Synopsis
Broadway actress Myrtle Gordon (Gena Rowlands) rehearses for her latest play, about a woman unable to admit that she is aging. When she witnesses the accidental death of an adoring young fan, she begins to confront the personal and professional turmoil she faces in her own life. Featuring a moving performance by Rowlands (and with some scenes shot on stages with live audiences reacting freely to the writing and performing), John Cassavetes’ Opening Night exposes the drama of an actress who at great personal cost makes a part her own.
Cast
| Myrtle Gordon | Gena Rowlands |
| Maurice Aarons | John Cassavetes |
| Manny Victor | Ben Gazzara |
| Sarah Goode | Joan Blondell |
| David Samuels | Paul Stewart |
| Dorothy Victor | Zohra Lampert |
| Nancy Stein | Laura Johnson |
| Gus Simmons | John Tuell |
Credits
| Director | John Cassavetes |
| Producer | Al Ruban |
| Screenplay | John Cassavetes |
| Associate producer | Michael Lally |
| Sound/Composed music | Bo Harwood |
| Cinematography | Al Ruban |
| Camera operators | Frederick Elmes and Michael Ferris |
| Editing | Tom Cornwell |
| Art director | Bryan Ryman |
Disc Features
- New high-definition digital transfer, with restored image and sound, and enhanced for widescreen televisions
- New video conversation between actors Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara
- New video interview with director of photography and producer Al Ruban
- Audio interview with Cassavetes by film historians Michel Ciment and Michael Wilson conducted after the film’s release
- Trailers
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
From the Current
Opening Night: The Play’s the Thing
by Sep 20, 2004“I’m not acting,” stage star Myrtle Gordon (Gena Rowlands) tells her bemused director after a violent episode with her ghostly muse in Opening Night. That’s a loaded claim to be making in a movie that so conclusively smudges the line between acting and being, and indeed, Myrtle’s . . .
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