Starring Gena Rowlands
6 Episodes
Gena Rowlands forever changed the face of screen acting with her raw emotional realism and immersive approach to performance, which blurred the lines between actor and character to the point of no return. Fearlessly exploring the extreme edges of human relationships and emotion in films like the shattering marital X-ray FACES and the harrowing mental-illness drama A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE, Rowlands brought a searing psychological intensity and edgy unpredictability to her portrayals of complicated, troubled, fully alive women. Bringing together four of her landmark collaborations with her husband, the revolutionary independent filmmaker John Cassavetes, alongside later work with directors Paul Mazursky (TEMPEST, also starring Cassavetes) and Jim Jarmusch (NIGHT ON EARTH), this tribute to Rowlands’s artistry is rich with some of the most dynamic performances in all of twentieth-century cinema.
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Shadows
Episode 1
Directed by John Cassavetes • 1959 • United States
Starring Lelia Goldoni, Anthony Ray, Hugh HurdJohn Cassavetes’s directorial debut revolves around a romance in New York City between Lelia (Lelia Goldoni), a light- skinned black woman, and Tony (Anthony Ray), a white man. The relationship is p...
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Faces
Episode 2
Directed by John Cassavetes • 1968 • United States
Starring John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Gena RowlandsJohn Cassavetes puts a disintegrating marriage under the microscope in the searing FACES. Shot in high-contrast 16 mm black and white, the film follows the futile attempts of the captain of indust...
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2:27:02Episode 3
A Woman Under the Influence
Episode 3
Directed by John Cassavetes • 1974 • United States
Starring Gena Rowlands, Peter FalkThis uncompromising portrait of domestic turmoil details the emotional breakdown of a suburban housewife and her family’s struggle to save her from herself. Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk give unforgettably harro...
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2:24:22Episode 4
Opening Night
Episode 4
Directed by John Cassavetes • 1977 • United States
Starring Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Ben GazzaraWhile in the midst of rehearsals for her latest play, Broadway actor Myrtle Gordon (Gena Rowlands) witnesses the accidental death of an adoring young fan, after which she begins to confront th...
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2:08:18Episode 5
Night on Earth
Episode 5
Directed by Jim Jarmusch • 1991 • France, United Kingdom, Germany, United States, Japan
Starring Gena Rowlands, Winona Ryder, Rosie PerezFive cities. Five taxicabs. A multitude of strangers in the night. Jim Jarmusch assembled an extraordinary international cast of actors (including Gena Rowlan...
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24:16Episode 6
Watching Gena Rowlands
Episode 6