Auteur 01: Cassavetes

Cassavetes most accomplished achievement. Staggeringly honest. Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk are mesmerizing.

Cassavetes in his most jaw-dropping and revealing portrayal of flawed characters. Unforgettable.

Cassavetes' final masterpiece. A culmination of his life's work. Filmmaking like this is as rare as a three-eyed cat.

The screwiest screwball comedy there is. One of the most unique "true love" stories. Seymour Cassel and Rowlands are truly remarkable.

Cassavetes' first masterpiece. Incredibly groundbreaking for its time. True hysteria captured with an uflinching eye.

The definitive Cassavetes film. His attempt at film noir. Brilliant stuff. To hell with "slick" moviemaking!

Cassavetes' most challenging film. Perfectly capturing the female star dealing with old age. This was his and Gena's answer to Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"

Cassavetes wrote this script with Gena in mind. He never intended on directing it. It's most definitely his most commercial film. (Leon the Professional stole a great deal from it.) Rowlands is a sight to behold and the child actor is also absolutely wonderful. Despite its Hollywood story (and over the top score), Cassavetes still manages to imbue definitive non-cliche moments, with original dialogue and honest character moments.

Cassavetes' groundbreaking debut. While the French New Wave were making headlines overseas, Cassavetes was unassumingly making this little gem. Instigating the birth of Independent American Cinema.

The best Cassavetes film not made by Cassavetes. Elaine May directed this masterpiece film noir. Cassavetes stars (and co-wrote) along with Peter Falk. May is one of the most underrated filmmakers of the 70s.