TV REVIEW : Cassavetes: ‘Freedom to Be Free’

If Debbie Gilbert’s “John Cassavetes,” the second of the “American Masters” one-hour documentaries on key American directors, gets carried away in its claim that Cassavetes “changed the face of the American cinema”--a look at the movie ads on these pages will disprove that--it does give an idea of what he was all about and what he accomplished in his 59 years. (The program airs at 10 p.m. on Channel 28 and at 9 p.m. on Channel 15.)

In the quarter of a century between “Shadows” (1959) and “Love Streams” (1984), Cassavetes did succeed in creating a series of gritty, intimate and influential films that were at odds with the big, slick Hollywood pictures in which Cassavetes sometimes acted in order to be able to do what he wanted.

Directors Peter Bogdanovich and Martin Scorsese and actors Peter Falk and Ben Gazzara all contribute to defining Cassavetes as a filmmaker concerned with getting at the often explosive truth of human emotions and relationships.

Gazzara explains that, despite the rough-around-the-edges look of Cassavetes’ pictures, he was actually not an improviser: “He rehearsed thoroughly, he created friendships that allowed his actors the freedom to be free. He found things, he changed things, but it was all written down.”

Gazzara’s words are borne out by the program’s second half, Tristram Powell’s invaluable 1971 “The Making of ‘Husbands,’ ” which shows Cassavetes at work on one of his very best films, a story about three 40ish New York men (played by Gazzara, Falk and Cassavetes) who try to shake off the intimations of mortality caused by the untimely death of one their friends by taking off for London for a boozy, woman-chasing spree.

On the set we see Cassavetes as a true collaborator, eliciting input from one and all but having a clear idea of what he wanted. We watch the characters develop so much from the actors’ own personalities that the line between the actor and the role begins to blur.

There are insightful remarks from Cassavetes’ producer/cinematographer Al Ruban--”He tried to establish an emotional line rather than a story line . . . and he was not afraid to torture his audience”; from Lelia Goldoni, the star of “Shadows,” and from his friend and frequent collaborator Seymour Cassel, who contributes a hilarious anecdote about how Cassavetes talked a man who held them up into putting down his gun and instead taking a role in “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.” (“So help me God, he gets more work than I do.”)

There can be no discussion of Cassavetes without noting the contributions of Gena Rowlands, Cassavetes’ beautiful and talented wife of 30 years, who is seen in clips from “Faces” and, most notably, “A Woman Under the Influence,” in which she gave one of her most remarkable performances as a blue-collar housewife struggling to maintain her grip on reality.

What is poignant about the scenes from “The Making of ‘Husbands’ ” is that they bring back memories--both on screen and off--of Cassavetes’ distinctive laugh, a high, wheezy chuckle that expressed an endlessly amused compassion for his fellow human beings.

Cassavetes died far too early in February, 1989, but he did leave behind a legacy of work that will only grow in stature with the passing years.