Last week I polished off the 200 minute long documentary on super-indie filmmaker John Cassavetes, A Constant Forge - The Life and Art of John Cassavetes.
In typical Criterion style, the production was outstanding and superior. A doc of 2.33 hours might seem like a long time (given that talking-heads can take over the screen), but due to the thousands of stills -- not to mention 16mm film -- taken of Mr. Cassavetes and company over the years, and clips from his movies, the running time is balanced nicely.
I realized while watching A Constant Forge that I have never seen film or photographs of teacher and critic Ray Carney. For some reason I did not picture him like that... more like Oscar Levant, I suppose. Funny how we form mental images of people based on their reputations, careers, and attitudes.
One of my favourite films of Cassavetes' is The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976); as outlined in the doc, it is not exactly considered a highpoint in the director's filmography, critically or otherwise, but for some of us, it's a fine film.
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