A Woman Under the Influence (1974) - The Criterion Collection

Synopsis

John Cassavetes’ devastating drama details the emotional breakdown of a suburban housewife and her family’s struggle to save her from herself. Starring Peter Falk and Gena Rowlands (in two of the most harrowing screen performances of the 1970s) as a married couple deeply in love yet unable to express that love in terms the other can understand, the film is an uncompromising portrait of domestic turmoil. The Criterion Collection is proud to present one of the benchmark films of American independent cinema—a heroic document from a true maverick director.

Cast

Nick Longhetti	Peter Falk
Mabel Longhetti	Gena Rowlands
George Mortensen	Fred Draper
Martha Mortensen	Lady Rowlands
Mama Longhetti	Katherine Cassavetes
Angelo Longhetti	Matthew Laborteaux
Tony Longhetti	Matthew Cassel
Maria Longhetti	Christina Grisanti
Garson Cross	O.G. Dunn
Harold Jensen	Mario Gallo
Dr. Zepp	Eddie Shaw

Credits

Director	John Cassavetes
Written and directed by	John Cassavetes
Producer	Sam Shaw
Editing	David Armstrong and Sheila Viseltear
Sound and music	Bo Harwood
Lighting	Mitchell Breit
Additional photography	Caleb Deschanel
Camera operators	Michael Ferris and David Nowell
Supervising film editor	Tom Cornwell
In charge of postproduction	Robert Heffernan
Art direction	Phedon Papamichael

Disc Features

Restored high-definition digital transfer
Audio commentary featuring longtime John Cassavetes collaborators Michael Ferris (camera operator) and Bo Harwood (sound recordist/composer)
Video conversation between actors Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk
Audio interview with Cassavetes by film historians Michel Ciment and Michael Wilson, conducted in 1975
Trailer
Stills gallery featuring rare behind-the-scenes production photos
PLUS: An essay by film critic Kent Jones and an interview with Cassavetes from 1975

From the Current

A BRAND-NEW WOMAN AT MoMA

Oct 27, 2009

For Halloween week, the Museum of Modern Art is showcasing a different kind of horror film. John Cassavetes’s domestic meltdown epic A Woman Under the Influence (which Kent Jones calls “alternately soaring and gut-wrenching” . . .

Press Notes: Portraits of Cassavetes

Nov 18, 2008

Just when you thought it was safe to return to the tripod, he’s baa-ack. “Cassavetes earned a belated place in film history,” writes Darrell Hartman in his Artforum piece marking the Criterion breakout releases of A Woman . . .

A Woman Under the Influence:
The War at Home

by Kent Jones Sep 20, 2004

If there’s one quality that separates John Cassavetes’ movies from almost everybody else’s, it’s the density of detail in the storytelling. His films need to be read closely, from beginning to end. There are no lulls with Cassavetes, no breaks in rhythm; they’re not broken down the way most . . .