John Cassavetes is an American film actor, screenwriter and director. He is the owner of the Golden Lion and Golden Bear awards. He was also nominated for an Academy Award in 1974 for staging the film "Woman Under the Influence" (and not only). How the actor became known to the general public after starring in the films Rosemary's Baby directed by Roman Polanski and Rage directed by Brian de Palma.
Biography of John Cassavetes
The director was born on December 9, 1929 in New York, in the family of immigrants from Greece - Nicholas and Katherine Kassavetisov. John's childhood passed on Long Island. After graduating from school, the future filmmaker entered the Academy of Dramatic Arts. Having received a director’s diploma in 1950, John Cassavetes spent some time playing theatrical performances and acting on television, and in 1956 he began teaching.
Students saw a peer in their teacher - and nothing more. There was no question of taking tests to the young professor. And Cassavetes himself did not feel like a teacher. After working in the audience for about a year, he decided to leave the university. On the first attempt to do this, he failed - there was no successor to such a troublesome position. I had to stay for a while.
Fortunately, acting workshops and lectures left enough free time for my own creativity. In 1957, John Cassavetes wrote the script for the movie Shadows, which became his directorial debut. The film became a vivid example of independent American cinema and was shot in the genre of complete improvisation, which is not entirely clear to the viewer. The film, shot in 1957, John Cassavetes duplicated two years later. The 1959 version was significantly different from the previous one, but neither the one nor the other was happy with the director.
Manifesto of New Solutions
"Shadows" were not allowed to rent, but nonetheless, the film won a prize at the Venice Film Festival. After much coordination, the film still came out on the big screen, but the box office was scanty, in fact, the film failed. Nevertheless, the film was called the "manifesto of new solutions in American cinema."
Further, John Cassavetes created two films, “The Child is Waiting” and “The Late Blues,” which became a confirmation of his reputation as a director of a new wave.
First nominations
In 1968, the director opened a new film project called "Faces", in which he invited his wife Gina Rowlands, John Marley and Seymour Kassel. The film made a splash and was nominated for an Oscar in three categories at once: Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Screenplay. The film tells how modern marriages break up, slowly and inevitably.
In almost every film, John Cassavetes conducts deep psychological research, analyzing events from the point of view of an outside observer. He was the first director to discover the syndrome of American neurasthenia as a fundamental dominant in the development of society and society. Thanks to his philosophy, John Cassavetes, whose films make the viewer think, has become the most elite director in the entire post-war history of American cinema.
Director's remarks
Some famous people are distinguished by the ability to express their innermost thoughts in a few words. Their accurate aphorisms become winged expressions. So is John Cassavetes, whose quotes are imaginative and accurate. His expressions in one way or another relate to film production, but carry the opinion of the artist.
- "Most of all I am interested in stories about love. Her birth or death, or her absence. The pain of loss or the joy of appearing ..."
- "My attitude to the highest measure to which we are all sentenced? It seems to me that life and death is always an interesting topic for the script."
- "Where there is no life or death, it is a comedy."
Last film
In 1986, Cassavetes made a film called The Big Trouble according to the script of playwright Andrew Bergman. For the main role, the director invited the famous Hollywood actor Peter Falk.
The plot focuses on an insurance agent Leonard Hoffman, who has achieved nothing in life, neither position, nor money. And since his three sons must go to university, money is needed for this. Hoffman's boss does not intend to help his employee.
A desperate Leonard conspires with one of his clients, Blanche Ricky. He suggests organizing an accident that supposedly happened to her husband Steve in order to get a large sum of insurance money.
Filmography
During his career, John Cassavetes participated in more than ten films as an actor. As a director, he performed about twelve times. In addition, he wrote about twenty scripts. The following is a list of some of Cassavetes’s acting:
- The Killers (1964), character Johnny North;
- The Dirty Dozen (1967), the role of Victor Franco;
- Rosemary's Baby (1968), character Guy Woodhouse;
- "Husbands" (1970), the role of Gus;
- Moskowitz and Minnie (1971), character Jim;
- "Premiere" (1977), the role of Maurice Aarons;
- "Rage" (1978), character Ben Childress;
- "After all, whose life is this?" (1981), character Dr. Michael Emerson ;
- "Haircut" (1982), the role of a hairdresser client;
- Streams of Love (1983), character Robert Harmon.
The list of films created by the director Kassavetes: “Shadows” (1959), “Late Blues” (1961), “Faces” (1968), “A child is waiting” (1963), “Husbands” (1970), “Moskowitz and Minnie” (1971), “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974), “Premiere” (1977), “The Killing of a Bookmaker” (1976), “Gloria” (1980), “Big Trouble” (1986), “Streams of Love” (1984) .
Scenarios written by John Cassavetes: Shadows, Streams of Love, Late Blues, Gloria, Faces, Husbands, Premiere, Moskowitz and Minnie, Killing a Bookmaker, Woman Under influence. "
The influence of the director’s work on contemporaries
John Cassavetes was one of the most consistent supporters of American independent cinema. Many of his contemporaries: directors, scriptwriters and actors - tried to follow the style of Kassavetes. The director-innovator had a noticeable influence on the work of Martin Scorsese and Jean-Luc Godard, Nanni Moretti and Jacques Rivetta.
The death of the director
John Cassavetes died on February 3, 1989 from cirrhosis of the liver and was buried in Westwood Cemetery. He has three children left, Nick, Zoe and Alexandra. They all followed in the footsteps of their father and are currently working in the cinema.