Masks and Faces
By September 20, 2004
The disc of Faces that you now hold is the most beautiful copy possible of a film that was meant to look lousy. Digital technology painstakingly reproduces John Cassavetes’ lighting Read more »
- United States
- 1968
- 130 minutes
- Black and White
- 1.66:1
- English
- Spine #252
SYNOPSIS: The disintegration of a marriage is dissected in John Cassavetes’ searing Faces. Shot in high-contrast 16 mm black and white, the film follows the futile attempts of captain of industry Richard (John Marley) and his wife, Maria (Lynn Carlin), to escape the anguish of their empty marriage in the arms of others. Featuring astonishingly powerful, nervy performances from Marley, Carlin, and Cassavetes regulars Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel, Faces confronts suburban alienation and the battle of the sexes with a brutal honesty and compassion rarely matched in cinema.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
| Richard Forst | John Marley |
| Jeannie Rapp | Gena Rowlands |
| Maria Forst | Lynn Carlin |
| Chet | Seymour Cassel |
| Jim McCarthy | Val Avery |
| Freddie | Fred Draper |
Credits
| Director | John Cassavetes |
| Screenplay | John Cassavetes |
| Producer | Maurice McEndree |
| Cinematography | Al Ruban |
| Editing | Maurice McEndree and Al Ruban |
| Associate producer | Al Ruban |
| Camera operator | George Sims |
| Art direction | Phedon Papamichael |
| Set decoration | Lady Rowlands |
Disc Features
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET:
- Restored high-definition digital transfer
- Seventeen-minute alternate opening sequence, from an early edit of the film
- Episode of the French television series Cinéastes de notre temps, from 1968, dedicated to Cassavetes, featuring rare interviews and behind-the-scenes footage
- Making “Faces”, a 2004 documentary including interviews with actors Lynn Carlin, Seymour Cassel, and Gena Rowlands and director of photography Al Ruban
- Lighting & Shooting the Film, a short documentary from 2004 in which Ruban explains how he and the crew achieved the distinct look of Faces
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Stuart Klawans
From the CurrentView the Current »
Film Essays
Clippings
NOT-SO-SMILEY FACES
May 04, 2009
John Cassavetes’ Faces is certainly a movie to shout about . . . and maybe sing and laugh and cry and bray and tell bad jokes about, too. In a new article titled “Essential Read more »
