#jcassavetes

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John and Gena on the set of A Woman Under the Influence

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[Carney] Just as Cassavetes accepted his own imperfections, and those of his friends, he accepted his characters’. He didn’t ask them to clean up their acts. He respected their emotional disarray. He did not hold their failures of communication against them. He empathized with their struggles. The artistic importance of the result was that in these de-idealizations viewers saw the tortured chambers of their own souls revealed to themselves as if for the first time. Cassavetes’ advice to young directors summed up the stunning originality - and enduring shock value - of both his life and his work:

[Cassavetes] Say what you are. Not what you would like to be. Not what you have to be. Just say what you are. And what you are is good enough.

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“There’s often a picture of John standing back of the camera, and he almost always has his hands clasped like this and his head way back, laughing silently. Now, you would think that he’s laughing at a funny scene but that is not necessarily true. It could be a very serious scene - his laughter was just the joy that it was working and the actors were doing it... It would just fill him with ecstasy practically [...] Wonderful pictures of him doing that. He went through every bit of it with you.” - Gena Rowlands (A Constant Forge, 2000)

Photos by Sam Shaw

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John Cassavetes and Art Levinson on set during filming for The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (© Michael Ferris)

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Filming Husbands (Photos by Sam Shaw)

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“I knew that love created at once great moments of beauty and that on the other hand it makes you a prisoner. It just seems to me that women are alone and they are made prisoner by their own love. If they commit to something then they have committed to it and it’s a torture. And it’s true. I mean, I see it in my relationship with Gena. Within such a system men have always been in a more favourable position - they are allowed to test themselves against the rest of the world since they are in contact with it. But I feel it too. A man feels that also. And nobody knows how to handle it. Nobody knows how to handle it.” - John Cassavetes while discussing A Woman Under the Influence

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[Caption for the photos] Having fun putting Gazzara in a predicament: wondering how he will deal with his scene with Tim Carey. Cassavetes talks with Gazzara about the warehouse scene (left), then walks away giggling (right). © Joan Almond

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“I’m lost by life. I don’t know anything about life. If I make a movie, I don’t even understand why I’m making the movie. I just know that there’s something there. Later on, we all get to know what it’s about through the opinions of others. You can’t go for ten cents and expect to come up with a million. You have to go for everything. Whether you fail or don’t fail, you have to go for what will make us better when we’re finished. I like to work with friends and for friends on something that might help somebody. Something with humour, sadness; simple things.” - John Cassavetes

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John cassavetes wheeze laugh compilation :]

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sorry if someone already asked you but what are your top 5 cassavetes movies as a director?

Hmm I’m not sure about the ordering but probably a woman under the influence, love streams, the killing of a chinese bookie, opening night, faces or minnie and moskowitz… My favourites are always prone to change though so it’s not set in stone or anything. Thanks for asking :))

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meme confirmed

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John Cassavetes giving directions to O.G. Dunn for his scene in A Woman Under the Influence (© Michael Ferris)

Caption for the pictures: Explaining without providing shortcuts; dealing with a problem without providing answers. Talking to O.G. Dunn about his role.

Another excerpt:

OGD: How should I play this? JC: Look. You're here. She's there. You see? (Followed by a long, intense look, which was the way Cassavetes often ended this sort of explanation.) OGD: Well, yeah, John, but... JC: No, no, no. Don't! Don't! Just. You know? (Followed by another deep, soulful look)

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the fact that you can tell from his films that cassavetes knew what it’s like to feel depressed, suicidal, prone to self-injury, hopeless, scared of the future, etc., but was still an optimist in life and made movies that reflected the warmth of love has made such an impact in my life words can’t express how grateful I am of his work :’)