On October 22nd, Criterion Collection will release John Cassavetes: Five Films.
The collection will feature SHADOWS (1959), FACES (1968), A WOMEN UNDER THE INFLUENCE (1974), THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE (1976), OPENING NIGHT (1977) and A CONSTANT FORGE (2000). The last is a look at John’s career.
The extras will include:
New high-definition digital restorations of all five films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-ray editions
New high-definition digital restoration of Cassavetes’s 108-minute 1978 version of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
A Constant Forge: The Life and Art of John Cassavetes (2000), a 200-minute documentary by Charles Kiselyak
New interviews with actor Lelia Goldoni and associate producer Seymour Cassel about Shadows
Silent footage from the Cassavetes-Lane Drama Workshop, from which Shadows emerged
Restoration demonstration for Shadows
Alternate eighteen-minute opening sequence for Faces
Episode of the French television series Cinéastes de notre temps from 1968, dedicated to Cassavetes
Making “Faces,” a new documentary featuring interviews with actors Cassel, Lynn Carlin, and Gena Rowlands and director of photography Al Ruban
Al Ruban on Lighting and Shooting “Faces,” a new video program featuring commentary by Ruban (Blu-ray); Lighting and Shooting the Film, an on-screen essay by Ruban, illustrated with video clips, that discusses the techniques and equipment used on Faces (DVD)
Audio commentary for A Woman Under the Influence by sound recordist and composer Bo Harwood and camera operator Mike Ferris
New conversation between Rowlands and actor Peter Falk about A Woman Under the Influence
New interviews with actor Ben Gazzara and Ruban on The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
New conversation between Rowlands and Gazzara about Opening Night
New interview with Ruban about Opening Night
Audio interviews with Cassavetes from the 1970s about A Woman Under the Influence, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and Opening Night
Trailers for Shadows, A Woman Under the Influence, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and Opening Night
Stills and poster galleries
Biographical sketches of the actors Cassavetes frequently cast in his films, written by Tom Chartity (John Cassavetes: Lifeworks) (DVD only)
PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Gary Giddins, Kent Jones, Charles Kiselyak, Stuart Klawans, Dennis Lim, and Phillip Lopate; writings by and interviews with Cassavetes; and tributes to the filmmaker by director Martin Scorsese; actor and writer Elaine Kagan, Cassavetes’s former secretary; and novelist Jonathan Lethem
