Customer Reviews

Cassavetes Directs: John Cassavetes and the Making of Love Streams

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It's rare to find a book that allows you to experience what it's like to be on a film set. In fact, it's better than being on a film set, because all the delays and frustrations that go into making a movie are avoided (though they are mentioned briefly in the book). Luckily, the film in question is the final masterpiece of John Cassavetes, the man who started the independent film movement. He hired a journalist, Michael Ventura, to visit the set each day and write a book about the making of "Love Streams", and the result is extremely thorough without being tedious. It's an entertaining read that offers a rare, day-to-day glimpse of a genius at work and the various people who helped him bring his vision to life. If you're a fan, you will not be able to put this book down. It is a wonderful companion to Ventura's behind-the-scenes documentary "I'm Almost Not Crazy" (which contains a lot of the moments described in the book) and to Ray Carney's Cassavetes on Cassavetes, the definitive tome on the man's life and career. It's a shame that Ventura's book wasn't published in Cassavetes' lifetime, but at least now we have it to study and enjoy forever. I think he would be pleased.

There are great nuts-and-bolts examples of Cassavetes filmmaking method, told by a person with an underlined admiration for this individual. The author really does work as the fly on the wall. I wish more of these types of journals existed for Cassavetes' other films.