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Mood:
- ContemplativeSincereThought ProvokingGloomy
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Plot:
- Couple RelationsFriendshipInterracial RelationsParents and ChildrenSocial DifferencesArtists and ShowbizLifestyleLove and Romance more...
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Genres:
- DramaIndependentRomance
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Time/Period:
- 20th Century50s
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Place:
- New YorkUSA
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Praise:
- Critically AcclaimedMasterpiece
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Style:
- Ensemble CastTalky
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Attitudes:
- SeriousRealisticSlow
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Shadows, 1959
English
USA
Profile of Shadows
The mood of Shadows is thought provoking, contemplative, and sincere. The plot centers around interracial relations, social differences, and couples relations. It is a drama, independent, and romance movie. Stylistically, Shadows stars an ensemble cast and is talky. In approach, it is serious and realistic. The pacing is slow. Shadows is set in New York. It happens in the 1950s. The movie is known for being a masterpiece and critically acclaimed.
Summary of Shadows
When actor John Cassavetes, frustrated with the lack of reality in movies in the late 1950s, decided to direct his own low-budget film, a new form of cinema was born. Defined as "an improvisation" in the closing credits, Shadows concerns three New York siblings whose mixed racial backgrounds create tension in their relationships. Hugh (Hugh Herd) is a dark-skinned jazz singer who can only find work that belittles his talent; Lelia (Lelia Goldoni), a light-skinned aspiring writer; and Ben (Ben Carruthers), the youngest, a light-skinned ladies man who spends his nights searching with his white friends for conquests. Hugh and Ben argue over Ben's inability to accept his racial background, an issue that reaches its boiling point when Lelia develops a relationship with Tony (Anthony Ray), a racist. The film boasts a gritty, compelling style, and Charles Mingus's bouncy jazz score enhances the frenetic camera work to give it a documentary-like feel. The performances, all naturalistic and seemingly unrehearsed, add even greater realism to Cassavetes's vision, resulting in a visionary work that is widely considered the first independent American film.
Details
| Language: | English |
| Country: | USA |
| Release date: | 11 November 1959 |
| Runtime: | 81 min |
Cast and Crew
as Ben
as Lelia
Photos
Clips
