Shadows

Released Nov 11, 1959

1h 21m

Drama

List

100%

24 Reviews

Tomatometer

81%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

At a party, Lelia (Lelia Goldoni), a young African-American girl with a light complexion, meets Tony (Anthony Ray), a somewhat callow white musician, and they begin a romance. Lelia thinks she's in love, but Tony is surprised when he meets her older brother, Hugh (Hugh Hurd), and realizes she's black. Hugh is an unsuccessful singer with a hostile attitude, while Lelia's other sibling, Ben (Ben Carruthers), is trying to make it as a trumpet player when he isn't getting into trouble.

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Luca D

Completely overated. Watch a bunch of half decent actors live in an apartment together for an hour and a half only for the ending to resolve because there is no conflict or plot to begin with.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/23/23

Full Review

Stephen C

The worst in just 01 hour: and 21 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Christopher B

A film made using improvisation performances from it's talented cast, Shadows was the first film by director John Cassavetes and was made with a meager budget of $40,000. The film obviously focuses fully on the story and issues at hand and the brief 82 minute runtime flies by as the film keeps going full steam ahead. A great drama piece exploring the, rare at the time, issue with interracial relationships and is a genuine and realistic approach to the ideals explored.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/01/22

Full Review

William L

Shadows doesn't meet the same bar of technical competence that Cassavetes would bring to his later films, but it's a debut effort so some leeway can be given in that department. As a film on race that takes place between ordinary people without massive direct implications (in 1959, no less), Shadows shows a more conventional form of uneasy prejudice rather than a cross-burning, white-hooded disdain. The entire film hinges on a moment in which Ray's Tony realizes that Goldoni's Lelia, the woman he spent the previous night with, was actually black by virtue of her brothers' darker skin tone; objectively, nothing about her has changed from the moments of awkward intimacy that they shared before, but now Tony finds himself reconsidering his position as a result of his prejudice. There are no violent outbursts or theatrics, just mumbled excuses and uneasy glances. It's a nuance you wouldn't expect from a film that predates the heyday of the Civil Rights Movement, it must have been something to see upon release; in a modern context, it's not a mountain mover and doesn't necessarily compare well to some of Cassavetes' later work, but it's a solid first film for the rising American director. (3.5/5)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/28/21

Full Review

Audience Member

At it's best, it's a groundbreaking experimental film that opened the doors to a new wave of independent filmmaking a decade before Easy Rider. At it's worst, it's a mess that gets lost in it's experiment, and may lose the viewer at times too. Nevertheless, Cassavetes improvisational approach to filmmaking opened the doors to countless others who would go on to refine what he founded. Any of us who call ourselves filmmakers are indebted to his pioneering.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The best movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

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John Cassavetes

Director

Hugh Hurd

Hugh

Lelia Goldoni

Lelia

Ben Carruthers

Ben

Anthony Ray

Tony

Dennis Sallas

Dennis

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82%

91%

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44%

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50%

58%

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Derek Prouse

Sight & Sound

Shadows is not a film in which issues need to be resolved. It captures the tensions of its society on a vividly expressive level, and that is its strength.

Jan 11, 2020

Full Review

Jonas Mekas

Village Voice

[Shadows is] so far ahead of all Hollywood and independent films that once you've seen [it] you can no longer look at the official cinema: you know that American cinema can be more sensitive and intelligent.

Nov 18, 2017

Full Review

TIME Magazine

Again and again the line between acting and living is erased. Caught in the ecstasy of collective creation, a handful of earnest amateurs have almost accidentally produced a flawed but significant piece of folk art.

Sep 27, 2015

Full Review

Angelos Koutsourakis

PopMatters

Pure reproduction is not what interests Cassavetes and his films demand a more productive audience which is not content with consuming, but with producing meaning, too.

Rated: 10/10

Feb 21, 2024

Full Review

P.S. Harrison

Harrison's Reports

There is humor, pathos, romance, suspense, a back-alley brawl. The on-location backgrounds of Times Square, Greenwich Village, subways, cafeterias, bus terminals, add a great deal to the degree of realism.

Jul 9, 2020

Full Review

Phil Gordon

California Eagle

I found it most intriguing by its unusual qualities and new approach.

Jan 31, 2020

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Synopsis

At a party, Lelia (Lelia Goldoni), a young African-American girl with a light complexion, meets Tony (Anthony Ray), a somewhat callow white musician, and they begin a romance. Lelia thinks she's in love, but Tony is surprised when he meets her older brother, Hugh (Hugh Hurd), and realizes she's black. Hugh is an unsuccessful singer with a hostile attitude, while Lelia's other sibling, Ben (Ben Carruthers), is trying to make it as a trumpet player when he isn't getting into trouble.

Director: John Cassavetes
Screenwriter: John Cassavetes
Distributor: Orion Pictures, Criterion Collection
Production Co: Lion International
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 11, 1959, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 29, 2011
Runtime: 1h 21m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 16mm, 35mm

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