filmmaking opened new roads of possibility for filmmakers
disenchanted with the Hollywood studio system. His debut feature,
Shadows, is credited with nearly single-handedly sparking
the American independent film movement, and his pioneering example
of self-financing and self-distribution have become standard
practice for many. Most significantly, Cassavetes left behind
a staggeringly rich body of work. Devoted to the “small feelings”
society at large so frequently attempts to suppress, the films
continue to startle, surprise, and move us, challenging not
only our assumptions about what a movie is but our deepest understanding
of ourselves.
Wednesday,
November 10 at 7:00 PM
Shadows
dir.
John Cassavetes, USA, 1959, 35mm, 87 mins, b/w
Made
for $40,000 with an amateur cast and crew, Cassavetes’ first
film fashions
a
deeply affecting portrait of three siblings who live “just beyond
the bright lights
of
Broadway.” Shot in location in New York with a hand-held 16mm
camera, the film follows a struggling black nightclub entertainer,
his aimless younger brother, and their vulnerable sister—the
latter two more or less “passing” for white. Groundbreaking
in its emotional complexity, it’s free form style, and its striking
naturalism, Shadows proved as much a landmark for
American independent cinema as Godard’s Breathless
did in France that very same year.
Thursday,
November 11 at 7:00 PM
Husbands
dir.
John Cassavetes, USA, 1970, 35mm, 141 mins, color
Suburban
buddies Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara and Peter Falk go off on a 48
hour bender after the funeral of a fourth friend brings them
into confrontation with their own mortality. This
complex study of midlife crisis offers tour de force performances
by its three stars and creates a vivid, disturbing portrait
of male camaraderie, conflicting emotions, and the search for
freedom.
Friday,
November 12 at 7:00 PM
A
Woman Under the Influence
dir.
John Cassavetes, USA, 1974, 35mm, 148 mins, color
 Cassavetes'
best-known film garnered Academy Award nominations for Best
Director and Best Actress for Gena Rowlands' bravura performance
as Mabel—
a housewife whose ego is vanquished by the double binds of family
life. Peter
Falk is equally potent as Mabel’s struggling blue collar husband
who must come to terms with his wife’s deteriorating condition.
Saturday,
November 13 at 1:00 PM
A
Constant Forge
dir.
Charles Kiselyak, USA, 2000, Beta SP, color and b/w
Subtitled
“An Exploration of the Life and Art of John Cassavetes,” this
expansive documentary is a rich examination of the director’s
working methods, thematic concerns, and artistic philosophy.
New material on Cassavetes’ little-discussed work as a theater
director and as a songwriter is combined with impassioned, thoughtful
reflections by friends and family on what continues to make
John Cassavetes such
a
unique and inspiring figure in the art of personal filmmaking.
Saturday,
November 13 at 7:00 PM
The
Killing of a Chinese Bookie
dir.
John Cassavetes, USA, 1976, 35mm, 135 mins, color
The
Killing of a Chinese Bookie
is a wry self-portrait of the artist as a struggling  theater
manager. Ben Gazzara plays Cosmo Vitelli, a nightclub owner
and director of its sleazy stage shows who, against all odds,
fights for his artistic and commercial independence. In debt
and pressured by the mob (which wants to foreclose on his property),
Cosmo is ordered to execute a Chinese gangster in order to pay
off his gambling debts. Cassavetes brilliantly plays with and
against crime-genre conventions and, in the process, offers
up a biting critique
of
the role of capitalism in art.
Sunday,
November 14 at 1:00 PM
Love
Streams
dir.
John Cassavetes, USA, 1984, 35mm, 141 mins, color
Love
Streams is a richly
self-reflective work that revisits scenes, characters, and events
from Cassavetes’ previous films in a cinematic meditation on
the meaning
of
a life lived in art. Gena Rowlands, Cassavetes’ wife and frequent
collaborator, plays an estranged wife and mother who, according
to the director, “takes every situation to extremes out of an
intense need for truth.” His role as a withdrawn author by contrast
“does the same to escape the withering emptiness that is the
truth of his life.”
Tickets are $6.00 for general admission,
$5.00 for I House members, students and seniors. Available in
advance at TICKETWEB
or one hour before showtime at the International House box office.
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