Love Streams (1984)

[Scottie]

Love Streams Blu-ray PRE-ORDER

The electric filmmaking genius John Cassavetes and his brilliant wife and collaborator Gena Rowlands give luminous, fragile performances as two closely bound, emotionally wounded characters who reunite after years apart. Exhilarating and risky, mixing sober realism with surreal flourishes, Love Streams is a remarkable film that comes at the viewer in a torrent of beautiful, erratic feeling. This inquiry into the nature of love in all its forms was Cassavetes’s last truly personal work.

Disc Features
New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
New audio commentary featuring writer Michael Ventura
New video essay on actor Gena Rowlands by film critic Sheila O’Malley
New interviews with executive producer and director of photography Al Ruban and actor Diahnne Abbott
Interview from 2008 with actor Seymour Cassel
“I’m Almost Not Crazy . . .”—John Cassavetes: The Man and His Work (1984), a sixty-minute documentary by Ventura on the making of Love Streams
Trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Dennis Lim and a 1984 piece by Cassavetes on the film from the New York Times

[NoirFan]

Cassavetes’s last truly personal work.

Take that, Big Trouble! Looks like a very nice collection of extras.

[Hazel Motes]

SO SO SO SO STOKED.

This has been on my top 5 list of titles Id like to see criterion release FOREVER.

[iamnoone]

Love Streams is a great Cassavetes film, one of his best. If you have any passing interest at all in Cassavetes, you should check it out. It's shocking that such an excellent film never even saw a DVD release, until now, of course.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by iamnoone

It's shocking that such an excellent film never even saw a DVD release, until now, of course.

I believe it was tied up in rights issues.

[MTRodaba2468]

This will go nicely with my Cassavetes set...

[Fred Sliman]

Fantastic and completely unexpected! Been looking at the box for my broken VHS too long now.

[Aunt Peg]

I have the French DVD which has French subtitles that cannot be removed.

However, I'll wait to replace it as I suspect MoC will also release this and I'm Region B locked and have no plans to go Multi Region where Blu Ray is concerned.

[pro-bassoonist]

Love Streams Blu-ray REVIEW



Great new 2K restoration. And as usual, Criterion deliver an outstanding selection of bonus features. In the long documentary -- as well as in the film, of course -- it is easy to see that Cassavetes was very ill at the time when he shot Love Streams. Great audio commentary, probably one of the best from Criterion this year.

Hopefully, we will soon see Gloria transition to Blu-ray



Pro-B

[malakaheso]

Gloria is lousy in my view, but Love Streams captures an artist in transition. It's more polished and obviously 'cinematic' than J.C's previous work, but it's still very much a film in his trademark style.

Can't wait to see it again as I only saw the French dvd years ago with the hard subs. The transfer was ordinary too from memory.

[pro-bassoonist]

The new 2K restoration is fabulous. In fact, in my opinion this is currently the best looking Cassavetes film on Blu-ray. You will like the technical presentation a lot

Pro-B

[malakaheso]

Fantastic news, and i very much appreciate you posting the cover of the blu-ray too btw. Glad it isn't one of those bulky digi things.

[pro-bassoonist]

You are very welcome, malakaheso

(There are usually more packaging photos in the review).

Pro-B

[malakaheso]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

I believe it was tied up in rights issues.

I heard it was to do with music.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

Gloria is lousy in my view, but Love Streams captures an artist in transition. It's more polished and obviously 'cinematic' than J.C's previous work, but it's still very much a film in his trademark style.

Can't wait to see it again as I only saw the French dvd years ago with the hard subs. The transfer was ordinary too from memory.

You don't find Opening Night polished and 'cinematic' ? That film already largely left the grainy hand held look behind and it is beautifully shot and art directed.

I disagree that Gloria is lousy. It's a little too long and the child actor who plays the boy isn't great, but Gena Rowlands tears through the film in full "tough broad" mode which is always worth watching, as are the gritty pre-gentrification New York locations.

I haven't seen Love Streams since it came out, for a long time it was difficult to see, so I'm looking forward to revisiting the film.

[PowellPressburger]

I want Love Streams badly but I may need to hold off for the NOV Barnes sale. If I have the patience lol It is good to know the transfer is really great. I think my favorite Rowlands is probably Opening Night. I do like Gloria, I agree it isn't the best film by a long shot but I do love Gena in it a lot.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

I do like Gloria, I agree it isn't the best film by a long shot but I do love Gena in it a lot.

I saw Gloria over 30 years ago on HBO during my childhood, and, for some reason, it really left a mark on me and I remember quite a lot of it even today. I'd love for Criterion to pick it up as a title.

It's funny how certain films that we see at the age of 10 or so can really burrow in our minds for so long even if we have not seen them since.

I'm going to wait until the big November sale for Love Streams, since I have not yet watched the John Cassavetes: Five Films set that I bought at the sale last month.

[StonesEGF]

I am immensely grateful to Criterion for introducing me to so many great films, especially to those by Cassavetes and Antonioni. Love Streams is one title that I will not be resist buying before the November B&N sale.

[Scottie]

Re-releasing on June 29 without DVDs.