Arena

Episode Synopsis

Actor and director, John Cassavetes, who died earlier this month was one of the few truly independent movie-makers working out of Hollywood. In this tribute to an influential and innovative artist, friends, associates and fellow directors remember the man and his work. From his revolutionary "Shadows" (1959) which won the Venice Film Festival critics award he established a unique working relationship with his repertory of actors, including Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands. He said that he was more interested in the people he worked with than the finished film. In 1970 Cassavetes allowed a BBC crew onto the set of "Husbands" to watch him at work. The results, intensive, intimate, and sometimes frenetic, are included tonight. ("Husbands" is at 12.05 am)