Cassavetes on Cassavetes by John Cassavetes
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Book Reviews of Cassavetes on Cassavetes
Book Review: My Way
Summary: 5 Stars
Ray Carney's done a great service to film fans by bringing Cassavetes' scattered talks and interviews together into a coherent statement on art. Carney shows how Cassavetes' whole process of filmmaking was tied to his outlook on life. Combative, spontaneous and deliberately amateur, he aimed for situations where writer, actor and viewer are all left without direction, forced to respond to the story as individuals rather than reach for pre-approved 'social codes'. He savagely edited his films to defy audience expectations, usually rejecting versions that the studios, his collaborators and even his wife liked best. Some of Cassavetes' statements made me wonder if he did this to edit some part of himself--the Greek immigrant son made good, with the blonde wife and kids and Hollywood home. In some ways he was an insider desperate to stay on the outside. Conflict was fun for him, he thought America needed more of it, and the messy collaborative 'families' he built around each film were his alternative to the button-down corporate society he fought against all his life.As Carney presents him, Cassavetes wasn't out for the money, the glory, the ego or ultimately maybe even the art. He wanted fun, he wanted friends and he wanted people to really live as individuals. Are there folks like this around anymore? We need them more than ever.
Book Review: Great Interview Book
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're intrigued at all by the work of John Cassavetes, this book is well worth your time. The book itself is a collection of interviews Cassavetes gave through his entire life, edited into chapters that correspond to the movies he talked about. The excerpts themselves are pretty interesting, but it is author Ray Carney's commentary in between quotes that really makes this book worthwhile. Carney gives us the back story, and fills in the missing parts, but he also sets things straight when John rambles into fiction. It's easy to see that Cassavetes liked to talk about his work. There are over 500 pages on roughly a dozen films. If you are new to Cassavetes and read this book, you'll want to view his films. I have only seen a handful myself, but his total commitment to getting them made is so impressive that I feel ashamed to have not seen more. I saw my first Cassavetes film in college and felt that it was interesting, but a little over the top in places. As I get older, I think that real-life might be more over the top than I first realized.
John Cassavetes passion for making movies shines through in this volume. Ray Carney's insight tells the rest of the story. If you are interested in independent film making, this book is a must.
Book Review: A Consciousness-Shifting Treasure
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, Ray Carney has done it again: years of research have culminated in a wonderful examination of Cassavetes, by Cassavetes: his life and work. Carney's takes on the important independent filmmaker's mischief, guts, growth and ups and downs are inspirational. You get a deep look here at a way of living, working and risking that is not about the ambition, power or money so prevalent in the American film industry. Carney carefully lets Cassavetes tell the story in his own words, chronologically following the director's experiences from his childhood to his early career struggles to his groundbreaking independent films. There is much new information.
Throughout, family and love are front and center: these were so deeply important to Cassavetes and were primary themes in his films. I also take away from this book a new inspiration to try to find a way to live and work that places things like security, conformity and acceptance in a more healthy perspective.
Anyone contemplating the arts, film theory or technique, criticism, or just personal or professional growth should read this book. It is a delightful, consciousness-shifting walk through another way to be creative and just to be.
Book Review: John Cassavetes an American Master
Summary: 5 Stars
John Cassavetes was, without question, an American Master. His films can be unrelenting with the scrutiny he brings to bear on his living, breathing characters is absolutely ruthless and unsentimental. He was SO NOT looking to recreate reality in his films, because that would be too facile for a man of his intellect and aesthetic maturity. His films are filled with more real moments than anyone else. Some of the scenes and exchanges are so intimate - there is an uncomfortable, voyeuristic sensation that is experienced while watching them. "Woman on the Verge" is an example where Cassavetes make us endure the anguish Gena Rowlands' (his real life wife) character feels every waking moment of her life. Cassavetes movies demand its toll, its pound of flesh and at the end of his movies there is a sense of being purged.......Book Review: Truly inspirational!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ray Carney's "Cassavetes on Cassavetes" is a wonderful introduction to Cassavetes' work. I found it to be a great read - amazingly free of academic jargon or fancy terminology. It was hard to put down! And with incredible photos of the wild-man at work. A must for every fan of indie film as well as aspiring directors and artists - and also for students of life! If you want to know even more, I'd also recommend Ray Carney's massive web site devoted to Cassavetes and indie film. Any search engine will take you there. It has wonderful behind-the-scenes information about the making of Cassavetes' work. If you want a volume to provide ongoing daily inspiration and encouragement regarding the artistic process, buy this book. It is a book you will go back to again and again and again...
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