SHADOWS – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #251 (part of the John Cassavetes Five Films DVD Box Set) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

February 3, 2010 by Dennis Amith 

John Cassavetes’ first film that is important for its part in independent filmmaking but also a film shot entirely improvised.  A wonderful inclusion in the Criterion Collection’s “John Cassavetes Five Films” DVD box set.

Image courtesy of © 1959 John Cassavetes. © 2004 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Shadows – The Criterion Collection #251 (part of the John Cassavetes Film Films DVD Box Set)

DURATION: 81 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, Monaural, 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: 2004

Written and Directed by John Cassavetes

Produced by Maurice McEndree

Associate Producer: Seymour Cassel

Cinematography by Erich Kollmar

Edited by John Cassavetes and Maurice McEndree

Production Design by Randy Liles, Bob Reeh

Production Management by Wray Bevins

Starring:

Ben Carruthers as Ben

Lelia Goldoni as Lelia

Hugh Hurd as Hugh

Anthony Ray as Tony

Dennis Sallas as Dennis

Tom Reese as Tom

David Poktillow as David

Rupert Crosse as Ruper

David Jones as Davey

John Cassavetes’ directorial debut revolves around an interracial romance between Lelia (Lelia Goldoni), a light-skinned black woman living in New York City with her two brothers, and Tony (Anthony Ray), a white man. The relationship crumbles when Tony meets Lelia’s brother Hugh (Hugh Hurd), a talented dark-skinned jazz singer struggling to find work, and discovers the truth about Lelia’s racial heritage. Shot on location in Manhattan with a cast and crew made up primarily of amateurs, Cassavetes’ Shadows is a visionary work that is widely considered the forerunner of the American independent film movement.

In 1957, actor John Cassavetes who had appeared in a good number of Hollywood films had also ran a workshop for fellow thespians in New York City.  One of the things he taught was method acting and during an exercise done at the workshop, Cassavetes explored acting and race relations.  Having been inspired by the exercise, he went out and created his first independent film featuring the actors at the workshop and shot it with a 16mm handheld camera.

The film was known as “Shadows” and although the 1957 was shot and screened to critics but after observing how the audience reacted, Cassavetes contacted his fellow talent two years later and filmed additional scenes and crafted another version of the film which was screened at the Venice Film Festival and winning the Critics Award.  Also, the film went on to become the spearhead for Independent film as Cassavetes funded the film using his own money which he made from various acting gigs and didn’t utilize any major talent but utilizing his own talent from his workshop to help make the film possible through improvisation.

As a precursor to the Beat Generation eventually transitioning to the hippie culture, “SHADOWS” was a film that took on race during a time that race relations between Caucasian and Blacks were still at an all-time high and focuses on interracial relationships.  So, important that this low budget Independent film was selected for preservation in the United States National Registry by the Library of Congress in 1993 as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”..

The film revolves around a family of three who live together but are very different.

Hugh (played by Hugh Hurd) is a former crooner who was popular in the late ’40s but his music is not attracting as many people today.  He feels disrespected because of the gigs he is receiving as of late.  By introducing floozies who don’t have much talent at other shows.  Thus leading him to being stressed and depends on his manager Rupert (played by Rupert Crosse) to handle his career.  Unlike his siblings, Hugh is a darker-skinned Black man who hangs out with primarily those who are Black.

Ben (played by Ben Carruthers) is a young trumpeteer jazz musician, who hangs out with his buddies Tom (played by Tom Reese) and Dennis (played by Dennis Sallas).  The two enjoy visiting diners and flirting with women and having fun with them.  Often, getting in trouble and getting into fist fights.  He is the middle child and as a light skin Black man, he feels more comfortable with being with Caucasian women and hanging out with Caucasian and very different from his older brother Hurd.  Ben doesn’t know what to do with his life and thus feels out of place at home.

Lelia (played by Lelia Goldoni) is an artist who is the younger sister of Hugh and Ben.  She is very light skinned, intellectual and independent.  She hangs out with her writer friend David and life changes for Lelia when she meets a Caucasian man named Tony (played by Anthony Ray).

Although the three siblings love each other as family, they are very different from one another and thus causes a friction between them.

In “SHADOWS”, we see younger brother Ben who feels out of place at a party Hugh is holding at their home with guests who are primarily Black.  Where we see Ben comfortable among a White woman earlier in the film, he is repulsed when a Black woman tries to touch and comfort him that he hits her, thus causing Hugh to admonish him in front of everyone.

As for Lelia, she loves Tony, a White man but she is wary to take him to her home because she knows that he doesn’t know that she’s Black.   But it is his reaction of shock when she takes him home and at first, he doesn’t pick up that Ben is Black because of his skin color and that his friends were all White.  It was when Hugh and his manager arrive and when Lelia introduces them to Tony that his face goes from confused to shock.

