One of the great mavericks of cinema, John Cassavetes has earned a reputation as the godfather of American independent movies. The actor-turned-filmmaker invented a realist style of unadorned narrative films heavily influenced by documentaries. This in-depth analysis of Cassavetes' life and work features interviews with key collaborators and ensemble regulars, and explores the making of classics like "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie," "Opening Night" and "A Woman Under the Influence."
Self
Self
One of the great mavericks of cinema, John Cassavetes has earned a reputation as the godfather of American independent movies. The actor-turned-filmmaker invented a realist style of unadorned narrative films heavily influenced by documentaries. This in-depth analysis of Cassavetes' life and work features interviews with key collaborators and ensemble regulars, and explores the making of classics like "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie," "Opening Night" and "A Woman Under the Influence."
2000-01-01
6.6
The Life and Art of John Cassavetes
Cosmo Vittelli, the proprietor of a sleazy, low-rent Hollywood cabaret, has a real affection for the women who strip in his peepshows and the staff who keep up his dingy establishment. He also has a major gambling problem that has gotten him in trouble before. When Cosmo loses big-time at an underground casino run by mobster Mort, he isn't able to pay up. Mort then offers Cosmo the chance to pay back his debt by knocking off a pesky, Mafia-protected bookie.
In the mansion of a rich family living in Istanbul, a very valuable necklace is stolen. Suspecting that the thief is someone from inside the house, the owners start to approach the people working in the house with class differences and prejudices. The thieves realize that the necklace is fake.
Marvin, a heavy-drinking widower meets Tige, an 11-year-old orphan. With nowhere else to go, Tige moves in with Marvin and they develop a close friendship. Marvin wants to adopt Tige but knows that he is too poor to give him a good home. Then he discovers who Tige's father is a rich suburbanite who doesn't even know Tige exists. Should Marvin, and can he, give up the boy he loves, and who loves him, in favor of a stranger with the right genes and bank balance?
Dirty Harry Callahan returns again, this time saddled with a rookie female partner. Together, they must stop a terrorist group consisting of angry Vietnam veterans.
Obelix falls for a new arrival in his home village in Gaul, but is heartbroken when her true love arrives to visit her. However, the lovers are kidnapped by Romans; Asterix and Obelix set out to rescue them on a dangerous journey that will involve gladiators, slavers and beauracracy - and a personal encounter with the Emperor himself, Julius Caesar...
In the year 50 BC, Gaul is occupied by the Romans - nearly. But the small village of Asterix and his friends still resists the Roman legions with the aid of their druid's magic potion, which gives superhuman strength. Learning of this potion, a Roman centurion kidnaps the druid to get the secret formula out of him.
James “Brick” Davis, a struggling attorney, owes his education to a mobster, but always has refused to get involved with the underworld. When a friend of his is gunned down by a notorious criminal, Brick decides to abandon the exercise of the law and join the Department of Justice to capture the murderer.
While holding a horror film festival, a group of film students find themselves stalked by a madman who may have a sinister connection to a cult leader.
During a routine case in L.A., NY private investigator Harry D'Amour stumbles over members of a fanatic cult who are preparing for the resurrection of their leader Nix, a powerful magician who was killed 13 years earlier.
New York police are bemused by reports of a giant flying lizard that has been spotted around the rooftops of New York, until the lizard starts to eat people. An out-of-work ex-con is the only person who knows the location of the monster's nest and is determined to turn the knowledge to his advantage, but will his gamble pay off or will he end up as lizard food?
Eddie, Dov, and Yvan are back, still working in Paris' Sentier textile district, This time they're confronting the high-stakes world of large distribution after striking a deal with Eurodiscount, a European hypermarket chain.
As graduation nears for the class of 1955 at Angel Beach High, the gang once again faces off against their old enemy, Porky, who wants them to throw the school's championship basketball game since he has bet on the opposing team.
