MovieChat Forums > I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale (2009) Discussion > Saw it in Boston

Saw it in Boston

posted 15 years ago by ghtx
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At the Independent Film Fest Boston (actually in Somerville). It was pretty entertaining, but also cheesy. It felt like a bonus feature on a DVD, and I would not be surprised at all if that is where it ends up, on a new reissue of, say, Dog Day or The Conversation.

It is mostly talking heads raving about how great Cazale was. Granted, it has some great talking heads, including DeNiro, Pacino, Gene Hackman, Coppola, and Sidney Lumet. They spend a lot of time talking about each performance, and even about individual scenes, which is not surprising since the guy only had like an hour of screen time his entire career.

The funniest part of the screening occurred when Brett Ratner's name came up in the credits. He's some sort of producer, and he also is one of the talking heads. Everyone in the theatre laughed or booed when he was announced. Luckily, he didn't tarnish the product.

[–] Yves-15 15 years ago

I saw it in Somerville at the same festival. I liked the film and went just for it. There were 3 other short films before it, but only one was good, Theo, about Theo Jansen, a Dutch sculptor who creates moving creatures from PVC piping.

I Knew It Was You was a biography of Cazale's work. There was some information about his life, but this piece was more about his performances. It makes the case that he was a really great actor, perhaps the best since Brando, but unfortunately, due to his early death, was not able to realize the acclaim he would have undoubtedly received had he lived longer.

People snickered when Brett Ratner was interviewed. I thought it was because he was one of the producers, and it made the film seem like a vanity project. I think he should have left himself out of the film as it did cheapen it a bit.