John Cassavetes: Five Films (The Criterion Collection) [Shadows / Faces / A Woman Under the Influence / The Killing of a Chinese Bookie / Opening Night]

Cinema d’auteur american way. No kidding, in the days Casavettes was in charge, the american movie scene had intellectual aspirations.The world had problems, people had problems & clever cieneasts used that material to give us top films.

This Box Set IS the "Masterclass " from the "Cassavetes Factory"

product as described, thank you

It's sad that some peolple (most infact) don't want to see films like these, they couldn't handle them. The're people out there who worship cassavetes' films. I've only ever gotten two kinds of replies from showing people his movies - it either bowled them over and changed what they thought cinema could do or just recoiled in boredom or disgust for one reason or the other. I've read cass on cass by Carney and tried to make films with the same punch and it's very hard to do, most film makers are chicken s**t and alot of actors are even worse. If you are an idealistic film maker out there still about to make something like this or your own equivelant - a long desparate and dissapointing road awaits you.Anyone reading this - please buy the box set and track down the other films - cherish them - there may never be another film maker like him again.

There’s never been anyone quite like John Cassavetes and his friends that accompany him acting out these titles with flair and elegance and drama and all the tension and all the emotional pyrotechnics. A wonderful addition to any library.

John Cassavetes has affected me in a big way, he had changed the way I view and appreciate MoviesI think Love Treams became one of the greatest Movies I have ever seenFollowed with three other magnificent films a woman under the influence, Opening Night and the Killing of a Chinese Bookie.Now this is a guy that challenged the whole Industry by going the opposite side of Hollywood mainstream and reflected his own vision.Highly recommended

Typical that there are so few reviews for this amazing set from Criterion and yet every nerd on the planet feels the need to add a comment about the Star Wars boxed set or the Lord of the Rings collection. True film connoisseurs know that THIS is THE DVD release of the year! It's a beautifully packaged, incredibly comprehensive collection of Cassavetes' work; some of the greatest, most emotionally shattering films ever made. If you've got half a brain in your head, you'll get this set while you have the chance. To the rest, may the force continue to sap your wallet and your intelligence. You aren't worthy of these films.

I think all serious film fans with any sense of the history of independent cinema will regard this as a standout addition to their collections. (1)It is nothing short of amazing what has been done here to restore Shadows. (2)Faces is particularly outstanding for its life-saving scene with Seymour Cassel and Lynn Carlin; you would have to be a paramedic not be drawn in to the gut-wrenching intensity of it. (3)I saw A Woman Under The Influence on its original theatrical release in 1974 and it still holds up. (I judge Woman to be Gena Rowlands' greatest performance and I believe there are many others who feel the same about it.) (4)The Killing of A Chinese Bookie is a strange case: I like it less with each subsequent viewing. (I don't think it belongs in this collection except for the purpose of showing it's mediocrity when compared with the other four films; it has to be the dullest crime story ever told.) (5)Opening Night is serious as well as entertaining without being as rough on the viewers' nerves as most Cassavetes movies tend to be.