Shadows
A film by John Cassavetes
Set amongst the lively milieu of artists and jazz musicians in bohemian 1950s New York, John Cassavetes’ directorial debut follows the doomed relationship between a young mixed-race woman Lelia (Lelia Goldoni) and Tony (Anthony Ray), a white man who betrays his prejudice when he meets Lelia’s brother, a struggling jazz singer. Shot on location with a cast and crew largely made up of amateurs and featuring a swinging, improvised score by Charles Mingus and Shafi Hadi, Shadows gave birth to a radical new film language grounded in authenticity, and is widely considered the first truly independent American film.
Format
Special features
- Presented in both high definition and standard definition.
- Audio commentary with Cassavetes collaborator Seymour Cassel and film critic Tom Charity.
- Falk on Cassavetes: the early years (DVD only, 13 min).
- 16mm footage of John Cassavetes and Burt Lane’s acting workshop (DVD only, 4 min).
- Theatrical trailer (DVD only, 4 min).
- Fully illustrated booklet featuring new essays and notes from Michael Atkinson, Brian Morton and Tom Charity.
Credits
Year
1959
Country
United States
Product information
Certificate
PG
Colour
Black/white
Subtitles
English for the hard-of-hearing
Original aspect ratio
1.33:1
DVD region
- 2 Europe (except Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus), Middle East, Egypt, Japan, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Greenland, French Overseas departments and territories
Blu-ray region
- B - Includes most European and Middle-Eastern countries, all of Africa, Australia and New Zealand
Catalogue number
BFIB1125