a figure of American independent cinema at the Cinémathèque
Hollywood better watch out. The Cinematheque of Toulouse will give pride of place to American independent cinema during its next cycle, from 1uh as of March 24, 2022. The work of John Cassavetes will indeed be honoured. At the time, the actor and director presented realistic cinema and worked on the question of the couple in an existentialist way.
“He is also the symbol ofresolute, aesthetic and financial resistanceincorruptible in the face of Hollywood, only accepting to respond to its sirens as an actor, his primary profession, in order to be able to finance his own films with his fees”, says the media library. John Cassavetes will stand out from his first film behind the camera by implementing unknown actors.
Actor by day, director by night
To finance the films he makes, this enthusiast will indeed invest his own money. It will turn like actor in major productions like “The Dirty Dozen” in order to develop the means necessary to quench his thirst for creation. “Going so far as to mortgage all his property for a film. Everything for the cause. For a cinema that is craftsmanship”, specifies Frank Lubetresponsible for programming at the cinematheque.
Filming in a reduced team with the greatest
Despite his raw cinema far from the sequins of Hollywood, John Cassavetes was able to surround himself with the greatest of the cinema of the time. “He shoots with a small team, in natural settings, even at home, with his loved ones, in a family spirit – Gena Rowlandshis wife and muse, his friends, Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, Seymour Casseland himself, which we find from film to film”, continues Franck Lubet. The home movie side of his films gives a glimpse of reality.
Films on the program
“Shadows” – John Cassavetes (1959)
“The Ballad of the Hopeless” – John Cassavetes (The blues too late1961)
“A Child Waits” – John Cassavetes (A child is waiting1963)
“Point Blank” – Don Siegel (The killers1964)
“The Dirty Dozen” – Robert Aldrich (The Dirty Dozen1967)
“Faces” – John Cassavetes (1968)
“Rosemary’s Baby” – Roman Polanski (1968)
“Husbands” – John Cassavetes (1970)
“Minnie and Moskowitz” (1971)
“A Woman Under the Influence” – John Cassavetes (A woman under the influence1974)
“Murder of a Chinese bookmaker” – John Cassavetes (The murder of a Chinese bookmaker1976)
“Opening Night” – John Cassavetes (1977)
“Gloria” – John Cassavetes (1980)
“Stream of Love” – John Cassavetes (1984)
“John Cassavetes” (Hollywood 1965, Paris 1968) – André S. Labarthe, Hubert Knapp (1998)
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