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John Cassavetes

John Cassavetes

Highest Rated: 100% Love Streams (1984)

Lowest Rated: 14% Big Trouble (1986)

Birthday: Dec 9, 1929

Birthplace: New York, New York, USA

Primarily known as an actor early in his career, John Cassavetes would later be regarded as one of the most daring and influential filmmakers of the 20th Century, attributed by many as the artist who shaped the current definition of independent film. As a young performer, Cassavetes found his early roles in mainstream productions like "Edge of the City" (1957) creatively unsatisfying. Determined to prove he could do better, he embarked on a three-year odyssey that yielded his debut as a writer-director - the racial identity drama "Shadows" (1959). Though not a commercial hit, "Shadows" earned Cassavetes enough critical acclaim to attract Hollywood, although the resulting films left him chafing under the control of the studio system. In response, Cassavetes created a system of his own - one in which he would act in major productions like "The Dirty Dozen" (1967) and "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) in order to fund independent endeavors of his own. Over the course of the next 15 years Cassavetes wrote, directed and occasionally performed in such thought-provoking works as "Faces" (1968), "Husbands" (1970), "Minnie and Moskowitz" (1971), "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974), "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" (1976), "Gloria" (1980) and "Love Streams" (1984). Each film featured some combination of his frequent acting collaborators, including wife Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara and Seymour Cassel. While professional acting was a mere means to an end, Cassavetes pursued his own artistic truth and provided audiences with new experiences through his deeply personal films.

Highest rated movies

100% 95% A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
100% 88% Love Streams
100% 40% Crime in the Streets
96% 90% Opening Night 96% 87% Rosemary's Baby
88% 79% Mikey and Nicky
82% 85% Minnie and Moskowitz
82% 90% The Dirty Dozen

Filmography

Movies

Credit
66% 62% She's So Lovely Writer $7.3M 1997
100% 95% A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies Himself (archive footage) (Character) - 1995
14% 25% Big Trouble Director - 1986
100% 88% Love Streams Robert Harmon (Character),
Director,
Writer
- 1984
No Score Yet No Score Yet Marvin and Tige Marvin Stewart (Character) - 1983
29% 22% The Incubus Dr. Sam Cordell (Character) - 1982
55% 72% Tempest Phillip Dimitrius (Character) - 1982
70% 79% Whose Life Is It Anyway? Dr. Michael Emerson (Character) - 1981
94% 79% Gloria Director,
Screenwriter,
Producer
- 1980
No Score Yet No Score Yet Flesh and Blood Gus Caputo (Character) - 1979
No Score Yet 38% Brass Target Maj. Joe De Lucca (Character) - 1978
80% 49% The Fury Ben Childress (Character) - 1978
96% 90% Opening Night Maurice Aarons (Character),
Director,
Writer
$10.5K 1977
79% 83% The Killing of a Chinese Bookie Director,
Writer
- 1976
29% 45% Two Minute Warning Sgt. Button (Character) - 1976
88% 79% Mikey and Nicky Nicky Godalin (Character) - 1976
89% 91% A Woman Under the Influence Director - 1974
82% 85% Minnie and Moskowitz Jim (uncredited) (Character),
Director,
Writer
- 1971
66% 79% Husbands Gus (Character),
Director,
Writer
- 1970
80% 38% Machine Gun McCain Hank McCain (Character) - 1969
85% 87% Faces Director,
Writer,
Producer,
Film Editing
- 1968
96% 87% Rosemary's Baby Guy Woodhouse (Character) - 1968
No Score Yet No Score Yet Rome Like Chicago Mario Corda (Character) - 1968
No Score Yet 25% Devil's Angels Cody (Character) - 1967
82% 90% The Dirty Dozen Victor Franko (Character) - 1967
No Score Yet 17% Alexander the Great Karonos (Character) - 1964
80% 71% The Killers Johnny North (Character) - 1964
92% 73% A Child Is Waiting Director - 1963
82% 71% Too Late Blues Director,
Writer,
Producer
- 1962
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Webster Boy Vance Miller (Character) - 1962
No Score Yet No Score Yet Virgin Island Evan (Character) - 1959
100% 81% Shadows Director,
Writer,
Film Editing
- 1958
No Score Yet 55% Saddle the Wind Tony Sinclair (Character) - 1958
No Score Yet 74% Edge of the City Axel Nordmann (Character) - 1957
No Score Yet No Score Yet Affair in Havana Nick (Character) - 1957
100% 40% Crime in the Streets Frankie Dane (Character) - 1956
No Score Yet 40% The Night Holds Terror Robert Batsford (Character) - 1955
63% 72% Fourteen Hours Bit Part (uncredited) (Character) - 1951

TV

Credit
No Score Yet 81% Columbo Alex Benedict (Guest Star) 1972
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Virginian Jonah MacIntosh (Guest Star) 1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet Combat! Unknown (Guest Star) 1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet Alfred Hitchcock Hour Unknown (Character) 1964
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Lloyd Bridges Show Castigo (Guest Star),
Director
1962-1963
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dr. Kildare Unknown (Guest Star) 1962
No Score Yet No Score Yet Rawhide Unknown (Guest Star) 1961
No Score Yet No Score Yet Johnny Staccato Unknown (Character),
Director
1959-1960
No Score Yet No Score Yet Studio One Private Paul Greco (Character) 1958
No Score Yet No Score Yet Climax! Unknown (Character) 1956
No Score Yet No Score Yet The 20th Century-Fox Hour Unknown (Character) 1956
No Score Yet 87% Alfred Hitchcock Presents Sam Cobbett (Character) 1956
No Score Yet No Score Yet The United States Steel Hour Johnny (Character) 1956