The British Film Institute has revealed that it is planning to release Dual Format Editions of two John Cassavetes' films:
Shadows (1959), starring Ben Carruthers, Lelia Goldoni and Hugh Hurd, and
Faces (1968), starring John Marley, Gena Rowlands and Lynn Carlin. Both films will be available for purchase on April 24th.
Shadows
The film revolves around the inter-racial romance between a black woman and white man, and their relationship with her jazz singer brother. Its depiction of themes of inter-racial relationships and non-conformist lifestyles were way ahead of its time. Shot on location in 1950s New York, with a cast and crew made up primarily of amateurs, this radical, ground-breaking film is as devastatingly powerful now as ever. The film¿s score features jazz legend Charlie Mingus.
- Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
- Audio commentary Seymour Cassell and Tom Charity
- Silent rehearsal footage (DVD only)
- Peter Falk on Cassavetes (Paul Joyce, DVD only)
- Original trailer
Faces
Set in suburban middle-class America of the 1960s,
Faces portrays the disintegration of a marriage with an honesty rarely matched in cinema.
Originally released when Cassavetes was a big name Hollywood acting star (
The Dirty Dozen,
Rosemary's Baby)
Faces was nominated for three Oscar Awards, an unheard-of achievement for an independent film at the time.
- Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
- Alternative opening sequence (17 mins, DVD only)
- Optional audio commentary on alternative opening sequence by Peter Bogdanovich and Al Ruban (17 mins, DVD only)
- Seymour Cassel interview with Tom Charity (47 mins)