A Constant Forge
US, 2000, video, color, 200 min.
Subtitled "An Exploration of the Life and Art of John Cassavetes," this expansive new documentary is the film Cassavetes aficionados have been waiting for: a rich and meaty examination of the director’s working methods, thematic concerns, and artistic philosophy. Director Kiselyak interweaves readings of Cassavetes’s own words with in-depth interviews with members of the director’s "family" (Gena Rowlands, Seymour Cassel, Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, Leila Goldoni, Lynn Carlin), friends, and admirers. New material on Cassavetes’s little-discussed work as a theater director (with commentary from actors Jon Voight and Carol Kane) and as a songwriter (revealed through never-before-heard studio sessions with Cassavetes and composer Bo Harwood) is combined with impassioned, thoughtful reflections on what continues to make John Cassavetes such a unique and inspiring figure in the art of personal filmmaking.