John Cassavetes Collection - 7-DVD Box Set ( The Killing of a Chinese Bookie / A Constant Forge / Opening Night / A Woman Under the Influence / Faces / Shadows ) ( Charles Kiselyak's A Constant Forge )

John Cassavetes Collection - 7-DVD Box Set (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Original Title: The Killing of a Chinese Bookie / A Constant Forge / Opening Night / A Woman Under the Influence / Faces / Shadows
Alternate Title: Charles Kiselyak's A Constant Forge
Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
Berlin International Film Festival
Golden Globes
Oscar Academy Awards
Venice Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
833 min + 108 min extras

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Box Set
Interactive Menu
Multi-DVD Set
Scene Access
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1959 - 2000 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
John Cassavetes
Charles Kiselyak

Written By:
John Cassavetes
Charles Kiselyak

Actors:
Ben Gazzara ..... Cosmo Vitelli
Timothy Carey ..... Flo (Gangster) (as Timothy Agoglia Carey)
Seymour Cassel ..... Mort Weil (Gangster)
Robert Phillips ..... Phil (Gangster)
Morgan Woodward ..... John (Head gangster)
John Kullers ..... Eddie-Red (as John Red Kullers)
Al Ruban ..... Marty Reitz (Gangster)
Azizi Johari ..... Rachel
Virginia Carrington ..... Betty, the mother
Meade Roberts ..... Mr. Sophistication
Alice Fredlund ..... Sherry
Donna Gordon ..... Margo Donnar (as Donna Marie Gordon)
Haji ..... Haji
Carol Warren ..... Carol
Derna Wong Davis ..... Derna
Lynn Carlin ..... Herself
John Cassavetes ..... Himself
Seymour Cassel ..... Himself
Lenny Citrano ..... Narration (voice)
Peter Falk ..... Himself
John A. Gallagher ..... Himself
Ben Gazzara ..... Himself
Lelia Goldoni ..... Herself
Annette Insdorf ..... Herself
Carol Kane ..... Herself
Sean Penn ..... Himself
Gena Rowlands ..... Herself
Jon Voight ..... Himself
Gena Rowlands ..... Myrtle Gordon
John Cassavetes ..... Maurice Aarons
Ben Gazzara ..... Manny Victor
Joan Blondell ..... Sarah Goode
Paul Stewart ..... David Samuels
Zohra Lampert ..... Dorothy Victor
Laura Johnson ..... Nancy Stein
John Tuell ..... Gus Simmons
Ray Powers ..... Jimmy
John Finnegan ..... Prop man
Louise Lewis ..... Kelly (as Louise Finch)
Fred Draper ..... Leo
Katherine Cassavetes ..... Vivian
Lady Rowlands ..... Melva Drake
Carol Warren ..... Carla
Peter Falk ..... Nick Longhetti
Gena Rowlands ..... Mabel Longhetti
Fred Draper ..... George Mortensen
Lady Rowlands ..... Martha Mortensen
Katherine Cassavetes ..... Margaret Longhetti
Matthew Laborteaux ..... Angelo Longhetti
Matthew Cassel ..... Tony Longhetti
Christina Grisanti ..... Maria Longhetti
O.G. Dunn ..... Garson Cross
Mario Gallo ..... Harold Jensen
Eddie Shaw ..... Dr. Zepp
Angelo Grisanti ..... Vito Grimaldi
Charles Horvath ..... Eddie
James Joyce ..... Bowman
John Finnegan ..... Clancy
John Marley ..... Richard Forst
Gena Rowlands ..... Jeannie Rapp
Lynn Carlin ..... Maria Forst
Fred Draper ..... Freddie Draper
Seymour Cassel ..... Chet
Val Avery ..... Jim McCarthy
Dorothy Gulliver ..... Florence
Joanne Moore Jordan ..... Louise Draper
Darlene Conley ..... Billy Mae
Gene Darfler ..... Joe Jackson
Elizabeth Deering ..... Stella
Ann Shirley
Dave Mazzie
Anita White
Julie Gambol
Ben Carruthers ..... Ben
Lelia Goldoni ..... Lelia
Hugh Hurd ..... Hugh
Anthony Ray ..... Tony
Dennis Sallas ..... Dennis
Tom Reese ..... Tom (as Tom Allen)
David Pokitillow ..... David
Rupert Crosse ..... Rupert
David Jones ..... Davey (as Davey Jones)
Pir Marini ..... Pir the Piano Player
Victoria Vargas ..... Vickie
Jack Ackerman ..... Jack, Director of Dance Studio
Jacqueline Walcott ..... Jacqueline
Cliff Carnell
Jay Crecco

Synopsis:

