John Cassavetes
Date of birth: 1929-12-09
Place of birth: New York City, New York, USA
Known for: Directing
Also known as: John Nicholas Cassavetes, 존 카사베츠, 约翰·卡萨维蒂
Biography
John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as an actor on television and in film, Cassavetes also became a pioneer of American independent cinema, writing and directing movies financed in part with income from his acting work. AllMovie called him "an iconoclastic maverick," while The New Yorker suggested that he "may be the most influential American director of the last half century." As an actor, Cassavetes starred in notable Hollywood films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including Edge of the City (1957), The Dirty Dozen (1967), and Rosemary's Baby (1968). He began his directing career with the 1959 independent feature Shadows and followed with independent productions such as Faces (1968), Husbands (1970), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), Opening Night (1977), and Love Streams (1984), in addition to intermittent studio work. Cassavetes' films employed an actor-centered approach which privileged character examination over traditional Hollywood storytelling or stylized production values. His films became associated with an improvisational, cinéma vérité aesthetic. He collaborated frequently with a rotating group of friends, crew members, and actors, including his wife Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, and Seymour Cassel. For his role in The Dirty Dozen, Cassavetes received a Best Supporting Actor nomination. As a filmmaker, he was nominated for Best Original Screenplay for Faces (1968) and Best Director for A Woman Under the Influence (1974).
Movie Credits
The Dirty Dozen
1967-06-15
12 American military prisoners in World War II are ordered to infiltrate a well-guarded enemy châtea
Rosemary's Baby
1968-06-12
A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frigh
Two-Minute Warning
1976-11-12
A psychotic sniper plans a massive killing spree in a Los Angeles football stadium during a major ch
The Killers
1964-07-07
A hit man and his partner try to find out why their latest victim, a former race-car driver, did not
Whose Life Is It Anyway?
1981-12-02
Ken Harrison is an artist that lives to make sculptures. One day he is involved in a car accident, a
The Fury
1978-03-10
When a devious plot separates CIA agent Peter Sandza from his son, Robin, the distraught father mana
Opening Night
1977-12-22
Actress Myrtle Gordon is a functioning alcoholic who is a few days from the opening night of her lat
Affair in Havana
1957-10-01
While in Havana, a musician gets involved with a crippled man and his beautiful wife... with deadly
Edge of the City
1957-01-04
An army deserter and a black dock worker join forces against a corrupt manager.
Minnie and Moskowitz
1971-12-22
Depressed and jaded after being dumped by her married boyfriend, aging beauty Minnie Moore wonders i
Crime in the Streets
1956-06-10
A social worker tries to end juvenile crime by getting involved with a street gang.
The Night Holds Terror
1955-07-13
A group of escaped convicts holds a household prisoner as the police close in.
Machine Gun McCain
1969-04-01
After serving 12 years behind bars for armed robbery, tough guy Hank McCain finds himself the pawn o
Tempest
1982-08-13
A sobering mid-life crisis fuels dissatisfaction in Philip Dimitrius, to the extent where the succes
Capone
1975-04-16
Young Al Capone catches the eye of Johnny Torrio, a criminal visiting New York from Chicago. Torrio
Husbands
1970-12-08
A common friend's sudden death brings three men, married with children, to reconsider their lives an
Love Streams
1984-03-22
Two closely-bound, emotionally wounded siblings reunite after years apart.
Brass Target
1978-12-22
General George S. Patton died in a car accident in 1945. But was his death actually a murder. Is he
Devil's Angels
1967-04-14
A gang of outlaw bikers strike a bargain with the Sheriff of a small beach town; let them stay and t
Out of the Shadows: The Films of John Cassavetes
1993-10-02
Get the scoop on the legendary actor-director-New Yorker John Cassavetes straight from the mouth of
Saddle the Wind
1958-03-20
Steve Sinclair is a world-weary former gunslinger, now living as a peaceful farmer. Things go wrong
Mikey and Nicky
1976-12-21
Nick is desperate, holed up in a cheap hotel, suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mob
Incubus
1982-02-24
In the small New England town of Galen, a young teenage boy claims he has dreams of young women bein
Anything for John
1993-09-06
An intimate portrait of actor-writer-director John Cassavetes and a loving tribute to his genius for
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
2008-01-18
Examines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary director Roman Polanski's sud
Marvin & Tige
1985-03-08
Marvin, a heavy-drinking widower meets Tige, an 11-year-old orphan. With nowhere else to go, Tige mo
Virgin Island
1959-08-07
A British woman marries an American writer in spite of her family's disapproval and goes to live wit
The Making of 'Husbands'
1971-03-28
A documentary behind the scenes of John Cassavetes' 'Husbands' (1970).
Alexander The Great
1968-01-26
An historical film that follows the life of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king that united all
Bandits in Rome
1968-11-20
After professional stickup man Mario Corda is jailed, his young, ambitious partner -- who covets bot
Heroes
1977-11-04
A Vietnam veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder breaks out of a VA hospital and goes
Taxi
1953-01-21
A New York cab driver helps an Irish immigrant with a baby locate her missing husband.
The Haircut
1982-09-12
A music executive stops in for a 15 minute haircut.
Operation Dirty Dozen
2006-01-01
A short film looking behind the scenes at the making of The Dirty Dozen. Showing many scenes being f
Flesh & Blood
1979-10-14
A young street-tough-turned-boxer struggles to reach the top while finding his romance with an attra
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
1960-01-10
A look at the past, present and future of Hollywood as seen through the eyes of the movie columnist.
Fräulein Berlin
1984-01-01
Berlin Underground-star Ulrike S. went to the Toronto-Filmfestival and then to New York - to find ou
Nederland C
1985-01-16
Movies Are My Life
1988-04-17
The very first full-length documentary on Scorsese offers an invaluable look at how he was perceived
I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes — The Man and His Work
1984-07-01
Filmmaker Michael Ventura follows Cassavetes around as the actor/director labors on his final film,
Arena - John Cassavetes
1989-02-24
Tribute to actor and director John Cassavetes who died in February 1989. Friends, associates and fel
A Constant Forge
2000-01-01
One of the great mavericks of cinema, John Cassavetes has earned a reputation as the godfather of Am
Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film
2019-06-05
An intimate portrait of the superb actress Gena Rowlands, icon of independent cinema. Together with
The Webster Boy
1962-06-01
A gambler comes out of prison, returns to his old-flame, and finds that she has a teenage son, who b
No Right to Kill
1956-08-09
This is a special series of lost classic programs from the Golden Age of TV. The series has been res
150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement
2021-03-03
A Woman Watches People.
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
1969-04-24
A group of travelers from the United States race through seven European countries in 18 days.
Nightside
1973-04-15
The story of three people - a press agent, a private detective and a nightclub owner - whose careers
Fourteen Hours
1951-04-01
A young man, morally destroyed by his parents not loving him and by the fear of being not capable to
Shadows
1960-10-14
The relationship between Lelia, a light-skinned black woman, and Tony, a white man is put in jeopard
John Cassavetes par Thierry Jousse
2024-10-18
"Cinéastes de notre temps": John Cassavetes
1969-03-17
A documentary by André S. Labarthe.