SHADOWS ***

John Cassavetes shot his first film in the streets of New York and it was almost totally improvised, (for instance, all the characters are named for the actors playing them), taking race as his subject. There was no way this would play in Middle America but it broke new ground and established Cassavetes as a major talent, particularly in Europe, (it was nominated for Best Film from Any Source at the BAFTA's), where cinema meant a hell of a lot more than selling popcorn.

The plot is virtually irrelevant, in fact you might say it is non-existent, and the acting of Lelia Goldoni, Ben Carruthers and Hugh Hurd as the three siblings whose lives it follows, is ropy at best but the film has a raw intensity that still astonishes to this day. It's also probably the best record yet of what became known as 'the beat generation'. Over 50 years later young film-makers are still copying Cassavetes' style.