An ambitious singing and dancing cat in 1939 Hollywood overcomes several obstacles to fulfill his dream of becoming a movie star.
After telling the story of Flint's last journey to young Jim Hawkins, Billy Bones has a heart attack and dies just as Jim and his friends are attacked by pirates. The gang escapes into the town where they hire out a boat and crew to find the hidden treasure, which was revealed by Bones before he died. On their voyage across the seas, they soon find out that not everyone on board can be trusted.
Per her mother's last wish, an 8 year old girl sets out to reunite her father with his college best friend who was in love with him.
Several teenagers in a small-town in Colorado concoct a July 4th prank based on a frightening legend that goes awry when their friend ends up accidentally killed; however, the teens agree to keep their involvement a secret from the authorities, who continue to search for the man who apparently killed their friend. A year later, with the July 4th celebration coming up again, the teenagers realize that they're being stalked by someone who clearly intends on keeping the horrible legend alive by killing them off.
Struggling comic Lance Barton knows what it's like to die on stage. But when his life takes an unexpected turn - straight to heaven - Lance is sure there's been a mistake. Miraculously, he's right! An angel tells Lance he was taken prematurely but assures him he can be returned to Earth - in the aged body of a ruthless white billionaire. In this improbable reincarnation, Lance begins a hilarious quest to realize his showbiz dream...and, along the way, discovers the person he never imagined he could be. Chris Rock delivers a first-rate performance in this romantic comedy remake of HEAVEN CAN WAIT.
A new batch of recruits arrives at Police Academy, this time a group of civilian volunteers who have joined Commandant Lassard's new Citizens on Patrol program. Although the community relations project has strong governmental support, a disgusted Captain Harris is determined to see it fail.
Three chimps are sent into space to explore the possibility of alien life when an unmanned space shuttle crash lands on an uncharted planet.
Everyone's favorite St. Bernard returns in this family film about man's best friend. Richard Newton, his wife Beth and kids Brennan and Sara shove off in their camper for a road trip. Along the way, they gain a new passenger: slobbery Beethoven. The Newtons plan to return Beethoven to his owner -- but not before he turns hero when a pair of thieves enter the picture.
This documentary tells via the testimonies of people who knew him (like Simone Moro, his companion during his last ascent), the life, the mountaineering exploits and the very tolerant character of Anatoli Boukreev. This famous mountaineer has made more than twenty-one ascents on mountains of 8,000 m altitude, without using supplemental oxygen, and has reached the summit of Everest four times. In 1996 he saved the lives of many climbers in a group led by Scott Fischer during their attempt on Everest. The documentary is based on footage shot during his tragic last ascent of Annapurna in Nepal in 1997.
The director of the film travels to India to find the woman she met six years before with whom she bonded spiritually. Equipped with only a rosary given by the woman and a picture, she searches but doesn’t know the woman’s name nor where she is from, this often leads to her being ridiculed by the locals.
An aesthetic and politic portrait of Mexico ́s 90s decade through the biography of artist Rita Guerrero (1964-2011), who developed in different fields, mostly music and theater. She was the vocalist of Santa Sabina, a rock band in which she was the most remarkable figure. She committed herself to different social movements such as the Zapatista Army Movement (EZLN) and the Electoral Left. She died at 46 from breast cancer. Her voice and music left a mark on a generation.
A Perilous Quest to Save the World’s Children tells the inspiring story of Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman, a man with a singular, unwavering focus — to eliminate the diseases of children. From his poverty-stricken youth on the plains of Montana, he came to prevent pandemic flu, develop the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, and invent the first-ever vaccine against human cancer.
The incredible story of the mythical Russian-American actor and filmmaker Yul Brynner (1920-85), the most exotic sex-symbol since Rudolph Valentino; the story of the atypical destiny of an international nomad: from the Parisian cabarets to the stages of Broadway and the Hollywood studios. The rise to fame of a multidisciplinary genius who became a king of the screen.