Lelia is deeply in love with Tony but because of out of respect for her older brother and his racial values of Blacks with Blacks that she tries to hide her pain.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“SHADOWS” is featured in black and white (1:33:1 aspect ratio) and as shot in 16mm film.  It’s important to note that at this time, John Cassavetes’ first film shows his focus more on the acting talents while in later films, we see his view on cinema and his role as a filmmaker start to emerge.  The film does have its share of dirt and dust and even hair like particles that show up but there is a restoration demonstration of what it took to restore and remaster this film which had not been taken care of and desperately needed repair work.  So, just for what the restoration team were able to accomplish is amazing.

As for audio, audio is presented in Monaural, Dolby Digital 1.0.  The film is center channel driven but for those with a modern receiver can opt to switch the audio to stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundtrack.

Subtitles are in English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“SHADOWS” comes with the following special features:

• Lelia Goldoni Interview – (11:40) An interview with Lelia Goldoni who was part of John Cassavetes and Burt Lane’s acting workshop.  She talks about how the improvisation exercise became a film, working with Cassavetes and shooting more scenes two years later for the film.
  
• Seymour Cassel Interview - (4:29) An interview with Seymour Cassel in 2004.  Cassel talks about how he got to be part of Cassavetes’s films and how he became friends with him and getting his experience and developing a long friendship with Cassavetes.
  
• Workshop Footage – (4:16) Featuring silent footage from the 1950′s of the actors at the Cassavetes-Lane Drama workshop in Manhattan.
  
• Restoration Demonstration – (11:03) A featurette on how the UCLA Film and Television Archive preserved “Shadows” and the challenges they encountered in the three years it took to restore the film.
  
• Still Gallery – Using your remote, viewers can cycle through various images from the production of “SHADOWS”.
  
• Trailer - (2:52) The original theatrical trailer for “SHADOWS”.
  

“SHADOWS” is an intriguing film and I can imagine if I put myself in the shoes of the viewer watching it back in 1959, I would imagine that this film could be seen as rebellious a film that invokes realism.  The film’s importance which provided that spark and help ignite the independent film movement and showcasing America’s breakaway from traditional filmmaking.  People who watched “SHADOWS” were inspired to create their own films, not have the expensive talent and to see a film created with a 16mm camera on a low budget but yet still be provocative enough to make people think but also to enjoy.

Using no written screenplay, “Shadows” is entirely improvised.  Acting and even camera work seems to be off at times but no surprise as the talents for the film were improvising and the fact that this film was low budget at $40,000 (no doubt a lot back in the late ’50s) and only a crew of six people.

But what makes this film work is to see interracial relationships featured in an earlier film from the late ’50s, shot a decade before “To Sir, with Love”, I often think about how people at the time view this film.  In a way, it’s quite exciting to know that Cassavetes would create a film that would push the button during those high tension times.

Also, what works is capturing that New York City feel.  Sure, it was done via a low-budget but to see Lelia wandering through New York City, through the park and then see the various parties held by Hugh featuring his friends (who were mostly all Black) and in contrast to a party that Lelia was part of (who were all Caucasian).

Add in the memorable scenes of a so bad it’s fun song sung by the Caucasian women who have no talent to the aftermath between Lelia first sexual experience and her words of “I never imagined it could be so awful” was surprising.    There are these shorter scenes that you watch and somehow, just be impressed of what was captured on film.

It is important to note that in 1957, a first film was screened for critics.  This film was lost and was recently discovered by Boston University Professor who spent 11 years of his life and a lot of money in trying to find this film.  Carney was originally planned to give commentary for the Criterion DVD release and even offered the film for free.  But according to Carney, Cassavetes’ wife has suppressed the film from ever being shown (and claims there is no first film) and the drama going on behind-the-scenes of trying to get this film out to the public is just shocking to read.  But what is surprising is that a film critic who saw the original 1957 film and the 1959 film (which is featured on the DVD and screened in theaters) said the former is much better.  Carney even saying on his website they are essentially two different films and we are left wondering when will we ever see this film.

It would be a shame for Cassavetes fans if they never had a chance to see this film and I just hope somehow in my lifetime and for other Cassavetes fans, we can see his original film someday.

Overall, “SHADOWS” is an enjoyable film but definitely far from being a Cassavetes masterpiece.  This is a precursor to showing how his style of filmmaking would develop overtime but for the most part, his importance in helping jumpstart independent films with a low budget.  An important film that I’m glad to see included on the” John Cassavetes Five Films” DVD box set.

The box set is highly recommended!