Cassavetes

Started by (kelvin), August 16, 2003, 02:56:42 PM

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SiliasRuby

I saw 'Gloria' and maybe its just me but I was severely surprised at how weird, over the top and desperately out of place the scenes in this film were. It came down to, as Just Withnail said, the kid and how he acted with Gena Rowlands. Like JW was saying if this is a parody or satire on the gangster genre it certainly is not a conventional one. The acting is fantastical as is with most cassavetes's pictures that I was going back and forth whether it was a parody or not. It certainly doesn't help with the sweeping score. I can picture buck henry as accountant for the mob but maybe its just me but he seems out of place with the rest of the family he has at the very beginning. Despite everything in it thats so sublimely awkward it comes out the other side as something unique and spellbinding, even in the worst ways. I will purchase this if it is really cheap someday for like 3 or 4 bucks, but not going to pay more than that. Gena Rowlands can really do no wrong anywhere. I've always had an affinity for her and I'll tell you one thing about this film it never gets boring.
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squints

Maybe this should be in the funny people thread but since this is here...I really felt like the latter part of funny people felt like a cassavetes movie. The awkward dinner conversation, the dialog down to the camera work felt like faces or a woman under...that is part of the reason i really respect and appreciate funny people but didn't really love it. I am really diggin on apatow's ideas but it seemed like he was expected to deliver another "bromance" but tried to squeeze in as much film school as he could. I wish it were two movies. I wish the whole thing between sandler and his ex and bana could've been a wonderfully awkward picture on its own. It would seem like a logical step away from his former films.

haven't seen opening night but killing of a chinese bookie, faces, shadows, and a woman under the influence are some of my favorite movies even though at first viewing I was put off by every one of them. It i s only upon reflection of the experience that i've come to really appreciate them (i saw a woman...in the theater and its something i don't think i'll ever forget)
"The myth by no means finds its adequate objectification in the spoken word. The structure of the scenes and the visible imagery reveal a deeper wisdom than the poet himself is able to put into words and concepts" – Friedrich Nietzsche

wilder

Love Streams (1984) is on YouTube in full. It's my favorite Cassavetes movie outside of Killing of a Chinese Bookie. For my money, I can't think of an American film with better dialogue.

Fuck it, I'll just say it: This is one of the best films ever made.



If you haven't already seen it, skip to the 8 minute mark for the custody battle scene PT royally ripped off for Boogie Nights.

jenkins

!!!! naming your fav cassavetes is tough biz. this is a seducer. great news wilderesque! laughed at and enjoyed the pt reference (here) :)

Lottery

What do you folks think of Cassavetes  in his technical filmmaking ability?



jenkins

you mean like technological techniques? yeah, he was a little wacky with some boom poles and camera movements, etc. sure. but his technical acting goals were like, idk, thank you

wilder

His technical ability is kind of beside the point. In Cassavetes movies the camera is submissive to the actors, and the quality of acting takes precedence above all else. It's meant to serve the performances. Love Streams is different than the rest of his films in that it's all locked down instead of handheld...it's good. In general, camera movement and shooting styles are meant to bring you into a movie and help you believe the reality a story is attempting to create. With some levels of acting, though, which Cassavetes and his actors are obviously near the top of, the performances are so real and so specific that believability is pretty much established regardless if the technical aspects are completely out of whack. See Shadows, Faces... There comes a point where it just doesn't matter.

What I mean is that the technical aspects are the way they are to allow the actors freedom. Emulating his technical style (at least in his films pre-Love Streams) with mediocre actors wouldn't make sense. It wouldn't work. It's backwards. You learn from his acting and that dictates the camera, not the other way around.

Ghostboy

I love LOVE STREAMS. Definitely my favorite Cassavetes film. I saw it at the New Beverly for the first time, on a pretty good print. At the end of it, as the credits rolled, a voice started speaking from the back of the theater. It was Seymour Cassell , walking slowly down the aisle, and beginning a running monologue about Cassavetes that then turned into a long, perfectly rambling Q&A (without many Qs).


jenkins

oh great la story! that's when/how i saw the movie first. cassel was around for hilarious stories from minnie and moskowitz. i remember being kinda surprised he was also in faces. this was like three-four years ago right? or am i thinking of a wrong/different viewing? know when i went it was like a theatrical wish finally granted. mmm, good times story :)

Ghostboy

Yeah, double feature of Minnie + Moskowitz and Love Streams, summer of '09.

jenkins

sorta wanta relive that night, but i won't, no point i guess. glad you brought it up though :)

Just Withnail

Quote from: wilderesque on April 16, 2013, 07:07:55 PM
His technical ability is kind of beside the point. In Cassavetes movies the camera is submissive to the actors, and the quality of acting takes precedence above all else. It's meant to serve the performances.
...
There comes a point where it just doesn't matter.

I agree with this, but I actually think the messy technique adds a lot to the performances. It becomes as unpredictable as them. Even the messy grain gives some extra emotion to the portrayal of his messy characters.


wilder


squints

Quote from: squints on August 04, 2009, 02:09:34 AM
haven't seen opening night

Saw this. It ruled. One of my favorites.

Haven't seen Love Streams.

Maybe I'll tell you all how much it ruled in another four years.
"The myth by no means finds its adequate objectification in the spoken word. The structure of the scenes and the visible imagery reveal a deeper wisdom than the poet himself is able to put into words and concepts" – Friedrich Nietzsche

DBeyond

A Woman Under the Influence is great, one of the best films I've ever saw. Last week I felt an impulse to watch Opening Night and was still amazed by its power and the camera work is way more balanced, missing a better word. How did he achieved that ? Did he dimmed the improv factor ? There was still a lot of power on that film.

Would love to get my hands on Cassavetes on Cassavetes.