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‘Shadows’ was a vanguard work of the independent American cinema, a bittersweet comedy centred on three African-American outsiders - Lelia and his two jazz-musicians brothers living in Greenwich Village - two of whom pass for white and all are part of the late fifties ‘lost generation’. We follow Lelia through three brief romantic involvements. Although the film was recognised at the time for its treatment of race, Cassavetes saw this as incidental to the wider question of identity. His special commitment to expression through performance and a concomitant openness of form give his films a rough, uninflected, anecdotal quality (a form of ‘fictional cinema verite’). ‘Shadows’, like other Cassavetes’ films was fully scripted despite the reference in the end title to the film as ‘an improvisation’. Cast includes Lelia Goldoni, Ben Carruthers, Hugh Hurd.
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How to watch
Stream, rent or buy via
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
310908
Language
English
Audience classification
M (15+)
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Beat generation
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Film festivals - Italy - Venice - Awards
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Beat generation
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → United States - Race relations
Feature films → Feature films - United States
Music & Performing Arts → Acting
Music & Performing Arts → Beat generation
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)