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What's your take on Cassavetes? (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Alcoholic? Messiah?

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago

He was a brilliant filmmaker. I once got to talk with Frederick Elmes about shooting “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie”. He said, “I’d shoot it very differently today. I was so young then that I hadn’t yet developed a style.”

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

What's your take on... What's you're take on?....

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Genius. When paired with his wife Gena Rowlands, responsible for some of the greatest films of the era. Check out Love Streams, A Woman Under The Influence, and Opening Night, among others.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

These movies are heavy, rich like red wine, but very good.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

Wow. I'm glad you asked and look forward to people's opinions.

I just watched Mikey and Nickey (after reading about Elaine May's role in the start of improv). The treatment of women was terrible to see but the acting was incredible.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

He was definitely an alcoholic, maybe a messiah of art outside of the even-more-predominant-today "industry." Definitely a misogynist, not sure about genius. Probs?

Not a huge fan, but I think his Columbo episode "Etude in Black" is genius. HIS genius? Not sure.

I'd love to hear others' thoughts about this auteur. Yes, this is not an original question, but I've never been able to ask anyone else about the subject.

Edit: clarified my take on Cassavetes

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

I've seen Shadows, Faces and The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie.
The man nearly single-handedly invented independent highbrow cinema in the United States, a gritty and bare urban realism that is as artistically important as the French Nouvelle Vague.

To put it in an oversimplified way, without Cassavettes there is no Scorsese as we know him.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

Yes, thank you!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Never heard of the name. Or I guess I might have read it in credits, but never associated brain space to it and also never noticed a commonality between movies based on him. 🤷

So to quote from Futurama: I have no strong opinion one way or the other.