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
A proud strip club owner is forced to come to terms with himself as a man, when his gambling addiction gets him in hot water with the mob, who offer him only one alternative.
A Constant Forge (2000)
A journey through the life and art of filmmaker John Cassavetes, as told through interviews with the artists and friends who knew him and his work best.
Opening Night (1977)
John Cassavetes' Opening Night stars Gena Rowlands (Mrs. Cassavetes) as end-of-tether Broadway actress Myrtle Gordon.
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
John Cassavetes' devastating drama details the emotional breakdown of a suburban housewife and her family's struggle to save her from herself.
Faces (1968)
The disintegration of a marriage is dissected in John Cassavetes' searing Faces.
Shadows (1959)
The film is a straightforward account of a biracial romance. Light-skinned African-American Lelia Goldoni falls in love with a white man Anthony Ray, who spurns her when he meets the rest of her family.

In the grandiose realm of independent cinema, rhetoric and hyperbole can be rife - but rarely does the filmic canon of the genre's proponents measure up to the hype. John Cassavetes was an exception, justifiably earning the many titles afforded to him and forging a path for American independent cinema, which has spawned some of the contemporary greats. Frequently dubbed 'the actor's director', Cassavetes' films can be defined by a seemingly contradictory liberated fastidiousness, which allowed the visionary director to capture raw, beautiful emotion in its most organic form. His characters - so perfectly flawed - convey a humanity characterized by compassion, benevolence and warmth, selflessly presented with every human imperfection proudly on display. The resultant cinematic genius illustrates precisely why John Cassavetes has earned the title of the father of independent film. The five films included here represent his self-financed works made outside the studio system of Hollywood, on which he was afforded complete control. The Distinction Series is proud to present Shadows, Faces, A Woman Under the Influence, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and Opening Night in stunning new transfers. This set also contains the documentary 'A Constant Forge - The Life and Art of John Cassavetes' by Charles Kiselyak and two versions on Killing of a Chinese Bookie, the original 135-minute cut and a subsequent 108-minute re-edit. Discover why John Cassavetes has been named by filmmakers, musicians, writers and poets as one of the defining filmmakers of his generation...

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
A proud strip club owner is forced to come to terms with himself as a man, when his gambling addiction gets him in hot water with the mob, who offer him only one alternative.
A Constant Forge (2000)
A journey through the life and art of filmmaker John Cassavetes, as told through interviews with the artists and friends who knew him and his work best.
Opening Night (1977)
John Cassavetes' Opening Night stars Gena Rowlands (Mrs. Cassavetes) as end-of-tether Broadway actress Myrtle Gordon. She is about to open in a play written by her old friend Sarah Goode (Joan Blondell), but a series of pre-show setbacks and disasters threaten to destroy not only the production but Myrtle's sanity. The actress is especially rattled when one of her staunchest fans dies in an accident. In the face of bleak reality, just how important is the old 'show must go on' ethic? Supporting Gena Rowlands are such veterans of the New York-Hollywood shuttle as Ben Gazzara, Zohra Lampert, Paul Stewart, James Karen, and several friends and relatives of the principals.
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
John Cassavetes' devastating drama details the emotional breakdown of a suburban housewife and her family's struggle to save her from herself. Starring Peter Falk and Gena Rowlands (in two of the most harrowing screen performances of the 1970s) as a married couple, deeply in love, yet unable to express their love in terms the other can understand, the film is an uncompromising portrait of domestic turmoil.
Faces (1968)
The disintegration of a marriage is dissected in John Cassavetes' searing Faces. Shot in high-contrast 16mm black and white, the film follows the futile attempts of captain of industry Richard (John Marley) and his wife, Maria (Lynn Carlin), to escape the anguish of their empty marriage in the arms of others. Featuring astonishingly powerful, nervy performances from Marley, Carlin, and Cassavetes regulars Gena Rowlands and Seymore Cassel, Faces confronts suburban alienation and the battle of the sexs with a brutal honesty and compassion rarely matched in cinema.
Shadows (1959)
Shadows was John Cassavetes' first directorial effort. Like his later critically acclaimed films Faces and Husbands, Cassavetes fills the screen with probing, unflattering closeups. Unlike his other films, however, Shadows zips along at 87 minutes, avoiding the pitfall of putting the director's nonfans to sleep. The film is a straightforward account of a biracial romance (a far less common film subject in 1960 than today). Light-skinned African-American Lelia Goldoni falls in love with a white man Anthony Ray, who spurns her when he meets the rest of her family. Far from subtle, Shadows benefits from the undisciplined energy of its direction and the excellence of its individual performances. Costing a scant $40,000 (less than the average half hour TV episode of the era), Shadows won the Critic's Award at the Cannes Film Festival and led to more expensive studio assignments for John Cassavetes.

This product was added to our catalog on Monday 07 September, 2009.