For anyone smack-dab in the middle of a John Cassavetes obsession.

Excellent. Seemingly aimless and meandering, yet somehow structured so that the 3+ hour running time seemed to go by in half the time. This made me want to go back to the Cassavetes films I liked to delve deeper and to revisit the ones I didn't to ... (read more) Excellent. Seemingly aimless and meandering, yet somehow structured so that the 3+ hour running time seemed to go by in half the time. This made me want to go back to the Cassavetes films I liked to delve deeper and to revisit the ones I didn't to give them another shot (although I'll still probably sit on Opening Night for a while).

Fascinating, even at such a hefty running time. Aimlessly constructed, like a good sit-down with loved ones. Clued me in to how overlooked Cassavetes is as a screenwriter.

This is a relatively strong documentary. I think perhaps I give it extra marks simply because it is about a director whose work I greatly admire -- John Cassavetes. This documentary shows a strong passion for Cassavetes' work, and part of that is dri... (read more) This is a relatively strong documentary. I think perhaps I give it extra marks simply because it is about a director whose work I greatly admire -- John Cassavetes. This documentary shows a strong passion for Cassavetes' work, and part of that is driven by the loving words and stories that his closest collaborators (Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Seymous Cassel, Ben Gazzara...) share with us in lengthy interviews.

At 3 hours 20 minutes, this documentary could use some trimming. The structure is a little too loose and meandering for my taste, but we do come away enlightened and given a new sense of love for Cassavetes' work. I would have liked to see more visual material of Cassavetes. There is some fantastic stuff out there which really shows what kind of a person he was. His fantastic interview alongside Gazzara and Falk on The Dick Cavett Show is a good example of this. His personality really shines through. I did enjoy how the documentary was, in a way, narrated posthumously by Cassavetes himself, as it makes great use of extensive audio interviews that were conducted with him (many of which are reproduced on the Criterion DVDs).

Great documentary on Cassavetes, includes interviews with him and the people that knew him.