Directed by:
John CassavetesScreenplay:
John CassavetesCinematography:
Erich KollmarCast:
Ben Carruthers, Lelia Goldoni, Hugh Hurd, Rupert Crosse, Greta Thyssen, John Cassavetes, Seymour Cassel, Jack Ackerman, Anthony Ray, Mel Stewart, Tom Reese (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
John Cassavetes’s directorial debut revolves around a romance in New York City between Lelia (Lelia Goldoni), a light- skinned black woman, and Tony (Anthony Ray), a white man. The relationship is put in jeopardy when Tony meets Lelia’s darker-skinned jazz singer brother, Hugh (Hugh Hurd), and discovers that her racial heritage is not what he thought it was. Shot on location in Manhattan with a mostly nonprofessional cast and crew, Shadows is a penetrating work that is widely considered the forerunner of the American independent film movement. (Criterion)
(more)Reviews (2)
John Cassavetes introduces us to a group of young New York bohemians with their joys and difficulties. He does this in a detached, improvisational way that is boring at times with empty talk in cafés underscored by jazz music, but captivating at other times with honest psychology and oppressively atmospheric dramatization (emotional strength, crushed by the pair’s racial difference). As a little underground statement by enthusiastic student-filmmakers, Shadows would be OK.
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A film that couldn't touch my heart, but still manages to captivate. If not through the story, then at least through the music that gets into your body. It's as if the music is truly vibrating throughout the entire film. It's pleasant, it's nice, but it's not overwhelming. The fact that the story is mainly about relationships and doesn't unnecessarily escalate is also quite cool.
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