Husbands

Husbands

Criterion Collection Edition #1029

The trailblazing independent auteur John Cassavetes pushes his raw, uncompromising emotional realism to its limit in this unflinching portrait of masculinity in crisis. Cassavetes joins Ben Gazzara and Peter Falk—both of whom would become key collaborators of the director’s—playing a trio of middle-aged Long Island family men who, following the sudden death of their close mutual friend, channel their grief into an epic, multiday bender that takes them from Manhattan to London in a desperate, debauched quest to feel alive. By turns painfully funny and woundingly perceptive, this “comedy about life, death, and freedom” (as its tagline stated) stands as perhaps the most fearless, harrowingly honest deconstruction of American manhood ever committed to film.

Husbands
  • Husbands

    Directed by John Cassavetes • 1970 • United States
    Starring Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, John Cassavetes

    The trailblazing independent auteur John Cassavetes pushes his raw, uncompromising emotional realism to its limit in this unflinching portrait of masculinity in crisis. Cassavetes joins Ben Gazza...

Extras

  • HUSBANDS Commentary

    The following audio commentary by John Cassavetes biographer Marshall Fine was recorded in 2009.

  • Al Ruban on HUSBANDS

    In the following interview, produced in 2020, producer Al Ruban recalls his experience working on HUSBANDS and the creative charisma of John Cassavetes.

  • Jenny Runacre on HUSBANDS

    For HUSBANDS’ London sequence, director-actor John Cassavetes cast three women for a series of intimate scenes. In the following program, produced by Criterion in 2020, actor Jenny Runacre speaks candidly about her experience working opposite Cassavetes.

  • John Cassavetes on Acting

    The following video essay by filmmaker Daniel Raim, created in 2020, uses audio recordings of HUSBANDS director John Cassavetes discussing his style of directing to explore his spirited approach to working with actors.

  • The Story of HUSBANDS – A Tribute to John Cassavetes

    Here, actor Ben Gazzara, cinematographer Victor J. Kemper, and producer Al Ruban share their fond memories of director-actor John Cassavetes and of filming HUSBANDS with him. The program was produced by Greg Carson in 2008.

  • John Cassavetes, Peter Falk, and Ben Gazzara on “The Dick Cavett Show”

    To promote the release of HUSBANDS, director-actor John Cassavetes and actors Peter Falk and Ben Gazzara taped the September 21, 1970, episode of “The Dick Cavett Show,” which is presented here.