Monday, October 1, 2012

#250: John Cassavetes: Five Films

(John Cassavetes, 1959-1976)

This set is one of the hardest for me to talk about in the Collection because I will never be able to do it justice. My favorite John Cassavetes movie is still Rosemary's Baby, and I doubt it will be eclipsed any time soon by any of the films Cassavetes directed himself. I just haven't found a way into his work, even if I have enjoyed a handful of them a great deal, with the one I had seen before, A Woman Under the Influence being my favorite.

I talked more about the phenomenon of writing about something that didn't have a major impact on the writer in my Opening Night post, so I'll just say that just because I wouldn't ever be interested in buying this set doesn't mean I don't think Criterion should have released it, and it certainly makes for an impressive collection. Unlike Ozu or Dreyer, Cassavetes remains distant for me, a hugely praised icon in film that I still don't love. You aren't going to love every piece of art in the canon or every artist that's been lionized, so the important thing is just to continue keeping an open mind about even work you've already been exposed to and hope you can get the most out of whatever has been produced.

Links to the individual reviews:

Shadows
Faces
A Woman Under the Influence (no review)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Opening Night
A Constant Forge

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