This year we mark three decades since the release of John Cassavetes’ last film, Big Trouble, in 1986. Truth is, I’ve never seen Big Trouble — Cassavetes stepped-in to helm the troubled production when the original writer/director bailed on the project. For most fans of Cassavetes, his last film was the 1984 marital drama Love Streams which included his usual cast of actors, and his constant themes of love, art, madness and messy humanity. Love Streams won the Golden Bear in Berlin, and one gets the sense that Big Trouble was just an excuse for Cassavetes to direct another picture in the face of his failing health. Cassavetes suffered from hepatitis complicated by drinking, and he died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1989.

Here’s a BBC Channel 4 Cinephile documentary from 1993 featuring Cassavetes’ cast member Peter Falk recalling the director’s films and their friendship…

Stay Awake!

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