Shadows

1958
PG
1h 27m

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

13K

YOUR RATING

Cassavetes' jazz-scored improvisational film explores interracial friendships and relationships in Beat-Era (1950s) New York City.

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78 Photos

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Cassavetes' jazz-scored improvisational film explores interracial friendships and relationships in Beat-Era (1950s) New York City.Cassavetes' jazz-scored improvisational film explores interracial friendships and relationships in Beat-Era (1950s) New York City.Cassavetes' jazz-scored improvisational film explores interracial friendships and relationships in Beat-Era (1950s) New York City.

Director
- John Cassavetes
Writers
- Robert Alan Aurthur
- John Cassavetes
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

13K

YOUR RATING

Director
- John Cassavetes
Writers
- Robert Alan Aurthur
- John Cassavetes
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 4 BAFTA Awards
- 2 wins & 5 nominations total

User reviews64

Featured review

Like it was made yesterday...and reading recommendations

This is a great movie. Like it was made yesterday. Punk, beat in sensibility. About young people struggling on the fringes.

But I am mainly writing to mention that a guy named Ray Carney just wrote an astonishing book about the movie that has incredible behind the scenes details that no one ever knew before. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Cassavetes revealed things to Carney before he died in a Rosebud conversation that he had never told anyone about the film--like the fact that most of it was scripted and not improvised as the final title indicates. The book is titled Shadows and is available in any well stocked store. Carney is also the author of another WONDERFUL book titled Cassavetes on Cassavetes. Carney also has a web site that you should check out with lots of other Cassavetes material. The site is accessible from any search engine--if you type in Cassavetes' name--if you want to read even more behind the scenes stories about how Shadows and the other films were made.

Videos2

Photos78

+ 71

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Storyline

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Trivia
John Cassavetes screened the movie in 1957 and 1958, but because of poor response he went back and re-shot about half of the film in 1959. The first version of the film was believed to be lost for almost 50 years. In the mid-1980s Prof. Ray Carney began his search for the film after talking to Cassavetes about the first version. Carney searched almost everywhere but was led to dead ends for 20 years. Finally, in 2002, he was contacted by a woman who said her father, a junk dealer, had a cardboard box with a film called "Shadows". It turned out to be the first version and not the second one. The print was in pristine condition.

Goofs
When Tony takes Lelia back to her apartment, Ben, Dennis, and Tom are sitting around the table playing poker and trying to arranges some dates. All three bear the marks of a fight that won't take place until near the end of the movie.

Quotes
Lelia: I thought being with you would be so important - would mean so much. That afterwards two people would be as close as it's possible to get. But, instead, we're just two strangers.

Crazy credits
"Presented by Jean Shepherd's Night People"

Alternate versions
Cassavetes screened a finished version of Shadows in 1957 and 1958 that ran 78 minutes. Part of the original negative of this version was used for the 1959 version, which was completely re-shot with new actors. In 2002, Prof. Ray Carney of Boston University discovered the only remaining 16mm copy of this earlier version.