Explore the filmmaker’s life and career in interviews with colleagues, friends and Burns himself. The importance of place emerges as a theme as he reflects on his own geographic touchstones, from the Brooklyn Bridge to small-town New Hampshire.
Rory Gallagher was the original Irish guitar hero, whose artistry with a battered ’61 Stratocaster became the stuff of legend. Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters admired him, the Rolling Stones tried to hire him – and his fans worshipped him. Clad in faded denim and a checked shirt, he sold 30 million records and became a charismatic icon of Irish music, inspiring musicians such as Brian May, The Edge, Slash and Johnny Marr. But away from the stage, Rory was an intensely private man. His closest confidante was his brother Dónal who accompanied Rory on his rise from their childhood Everly Brothers stage performances and the Showband scene across the North and South of the Irish border through to the deafening heart of the ‘70s rock scene in London – and far beyond. Now, Dónal, along with insights from Rory’s friends and admirers, takes us on a musical journey through the life and career of this shy guitar hero to better understand what made him so great.
A wilfully offensive band, The Mentors gained infamy for performing in black executioner hoods and spewing cartoonishly racist, homophobic and misogynistic lyrics in the 1980s and ‘90s—but was their use of shock meant to propagate hate or confront it?
Narrated by Linda Hunt, this documentary examines the life of the late author and gay rights activist Paul Monette. Born in 1945 to a well-off Massachusetts family, Monette grows up unable to accept his homosexuality, for years hiding it from his loved ones while struggling to develop as a writer. In 1978, Monette publishes his first novel, which allows him to come out to his parents. After losing one lover to AIDS in 1986, he becomes a ferocious advocate for awareness of the disease.
At sixteen years old Peter Czerwinski was hospitalized and nearly died as a result of anorexia. Seven years later, not only has he won that battle, he is one the greatest competitive eaters in the world. This is the inspiring (and ironic story) of Furious Pete.
The life and times of sailor and adventurer Sir Peter Blake, one of New Zealand's favourite sons.
The history of the peplum genre, known as sword-and-sandal cinema, set in Antiquity, from the silent film era to the present day.
Twenty years ago, seven superstar artists left Marvel Comics to create their own company, Image Comics, a company that continues to influence mainstream comics and pop culture to this day. Image began as more than just a publisher - it was a response to years of creator mistreatment, and changed comics forever. The Image Revolution tells the story of Image Comics, from its founders' work at Marvel, through Image's early success, company difficulties during the comics market implosion, and ultimately the publisher's new generation of properties like The Walking Dead. Filled with colorful characters, the film is a clarion call to artists to take control of their destiny.
A gifted student, Annie Girardot thought for a while of becoming a nurse, before passing the entrance exam to the Conservatory. She leaves with two first prizes in comedy. In the theater she triumphed in "The Typewriter" by Jean Cocteau. It was Cocteau who made her cut her hair to adopt his famous short cut. The cinema opened its doors and she turned with Pierre Fresnay, then with Jean Gabin, in "Le rouge est mis" by Gilles Grangier. The Comédie-Française then asked her to make a choice. It would be the cinema.
Produced over four years with full access from Ken’s widow Lady Dodd, the film takes an in-depth look into Doddy’s private world, exploring the many secrets of his comic talent, revealing never-before-seen home-videos, stage performances and extracts from some of the thousands of Ken’s diary notebooks which he’d asked his wife to burn after his death. Wrestling with her conscience for quite some time, Lady Dodd, finally agrees with entertainment historians, museum curators and many of Ken’s admirers like Stephen K Amos, Harry Hill, Shaparak Khorsandi, Lee Mack, Paul O’Grady, Johnny Vegas, and Sir Ian McKellen to preserve Doddy’s notebooks for posterity. These stars explore their passion and memories of Ken in this candid, insightful film which takes you backstage behind the red curtain to reveal a far more intriguing man than the public or even his wife ever realised.