SCORSESE AND CASSAVETES
JI didn't get out to Garth Donovan,s revised cut of his John Cassavetes styled FENCES AND FINGERNAILS. It was all the way out in Dedham, and I was tired, the weather was bad yket again, and after a day of anxiety,, and some good breaks, about BUFF (it;s only 3-l/2 weejs away), I was more in a TGIF relaxing mode.
But just as Garth's film is quite autobiographical, so, too, were two early films by Scorsese, MEAN STRETS, about wiseguy wannabes in New York's Little Italy, and his short ITALIAN=AMERICAN, a documentary portrait of his parents.
I recently showed MEAN STREETS in my independent film class. I often make it the third film in the course, after leading off with the Cohen Brothers first film BLOOD SIMPLE, followed by Cassavetes first film, SHADOWS.. In the case of BLOOD SIMPLE, I shows a highly controlled script, with highly controled technique. It;s lighting and camera angles are almost Hitchcockian, and seemed as pre-planned, Not only does the film show off that they went to film school, but it also leaves n o room for improvisition. On the other hand, SHADOWS with its (somewhat calculated) use of a hand held camera, is called an "improvisation."
MEAN STREETS is something of a synthesis of these two contrastive films. On the one hand, film school grad quotes ow budget films, and has a color scheme and elaborate pre-planned tracking shots, that also show off (effectively, I maght add.) On the other hand, the acting, other camerawork (the fight scene in the pool hall) have an entirely spontaneous feel, appropriate for a film where the violence is explosive and unexpected, not unlike the epilectic fits Amy Robinson has.
Cassavetes expert Ray Carney tells of the personal bond between Scorsese and Cassavetes. One, in the early 70's Scorsese crashed on Cassavetes \' sofa. Later, after the critical success of MEAN STREETS, Scorsese's short documentary, ITALIAN-AMERICAN got accepted into the New York Film Festival, while Casavetes' masterpiece WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE, was rejected. Cassavetes called Scorsese and asked him to intervene by threatening to pull his film. Scorsese dis;; WOMAN got in, and the rest is history.
It's the risk taking spontaneity that I've I've grown to miss in Scorsese's later films, Stylisticly, they are not unlike the self-conscious perfection of the Cohen brothers...... Amd. Scorsese still shows he knows his film stuff. But, still, a Scorsese film is an event, and, not unlike Cassavetes, they are the product of passion.
But just as Garth's film is quite autobiographical, so, too, were two early films by Scorsese, MEAN STRETS, about wiseguy wannabes in New York's Little Italy, and his short ITALIAN=AMERICAN, a documentary portrait of his parents.
I recently showed MEAN STREETS in my independent film class. I often make it the third film in the course, after leading off with the Cohen Brothers first film BLOOD SIMPLE, followed by Cassavetes first film, SHADOWS.. In the case of BLOOD SIMPLE, I shows a highly controlled script, with highly controled technique. It;s lighting and camera angles are almost Hitchcockian, and seemed as pre-planned, Not only does the film show off that they went to film school, but it also leaves n o room for improvisition. On the other hand, SHADOWS with its (somewhat calculated) use of a hand held camera, is called an "improvisation."
MEAN STREETS is something of a synthesis of these two contrastive films. On the one hand, film school grad quotes ow budget films, and has a color scheme and elaborate pre-planned tracking shots, that also show off (effectively, I maght add.) On the other hand, the acting, other camerawork (the fight scene in the pool hall) have an entirely spontaneous feel, appropriate for a film where the violence is explosive and unexpected, not unlike the epilectic fits Amy Robinson has.
Cassavetes expert Ray Carney tells of the personal bond between Scorsese and Cassavetes. One, in the early 70's Scorsese crashed on Cassavetes \' sofa. Later, after the critical success of MEAN STREETS, Scorsese's short documentary, ITALIAN-AMERICAN got accepted into the New York Film Festival, while Casavetes' masterpiece WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE, was rejected. Cassavetes called Scorsese and asked him to intervene by threatening to pull his film. Scorsese dis;; WOMAN got in, and the rest is history.
It's the risk taking spontaneity that I've I've grown to miss in Scorsese's later films, Stylisticly, they are not unlike the self-conscious perfection of the Cohen brothers...... Amd. Scorsese still shows he knows his film stuff. But, still, a Scorsese film is an event, and, not unlike Cassavetes, they are the product of passion.
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