My Journey through the films of John Cassavetes part 1

06/17/2025 4:03 am by Pixel Pusher

• Tags:
• Auteur
• Cassavetes
• Director
• film
• Independent Film

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I fell into movies directed by John Cassavetes ass ended. I had seen him act in movies before. Rosemary’s Baby was one of them I recognized him from. I had also seen him on Columbo. I hadn’t really thrown his name in a search engine or IMDB before. What started this was The Killers. I had noticed all these movies called The Killer. I wanted to watch the Killers both releases. I watched the 1946 release of The Killers with Burt Lancaster. I enjoyed it. Then I watched the 1964 release staring John Cassavetes and Ronald Reagan. There are other actors just not going into them. I enjoyed this version of the film as well. Then looking up that movie in IMDB, YouTube and the web you read more about John Cassavetes.

I was looking for interviews with him talking about The Killers, 1964. I kept finding interviews him talking about directing. Then I learned more about Cassavetes being the father of Independent Films. I didn’t go in too deep for spoilers on his movies I hadn’t seen. I grew up enjoying Columbo with my mom. I had thought about watching all his movies he directed for the most part. I thought I would start with his final movie he directed Big Trouble, 1986. The cast on paper sounds amazing staring Peter Faulk, Alan Arkin and Beverly D’Angelo. I was thinking like this could be their final masterpiece. I wanted it to be good. I found it very disappointing. Thinking there is too much past work Cassavetes directed before he made Big Trouble. There has to be a better example of this director. I decided to pick another film of his and one that with a high critical rating.

I landed on Gloria, 1980. Wow!, What a movie. Gena Rowlands is giving a powerhouse performance. I will never forget this actor again after seeing this. I had also remembered her from an episode of Columbo. Turns out she was the wife of John Cassavetes. I have said before that Gloria is like Leon The Professional. Instead of hitman you have a middle aged former mistress to a local mobster. Anymore will spoil it. I was also thrilled to learn she is in most of Cassavetes films.

Cassavetes talked about how he became a director out of the need to have one to make his films. He said that he acted for others to fund making movies for himself. Cassavetes is an actors actor. He started out with a bunch of friends in New York that struggled finding acting gigs. So he rented out a place for his friends to use as a space to audition and rehearse. However no one came. So he opened it to the public and it was packed. He became a director out of necessity. He created a space where actors would come to act for the joy of acting.

After watching Gloria and watching more interviews with Cassavetes I felt energized to continue. This is the father of Independent film. I owed it to myself to watch more. I decided to watch them in chronological order with the remaining films of his for the most part. That thinking lead me to Shadows, 1960. This movie was made twice and released once. Cassavetes with canisters in hand went to local theaters to rent out space to show his movie. Shadows is a look into the scene in New York with all this young talented musicians and actors socializing. This not your typical boy meets girl movie. Well lets just say it is not Guess Who is Coming to Dinner. Well it is 7 years earlier, almost a decade earlier. Boy meets girl and finds out later that she is black. This movie dives into this and all the problems of 1960 had to deal with race relations.

Next, I watched A Child is Waiting, 1963. I had previously watched I Could Go On Singing released that same year. This movie is a studio picture that Cassavetes is directing. A Child is Waiting Stars Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland. This movie Judy Garland goes off to teach at an orphanage. The orphanage is filled with children with learning disabilities. One particular boy bonds with Judy. This movie was a tough movie to watch but only for its content. The time flew by watching it. You could feel the constraints for Cassavetes as a director. He is a professional and delivered. I am not sure how well any of his movies where financially.

I relish when I come across a movie that stars a character actor that I am very familiar with. I and I have heard other quote tons of times. I am writing about the actor John Marley. I know him from The Godfather. The Hollywood producer that wakes up with a horse head in his bed. It is a small part but a very quotable part. Well the next Cassavetes film I saw was Faces, 1968 starring John Marley and Gena Rowlands. This movie is also in Black and White. This movie revolves mostly around these two peoples lives. John Marley plays a cheating husband that seems to cheat with ease and experience. This movie seems to be very contemporary for its time. This normalizing infidelity is just to get such raw and emotional performances. This is a movie where is is mostly shot in apartments and inside. The conversations feel so natural and you can feel that the actors are really leaning into their roles. This is another human condition on full display.

Now for the latest Cassavetes film I have seen is, Husbands, 1970. I was really excited to watch this. Peter Faulk is in this. I know him from Columbo and Princess Bride. I saw the three men that star in Husbands on the Dick Cavett show interview promoting Husbands being all silly. This film is in color. John Cassavetes is also acting in this. The chemistry between Cassavetes and Faulk you can feel it through the screen. This movie is about 4 husbands. They are longtime friends and one of them dies and the surviving three meet up at the funeral. They keep the reunion going by pulling an all nighter. Then go off to London. They all three evaluate their life. The third husband stars Ben Gazzara. This film really takes you along with these three guys like a fly on the wall. This one really delivers for telling what feels like a really personal movie.

I am about halfway through John Cassavetes’s films. I am really loving his eye in telling stories he wants to tell. In his films you really feel like the actors are in his movies because they love acting. Cassavetes directing style seems with actors was a very relatable and gave his actors room to explore their roles. Gena Rowlands is a powerhouse performances are such a joy. I am really looking forward to watching the rest of his work. Then re-visit his interviews.