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Opening Night (Criterion Collection)

 

  Written and Directed by John Cassavetes

US 1977 / Drama / 144 min / Color / Monaural / 1.85:1 Widescreen  Anamorphic / NTSC /  In English with Optional  Thai and English Subtitles
Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, John Cassavetes, Joan Blondell, Paul Stewart, Zohra Lampert .

Gena Rowlands stars in Opening Night, Cassavetes's drama of an aging, alcoholic stage actress in the days leading up to her latest Broadway opening. Like all of her collaborations with her writer-director husband, Rowlands is a woman on the verge of collapse, this time a lonely alcoholic whose very life is a performance. Overlong at 144 minutes, the film's long, loose scenes build through uncomfortable small talk and slow, tentative confrontations. Some of the scenes are edgy and thrilling, though many find this facet of Cassavetes pretentious and self-indulgent. Ultimately it's a matter of taste: if you like his style, you'll love this discomforting drama.

 
       

Bonus Features:

- New high-definition digital transfer  with restored image and sound, and enhanced for widescreen television

- New video conversation between actors  Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara

- New video interview with director of photography and producer Al Ruban

- Audio interviews with Cassavetes  by film historians Michel Ciment and Michael Wilson conducted after the film's release

- Trailers