Sunday, May 16, 2010

Scenes From A Career #4 - John Cassavetes


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"The most difficult thing in the world is to reveal yourself, to express what you have to. As an artist, I feel that we must try many things - but above all we must dare to fail. You must be willing to risk everything to really express it all."

- John Cassavetes (1929 - 1989)

4 comments:

Simon said...

So acting credits don't count? Or did I miss something.

Excellent choice, then.

Drew McIntosh said...

Simon, the Scenes From A Career series is me simply highlighting my favorite moments and shots from the careers of directors who are important to me (at least in the meantime I'm focusing only on directors). So, while Cassavetes certainly had a number of memorable acting roles throughout his career, his work as a director is what I'm particularly drawn to, and is thus what I've chosen to highlight here. Sorry for the confusion.

Unknown said...

Very nice collection of stills! Love Cassavetes work, both as an actor and as a filmmaker. I think it's safe to say that he's the godfather of the American Independent Cinema scene. The films he made explored the relationship between people in such unflinching, honest ways. Amazing stuff.

Drew McIntosh said...

Thanks J.D., I agree with everything you've said. As it happens, I only recently (in the past year) discovered Cassavetes' work as a director. Needless to say, it absolutely blew me away. The incredible performances he was able to command from his actors on such a regular basis is truly staggering, and as you say, the honesty with which he probed the human condition was really something special.