“A Woman Under the Influence” The strength of Cassavetes’ film as it penetrates into the characters’ inner lives.

Influence on New York School writers

What's interesting is that the aforementioned `` Alice '' was directed by Martin Scorsese. Scorsese is a director who acts as a disciple of Cassavetes, and was also the assistant sound editor on Minnie & Moskowitz (1971). After Scorsese made The Execution Tomorrow (1972), produced by Roger Corman, Cassavetes advised Scorsese to make more constructive films rather than commercial films, and as a result, Scorsese's This was also the reason why his first masterpiece, ` `Mean Streets '' (1973), was born.

Cassavetes is often referred to as the ``father of independent film,'' but more precisely, he stands as the ``father of New York independent film.'' His films served as a catalyst for the creation of a new style of ``New York movies,'' which was different from Hollywood movies, around the 1960s on the East Coast, centering on New York. Directors like Scorsese and Woody Allen have inherited his spirit. At first glance, Scorsese's The Love of Alice seems like a straight-up Hollywood movie for his film, but even so (for example, there's a scene where a man played by Harvey Keitel is madly stalking Alice), It contains expressions of emotion that break the rules, and it reminds me of a Cassavetes film.

Woody Allen used Gena Rowlands to film `` My Other Me '' (1988), which can almost be called a rehash (parody?) of `` Opening Night .'' It has become. The story is about a middle-aged woman who is frightened by the shadows of old age and reevaluates her life.The original title of Allen's version is ``Another Woman,'' but the title of the stage play played by Rowlands, who plays the actress in ` `Opening Night, '' is ``Second.''・Woman”. The opening narration of `` The Other Me Inside Me '' says, ``I was fine when I was 30 or 40, but when I turned 50, I lost my mental balance.'' It's clearly inspired by a line from " Opening Night."

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“A Woman Under the Influence” (c) 1974 Faces International Films, Inc.

Jim Jarmusch, a later New York director known for respecting Cassavetes' films, cast Rowlands in the role of a talent agent in `` Night on Earth '' (1991). John Sayles, a New York-born director who emerged in the same year as Jarmusch in the 1980s, also respects Cassavetes.

Cassavetes, who appeared in the late 50s, influenced Scorsese and Allen in the 70s and 80s, and even Jarmusch in the 80s and 90s.

In Japan, he is often talked about through European cineastes and is often forgotten, but Cassavetes is actually the origin of the New York school of directors.

Sam Shaw, known as the producer of Cassavetes' films, has left an interesting comment on this point. (*Actually, when the Cassavetes Collection film festival was held in Japan in 1993, I had multiple exchanges with Sam Shaw via mail and fax in order to write an article.At that time, Shaw He sent me a lot of materials on Cassavetes that have not been introduced. Among them, there is this comment comparing Jarmusch and Cassavetes.)

"Cassavetes and Jarmusch have something in common that they are free spirits, but Jarmusch is influenced by European writers such as Godard. However, Cassavetes avoids European influences. He is very American. He is a director.”

As you can see from these comments, Cassavetes is a genuine American director and the originator of the New York School.

Cassavetes' approach to production as told by Sam Shaw