MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO SCREENING SERIES, THE:
CASSAVETES, PACKAGE 8: THE DAVID FROST SHOW,
COLUMBO: ETUDE IN BLACK, & FLESH AND BLOOD
Summary
John Cassavetes (1929-89) was a pioneer, not simply in
technique or the crazy risks he took for his art, but in
his distinctly humanistic approach to cinema. Fifteen
years after his death, he is revered as the spiritual
godfather of the American independent film, but an
appreciation of his considerable legacy is incomplete
without a survey of his contributions to television, for
it was his background as an actor in that medium that
honed his aesthetic as a director. The hallmarks of a
Cassavetes film -- the roving camera, the combustible
atmosphere, the improvisatory (but fiercely rehearsed)
performances -- are all exponents of the live television
dramas in which Cassavetes got his start in the fifties.
As a familiar face on the leading anthology programs of
the era, he was at the vortex of a dynamic and intensely
creative dramatic form that prized character exploration
over plot, emotional veracity over narrative gimmickry.
This emphasis on personal relationships, on the small,
messy, raw truths of the human condition, left an
indelible impression on Cassavetes, just as the
experience of working in episodic television, with its
hurried shooting schedules, meddling studio
bureaucracies, and resolved storylines, provided both
the grounding and impetus he needed to set out on his
own. Television not only shaped the do-it-yourself
paradigm Cassavetes brought to fruition with such
intensely personal films as "Shadows," "Faces," and "A
Woman Under the Influence," but enabled him to explore
-- as both an actor and a director -- themes and ideas
that would preoccupy him throughout his life. The
Museum's nine-part screening series, which includes
several programs unseen since their original broadcast,
offers the first comprehensive overview of Cassavetes's
parallel career on television.
Package 8
"The David Frost Show"
Cassavetes was a legendary raconteur, and his talk show
appearances generally veered into unpredictable regions.
Here, he shares the stage with Ben Gazzara and Peter
Falk, with whom he had just finished shooting
"Husbands." (1969; 5 mins; excerpt)
"Columbo: Etude in Black"
As the man who practically invented the do-it-yourself
paradigm of the independent film, Cassavetes was a
notorious hustler, a preternaturally driven smooth
talker, and his performance as a smarmy
mistress-murdering maestro hounded by the
indefatigable Columbo ranks "Etude in Black" among the
best in the long-running series. Although the gig
represented the sort of commercial fare he often railed
against in interviews, Cassavetes was close to Peter
Falk, who remembers him as "the most vivid, colorful,
intriguing, infuriating, fertile, man, child, artist,
actor, friend." The opportunity to add "guest villain"
to his resume came at a time when Cassavetes was
seeking funding for "A Woman Under the Influence," a
project financed in part by Falk's considerable earnings
from "Columbo." (1972; 95 mins)
"Flesh and Blood"
Cassavetes earned an Emmy Award nomination for his
supporting turn as a down-and-out boxing manager who
takes a novice fighter (Tom Berenger) under his wing in
this adaptation of the Pete Hamill novel. (1979; 5
mins; excerpt)
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 2004
- RUNNING TIME: 1:44:43
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:85361
- GENRE: Drama; Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Drama, police/private detective
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Tom Berenger
- John Cassavetes
- Peter Falk
- David Frost
- Ben Gazzara
- Pete Hamill