Martin Scorsese names the leader of the New Hollywood revolution: “He broke all the rules”
Various factors led to the transformative period of cinematic progression that occurred during the 1960s, resulting in a wave of directors who took the art of filmmaking to new heights that were grittier and more shocking than ever before.
Censorship had ruled Hollywood for several decades in the form of the Hays Code, only to be disregarded in 1968, subsequently making way for explorations of topics that were previously taboo, such as interracial relationships or homosexuality. Meanwhile, international cinema was gaining traction in America, opening many budding filmmakers’ minds to the avant-garde and daring ideas pioneered by the likes of Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni.
With many studio productions flopping during the 1950s and early 1960s, and the introduction of television proving detrimental, Hollywood needed to find a new way to keep audiences interested in visiting the cinema. Surprisingly, this period of weakness in the film industry allowed for more experimental filmmakers to emerge, resulting in a completely new era of American cinema.
Film polymath Martin Scorsese was a key figure, initially making several low-budget films inspired by B-movies and European cinema, like Who’s That Knocking at My Door and Boxcar Bertha, before finding widespread acclaim with Mean Streets in 1973. He defined the New Hollywood era, taking a seat alongside the likes of Francis Ford Coppola and Brian De Palma as icons of this revolutionary period.
Yet, he credits a certain figure who emerged just before the New Hollywood movement truly kicked into gear as the “leader”. Most people credit Arthur Penn’s 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde as an incendiary moment in American cinema, but in 1959, John Cassavetes made his feature film debut, Shadows, causing a shockwave to ripple through Hollywood.
Scorsese once explained in Film History: An International Journal, “On one hand, we had Citizen Kane, Powell/Pressburger, John Ford, and Fritz Lang. On the other hand, we had the whole revolution in production and style coming out of the late fifties. John Cassavetes was the leader of this revolution.”
While the director was hugely inspired by these other filmmakers (in fact, Powell and Pressburger have perhaps had the most enormous impact on him out of anyone), he was hugely inspired by Cassavetes’ disregard for rules. Shadows is an improvisational, jazz-fuelled look at race in New York, which used techniques like on-location shooting and handheld cameras. It was a seminal moment in American cinema, although due to its experimental approach and exploration of race, it remained controversial.
The film marked a stark change from the studio-led and flawless productions being championed in the mainstream; Cassavetes wasn’t afraid to allow his film to look and feel unpolished—it felt real. As his career as a director continued, he made more iconic films that would become landmarks of American filmmaking, like Faces, A Woman Under the Influence, and Opening Night.
Often collaborating with his wife, Gena Rowlands, Cassavetes, also an actor himself, truly proved that the actor is the director’s medium, mining terrific performances from his stars without fail. “He was able to combine interpretive drama and its emphasis on character with a style that seemed to have the immediacy of documentary. In the process, he broke all the rules,” Scorsese added.
Intimate and rebellious, Cassavetes’ work has influenced practically every American filmmaker who has come after him, so Scorsese’s declaration of his revolutionary genius isn’t exactly far-fetched.
