The best John Cassavetes’s documentary movies

John Cassavetes

John Cassavetes

09/12/1929- 03/02/1989
John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as an actor on television and in film, Cassavetes also became a pioneer of American independent cinema, writing and directing movies financed in part with income from his acting work. AllMovie called him "an iconoclastic maverick," while The New Yorker suggested that he "may be the most influential American director of the last half century." As an actor, Cassavetes starred in notable Hollywood films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including Edge of the City (1957), The Dirty Dozen (1967), and Rosemary's Baby (1968). He began his directing career with the 1959 independent feature Shadows and followed with independent productions such as Faces (1968), Husbands (1970), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), Opening Night (1977), and Love Streams (1984), in addition to intermittent studio work. Cassavetes' films employed an actor-centered approach which privileged character examination over traditional Hollywood storytelling or stylized production values. His films became associated with an improvisational, cinéma vérité aesthetic. He collaborated frequently with a rotating group of friends, crew members, and actors, including his wife Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, and Seymour Cassel. For his role in The Dirty Dozen, Cassavetes received a Best Supporting Actor nomination. As a filmmaker, he was nominated for Best Original Screenplay for Faces (1968) and Best Director for A Woman Under the Influence (1974). Description from the Wikipedia article John Cassavetes, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Terror in the Aisles

Terror in the Aisles
6.3/10
  • Genre: DocumentaryHorror
  • Release: 26/10/1984
  • Character: Guy Woodhouse (archive footage) (uncredited)
A non-stop roller coaster ride through the scariest moments of the greatest terror films of all time.

A Constant Forge

A Constant Forge
7.3/10
One of the great mavericks of cinema, John Cassavetes has earned a reputation as the godfather of American independent movies. The actor-turned-filmmaker invented a realist style of unadorned narrative films heavily influenced by documentaries. This in-depth analysis of Cassavetes' life and work features interviews with key collaborators and ensemble regulars, and explores the making of classics like "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie," "Opening Night" and "A Woman Under the Influence."

Anything for John

Anything for John
7.7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 06/09/1993
  • Character: (archive footage)
An intimate portrait of actor-writer-director John Cassavetes and a loving tribute to his genius for studying and depicting the human character. In-depth, candid interviews with his wife and muse Gena Rowlands as well as his most trusted friends and co-workers like Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, Seymour Cassel, etc. Clips from Cassavetes' greatest films, and many rare photos illustrate this touching documentary.

Movies Are My Life: A Profile on Martin Scorsese

Movies Are My Life: A Profile on Martin Scorsese
6.6/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 06/10/1978
  • Character: Self
The very first full-length documentary on Scorsese offers an invaluable look at how he was perceived by his colleagues, and himself, in 1977. Catching Scorsese while he was in post-production on New York and editing The Last Waltz, British filmmaker Peter Hayden gets the manically hyper Scorsese to comment on his youth, his relation to his lead characters, and most importantly, his approach to direction. The doc doesn’t quite move at the pace of Scorsese’s revved-up speed-talking, but it does offer some real insight into his productivity in the 1970s, thanks to an impressive array of talking heads. Included are Scorsese’s collaborators Jay Cocks, Mardik Martin, Brian De Palma, Steven Prince (who co-produced this doc), and his mentor John Cassavetes. Also the performers, who discuss his working methods in detail — Jodie Foster, Liza Minnelli, and, of course, Robert De Niro.

Operation Dirty Dozen

Operation Dirty Dozen
6/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/01/2006
  • Character: Himself
A short film looking behind the scenes at the making of The Dirty Dozen. Showing many scenes being filmed just north of London, the short focuses mostly on star Lee Marvin enjoying his pursuits on his one day off a week.

I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes - The Man and His Work

I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes - The Man and His Work
7.5/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/07/1984
  • Character: Self
Filmmaker Michael Ventura follows Cassavetes around as the actor/director labors on his final film, Love Streams.

Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film

Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film
6.9/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 05/06/2019
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)
An intimate portrait of the superb actress Gena Rowlands, icon of independent cinema. Together with her husband, legendary director John Cassavetes (1929-1989), she lived an unusual life beyond the dream factory, a life in which reality and fiction were so perfectly intertwined that it made possible films that still today seem incredibly real.

Filmmakers of Our Time: John Cassavetes

Filmmakers of Our Time: John Cassavetes
7.8/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 17/03/1969
  • Character: Self
This is a 1968 French documentary that was probably shot just after or during the making of his great marriage disaster film, ‘Faces.’

150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement

150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement
A Woman Watches People.

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