John Cassavetes - Five Films (Criterion) DVD

• 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono (English)
• New high-definition digital transfers of all films, with restored image and sound and (where applicable) enhanced for 16x9 televisions; New video interviews with Cassavetes collaborators Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, Seymour Cassel, Lelia Goldoni, Lynn Carlin, and Al Ruban; Two versions of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie: Cassavetes' original 135-minute cut as well as his subsequent 108-minute re-edit; Faces alternate opening: 17 minutes of footage revealing the most significant differences of the two version's opening sequences; Cinéastes de notre temps: An episode from the French television series, dedicated to Cassavetes; Audio commentary on A Woman Under the Influence by sound recordist and composer Bo Harwood and camera operator Mike Ferris; Stills galleries with hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos, publicity shots, and posters; Booklet featuring new essays on Cassavetes and the films by writers/critics Jonathan Lethem, Gary Giddins, Stuart Klawans, Kent Jones, Philip Lopate, Dennis Lim, and director Charles Kiselyak, as well as reprinted writings by and interviews with Cassavetes, a tribute to Cassavetes by director Martin Scorsese, and more; English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired; Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition.

Anthony Ray, Ben Carruthers, Ben Gazzara, Fred Draper, Gena Rowlands, Hugh Hurd, Joan Blondell, John Marley, Lady Rowlands, Lelia Goldoni, Lynn Carlin, Peter Falk, Robert Phillips, Seymour Cassel, Timothy Carey

John Cassavetes has been called a genius, a visionary, and the father of independent film. But all this rhetoric threatens to obscure the humanism and generosity of his art. The five films included here represent his self-financed works made outside the studio system of Hollywood, on which he was afforded complete control. While about beatniks, hippies, businessmen, actors, housewives, strippers, club owners, gangsters, and children, all of them are beautiful, emotional testaments to compassion. Cassavetes has often been called an actor's director, but this body of work—astoundingly, even greater than the sum of its extraordinarily significant parts—reveals him to be an audience's director. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Shadows, Faces, A Woman Under the Influence, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and Opening Night in stunning new transfers. Includes Charles Kiselyak's A Constant Forge, a candid biographical documentary on the life and work of Cassavetes.