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Shadows (1959)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
John Cassavetes (writer)
Release Date:
11 November 1959 (USA)
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Plot:
Cassavetes' jazz-scored improvisational film explores interracial friendships and relationships in Beat-Era (1950s) New York City. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 3 BAFTA Film Awards.
Another 2 wins
&
1 nomination
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NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
The gutting of Miramax, Pt. II: Is this the end of New York movie culture?
(From EW.com - The Movie Critics. 2 November 2009, 3:58 PM, PST)
Husbands and Wives
(From IFC. 18 August 2009, 7:10 AM, PDT)
(From EW.com - The Movie Critics. 2 November 2009, 3:58 PM, PST)
Husbands and Wives
(From IFC. 18 August 2009, 7:10 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Enchanting time capsule of late '50s New York, still fascinating..
more (25 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Ben Carruthers | ... | Ben |
| Lelia Goldoni | ... | Lelia |
| Hugh Hurd | ... | Hugh |
| Anthony Ray | ... | Tony |
| Dennis Sallas | ... | Dennis |
 | Tom Reese | ... | Tom (as Tom Allen) |
| David Pokitillow | ... | David |
| Rupert Crosse | ... | Rupert |
| David Jones | ... | Davey (as Davey Jones) |
| Pir Marini | ... | Pir the Piano Player |
| Victoria Vargas | ... | Vickie |
| Jack Ackerman | ... | Jack, Director of Dance Studio |
| Jacqueline Walcott | ... | Jacqueline |
| Cliff Carnell | ||
| Jay Crecco |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
81 min | UK:87 min | USA:87 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
This caused a stir as it fairly explicitly showed an unmarried couple in a post-coital position and its suggestion that a young woman would actively seek out sex.
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Quotes:
Movie Connections:
References Les bijoutiers du clair de lune (1958)
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Soundtrack:
Beautiful
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (25 total)
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Shadows (1959)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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Recommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
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| Lackawanna Blues | Mr. & Mrs. Bridge | Giant | Come See the Paradise | West Side Story |
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I had never seen a film by John Cassavetes up until two years ago, when I first saw THE KILLING OF A Chinese BOOKIE in a Berlin cinema, which I found interesting, to put it diplomatically, but not so special, I instantly wanted to see more of his work. Since then, I tried - with an emphasis on tried - watching his other work, SHADOWS in particular. I must admit, it took me a a while before I actually enjoyed the film. At first the unpolished, raw and improvised way Cassavetes it was shot, put me off somewhat and I thought of it as an original - absolutely - but flawed and dated experiment. But now, upon reviewing, these little imperfections make it look so fresh, even today.
Shot on a minimal budget of $40,000 with a skeleton six person crew, SHADOWS offers an observation of the tensions and lives of three siblings in an African-American family in which two of the three siblings, Ben (Ben Carruthers) and Lelia (Lelia Goldoni), are light-skinned and able to pass for white. Cassavetes demanded that the actors retain their real names to reflect the actual conflicts within the group but saw the film as being concerned with human problems as opposed imply to racial ones. Cassavetes shot the film in ten minute takes and jagged editing, a reaction against 'seamless' Hollywood production values. Cassavetes main inspiration - at least in the cinematic style the film was shot - were the Italian neo-realists whilst also professing admiration for Welles' pioneering spirit. The use of amateurs and improvisation might resemble some of the Italian neo-realist directors, but with his bebop score by Charles Mingus ans Shafi Hadi, the film feels very different, very American, unlike anything made before really.
The song with the feathered girls, "I feel like a lolly-pop" (or something) feels like light years back to me, ancient history. But no matter how dated it might look, it still makes a delightful time capsule of late Fifties New York today. I think it's this is one of the first films made aspiring filmmakers realize they could shoot an independent film, without Hollywood, improvised and without a real budget. Seymour Cassel, who acted and was involved in SHADOWS, claims it was Jules Dassin's THE NAKED CITY (1948) that was the first and inspired them all, but I think this was the one that really opened the eyes of aspiring independent American filmmakers.
Camera Obscura --- 8/10