Opening Night (1977)

An actress suffers an emotional uproar in her personal life after a fan dies trying to see her.

Director:

John Cassavetes

Writer:

John Cassavetes

Stars:

Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gena Rowlands	...	Myrtle Gordon
John Cassavetes	...	Maurice Aarons
Ben Gazzara	...	Manny Victor
Joan Blondell	...	Sarah Goode
Paul Stewart	...	David Samuels
Zohra Lampert	...	Dorothy Victor
Laura Johnson	...	Nancy Stein
John Tuell	...	Gus Simmons
Ray Powers	...	Jimmy
John Finnegan	...	Bobby
Louise Lewis	...	Kelly (as Louise Fitch)
Fred Draper	...	Leo
Katherine Cassavetes	...	Vivian
Lady Rowlands	...	Melva Drake
Carol Warren	...	Carla

Storyline

A young woman gets killed in an accident trying to meet her favorite actress Myrtle Gordon after a play. Then Myrtle Gordon felt responsible for the killing leading her down to an emotional crisis that interferes with her professional work as an actress.

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Plot Keywords:

woman | actress | theater | written and directed by cast member | hit by a car | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 1978 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Noche de estreno

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Faces Distribution

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar recreates the accident scene in his 1999 film "All About My Mother" (Todo Sobre Mi Madre) as the epicenter of the dramatic conflict.

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Goofs

A bus rolls by the New Haven theater with an ad for KBIG FM 104, a Los Angeles station.

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Quotes

Maurice Aarons: I thought that small talk was too small, I thought big talk was too pretentious, I thought music was noise, and I thought art was bullshit.

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Connections

Referenced in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

User Reviews

Debunking the Myth of Improvisation

Opening Night is my favorite Cassavetes, and I feel it is my duty to debunk the notion that those or any of his films aside from Shadows was strictly improvised. In fact, his films were tightly scripted after actor improvisation was used to contribute to his ideas. The coherence of a film like Opening Night, the development of the themes of aging, vanity, and hope, could not just spring from the improvisational head of even the very fine actors in the movie. If you pay attention to the dialogue (outside of the lines in the play), it is obvious that much care was taken to craft them (e.g., the scene where Myrtle explains to the playwright what problems she is having with the character and script).