Favorite Cassavetes film?

[NoirFan]

Love Streams
Gloria
Opening Night
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
A Woman Under the Influence
Minnie and Moskowitz
Husbands
Faces
Shadows
Other - please specify

I went with Woman - Rowland's performance in this is such a powerhouse. An uncomfortable film to watch at times, it is one of the most searing and honest portrayals of mental instability ever put on screen. Falk is darkly comic as the confused, angry husband, who's own psychological state seems to be unraveling as well. The supporting cast turn in pitch perfect performances as well, especially Lady Rowlands as Mabel's sneering, judgmental Mother-in-Law and Eddie Shaw as the oily Dr. Zepp. As for the three films not included in the poll, Cassavetes was dismissive of his two compromised Hollywood films, but they are worth tracking down if you can find them. A Child is Waiting has a handful of superb camera shots, and Garland gives a vulnerable, affecting performance. It's impossible to watch Too Late Blues without wondering how Montgomery Clift would have interpreted the role of Ghost. The less said about Big Trouble the better.

[Cosmic Bus]

Woman is my pick, as well. It floors me each time I see it, and I'd consider it one of the most essential American films of the past 50 years.

Very fond of Opening Night and Love Streams, too; I can only hope to see Husbands someday soon.

[NoirFan]

I can only hope to see Husbands someday soon.

Part of Sony's upcoming "Martini Movies" (http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=534496) series, though no official release date as of yet.

[Apone]

Another vote for A Woman Under the Influence but if I had to choose something else then it would be Shadows. It's short, fun and it has a touch of Woody Allen, Louis Malle and Jean Luc Godard in the film (well, at least for me).

[JPRaup]

I've only seen A Woman Under the Influence, so I'll go with that.

[Yakuza Bengoshi]

I'm a simple man with simple tastes so I'll go with A Woman Under the Influence.

Noirfan, I know you're an enthusiastic Cassavetes fan, so I was wondering have you read Ray Carney's The Films of John Cassavetes: Pragmatism, Modernism, and the Movies yet? That's probably my favorite book focused on a single film director.

[yojimbo44]

Voted Gloria as it was the first one of his that i had the oppurtunity to see - powerhouse performance from Rowlands. Actually caught Cassavetes on tv yesterday as the SWAT captain in Two Minute Warning - a mid level 70s thriller to be sure, but he kicked all kinds of butt in it - always thought he was vastly underrated as an actor - my understanding, and i hope someone can school me on this, was that he took a lot of acting gigs to finance his own projects.

[NoirFan]

Noirfan, I know you're an enthusiastic Cassavetes fan, so I was wondering have you read Ray Carney's The Films of John Cassavetes: Pragmatism, Modernism, and the Movies yet? That's probably my favorite book focused on a single film director.

Yes, I read it earlier this summer. A very insightful, extensive work. I wish I could track down a copy of the original cut of Shadows that Carney discusses. Cassavetes on Cassavetes is also worth reading - it displays a bit more of a personal touch. Marshall Fine's biography is entertaining, though superficial. There is a book devoted entirely to the making of Love Streams, which I haven't checked out.

[NoirFan]

Man, only eleven people on this forum are Cassavetes fans? You're all crazy! Crazy!

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd114/besh1/awomanundertheinfluence.jpg

[slymer]

Just picked up the Criterion boxset and so far I've only watched A Woman Under the Influence, which I loved.

[NoirFan]

Just picked up the Criterion boxset and so far I've only watched A Woman Under the Influence, which I loved.

Glad to hear it. My advice would be to check out The Killing of a Chinese Bookie next - Opening Night is great, but it's another highly demonstrative performance by Rowlands, and that might be a bit too much of the same right after Influence. Shadows and Faces are quite experimental in comparison to the other three films in the set, so you might want to save those for last.

[PopcornTreeCt]

I really enjoyed Faces.

[Brain Stew]

Shadows is incredible.

[NoirFan]

I like both Faces and Shadows, but in the former there are definitely scenes that drag on, though I suppose that is the point. Some of the improvisation in Shadows is electric, and some of it really falls flat. I just wish Rowlands would have acknowledged the existence of a different, earlier cut of Shadows, so that Criterion could have included it on the set.

[superdeluxe]

Never seen any of these movies, will watch the winner!