John Cassavetes is the father of the American independent movie, and his debut "Shadows" (1958) has acquired something of a cult status during the years.
The movie is noteworthy both with respect to method (based on improvisation) as well as with respect to content (racial discrimination when this was a subject Hollywood prefered to avoid). The scene where Lelia (African American but with a rather pale skin) comes home after a night out with a lover and this lover is startled by her much darker brother and subsequently don't know how to behave is really harrowing. In comparison with this scene a film like "Guess who's coming to dinner" (1967, Stanley Kramer) looks really polished.
The poster of "Shadows" very much looks like the poster of "Menschen am Sonntag" (1930, various directors) and the two movies also heve similarities with respect to other elements. Both films are treating the daily life of ordinary people in a big city. Both films are made by rather inexperienced directors. In "Menschen am Sonntag" the period is the '20s and the big city is Berlin. In "Shadows" the period is the '50s and the city is New York.
I found "Menschen am Sonntag" the better film and I had to think a while to know why. I think is is because the dialogues in "Shadows" (and especially the dialogues of Lelia) are a little forced or artificial. , Maybe the reason is to make the theme of racial discrimination more clear, but it is at odds with a story that tells the daily life of ordinary people. The second reason is that many scenes are inside. This prevents the big city to play its role as an "extra character" such as in "The neked city" (1948, Jules Dassin, "Manhattan" (1979, Woody Allen) or ...... "Menschen am Sonntag".
The movie is noteworthy both with respect to method (based on improvisation) as well as with respect to content (racial discrimination when this was a subject Hollywood prefered to avoid). The scene where Lelia (African American but with a rather pale skin) comes home after a night out with a lover and this lover is startled by her much darker brother and subsequently don't know how to behave is really harrowing. In comparison with this scene a film like "Guess who's coming to dinner" (1967, Stanley Kramer) looks really polished.
The poster of "Shadows" very much looks like the poster of "Menschen am Sonntag" (1930, various directors) and the two movies also heve similarities with respect to other elements. Both films are treating the daily life of ordinary people in a big city. Both films are made by rather inexperienced directors. In "Menschen am Sonntag" the period is the '20s and the big city is Berlin. In "Shadows" the period is the '50s and the city is New York.
I found "Menschen am Sonntag" the better film and I had to think a while to know why. I think is is because the dialogues in "Shadows" (and especially the dialogues of Lelia) are a little forced or artificial. , Maybe the reason is to make the theme of racial discrimination more clear, but it is at odds with a story that tells the daily life of ordinary people. The second reason is that many scenes are inside. This prevents the big city to play its role as an "extra character" such as in "The neked city" (1948, Jules Dassin, "Manhattan" (1979, Woody Allen) or ...... "Menschen am Sonntag".