Gloria with Gena Rowlands

Not sure. Did you know Nick Cassavettes directed the Notebook, among other things? So he directed his Mom, Gena.

She really loved John.

First thing I thought of.

Ugh no. Wrong post!

Gina Rowlands is a fascinating actress, I liked her in “Gloria” but I think her best performance was in “Opening Night.”

Was she a real life alcoholic? She seemed to play them often.

I loved her and only her in “Skeleton Key”

Favorite trivia for me:

[quote] A story about a woman on the lam does not suggest an extensive wardrobe, but director John Cassavetes' "Gloria" is a very special gun moll. Gloria loves clothes and has the money to buy the best; as well, she has an eye for cut and color. Costume designer Peggy Farrell, who had recently won an Emmy for the TV drama, Holocaust (1978), and most recently had worked on Night of the Juggler (1980), showed Cassavetes examples of the work of numerous top designers. Struck by the quality of his fabrics and his print patterns, Cassavetes decided on the boutique collection of Emanuel Ungaro, a disciple of Balenciaga, and recognized as one of the last of the "grand couturiers". Ungaro was also a man with a keen sense of humor. His designs, as worn by lead actress Gena Rowlands in Gloria (1980) are Ungaro a la Cassavetes. Skirts have been shortened drastically and shoulders have been given additional padding; in fact, at the final fitting session, Cassavetes was so carried away with the padded look, he wanted them in the pajamas. An outraged look from his long-suffering wife and star Gena Rowlands put an end to that fantasy, but if Cassavetes could have had his way, the look for 1981 would have been pads on pads.

We had some kind of neighborhood brown-out one random afternoon, so my mom decided we should just go see a movie. Gloria was playing nearby so we went, not really knowing much about it beforehand. We all LOVED it - it was so unexpectedly fun and entertaining. We would quote random lines from it to each other for years.

[quote]Was she a real life alcoholic? She seemed to play them often.

Not sure about Gena, but John definitely was (died of cirrhosis at 59).

Re OP, I also remember being bothered by the forgotten cat. I hope it found a good home. Great movie though (and Rowlands looks fantastic throughout). Never saw the Sidney Lumet/Sharon Stone remake, but I can't imagine it holds a candle.

Gena: “Keep your legs together; it’s Ungaro”

Sharon: “But, I just feel...”

Gena: “Nobody cares how you feel. Keep your fucking legs together when seated. Kapiche?”

Something tells me that the kid grew up to be a hottie. He would be just a few years younger than me. Puerto Rican pinga goes from piquito at 10 to grande at 13, and at legal age, it's so tasty too, just like candy! And it remains tasty too for decades afterwards, especially with that sweet foreskin to chew on. Sorry, nibble on...no teeth unless they require it, and sometimes, they do.

Ewww, r11.

I think this is him.

I recall in an interview Rowlands said her favorite scene from all of her work was the subway scene in Gloria.

Google youtube another day on the subway

My browser currently won't post links.

LOVE THE FILM!

I happened to try and watch this last week and only could stomach 30 minutes. Cassavetes is a truly terrible director who indulges his actors to give unbearable performances. I noticed the cat issue too. She was holding it as she left her apartment,. put it down in the hallway to chase the kid, and then forgot about it as they left the building.

If you don't like Cassavetes, well then.

Yeah, I love Cassavettes. He was the best thing in the Dirty Dozen too.

John Cassavettes was ahead of his time. If you see interviews with Gena and him, she sits there mesmerized looking at him.

I remember watching this on “cable” back when it first came out. We live near foothills & cable-cable wasn’t available in our area so we had to have cable with a special antenna & lousy box, the sound came through the box itself & sounded horrible. I think the cable was called “Super Time” but went belly up & rebranded as Star TV. They showed Gloria practically on a loop & I remember seeing it at least twice. Really good film, loved Gena!

My vote for the worst child performance ever! She should have just thrown the kid right into their laps.

(has that ever been the topic of a DL Thread? Worst Child Performances of all time?)

"You're gonna shoot a poor, defenseless kid in the middle of the street???"

I would have LOVED this movie if they had done that.

Didn't the kid win a Razzie?

Kid is pretty annoying.

Lol r10, there’s a scene in the movie, shot from below, where Gloria is seated on some stairs while talking to Phil, and I chuckled to think of Lumet directing Stone here.

[quote] (has that ever been the topic of a DL Thread? Worst Child Performances of all time?)

Yes, and not just one. Here is the latest thread, see r29.

Speaking of "Holocaust" (at R6), is that available to watch anywhere?

Love this movie. It's often been copied or used for inspiration. The remake with Sharon was camp tragedy.

My favorite scene is the gunfight and after she shoots at a bunch of the thugs she throws her hand up and yells TAXI!

Who did that kid blow for the part?

John Cassavetes was hot, r18. I would have gazed adoringly at him. He was not a great director. He had good actors in his films, and he sometimes covered interesting subjects, but he could not cut the chaff from his films.

Buck Henry and Julie Carmen as a married couple was an odd choice.

Gena Rowlands is 2nd my favorite actress right behind Lange.

Gloria is an awesome film and Gena oozes charisma and is gorgeous.

Definitely Cassavetes most accessible film.

Also love her in the long forgotten Love Streams.

And of course Opening Night and A Woman Under The Influence.. And also love Unhook The Stars.

[quote]She was holding it as she left her apartment,. put it down in the hallway to chase the kid, and then forgot about it as they left the building.

That's not a plot hole like some suggest, it's on purpose. I hate that she left her cat behind because she had to chase down that little shit of a kid.

I think a LOT about Buck Henry's poor wife bringing back groceries at the beginning of the movie. Between the opening scenes and the cat getting left behind, I couldn't ever in a million years describe this movie as fun or entertaining.

The terror inside the fated family's apartment is riveting. Love this film.

Wouldn't it be "capisce", R10?

R31 I love Lange and Rowlands too!

Do you like Annette Bening, R35? She is probably my 3rd..

Anyway, I decided to watch Gloria and I am watching now!

R36 Yes! I vacillate between giving her the win for Being Julia (sublime work) and Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool (simply incandescent). Either way, she should have won by now!

Great movie.

The Sharon Stone remake is well done as well. One of the better remakes as it stays very close in tone to the original.

Holy shit (spoiler) BEST SCENE ever is about 30 minutes in when the gangsters pull up to Gloria and she goes full on Gun Moll/GANGSTER.

Such a classic.

Gena looks awesome shooting a gun

I have always loved that movie and even though the kid was sort of annoying he and Gena played off of each other very well. I Always wondered what happened to the kid . He never did anything else. I never heard how The Professional was a total and obvious rip off of Gloria. The Sharon Stone version was shit btw.

Linking to it does not work (for me anyway), but if you do a Google Image search for “John Adames Wall of Celebrities” you can view a reunion photo of Gena and the grown up kid.

R31 - I loved Love Streams as well - I found it very moving.

I do like Cassavetes, but he’s definitely a very particular type of filmmaker and an acquired taste. Like a lot of other modern art of the era, the ideas behind and technique of what he does is often as, or more, interesting that the actual finished product. For a movie they can be a very big, if not insurmountable, problem. What most of his movies need is just a much stronger edit - you can see the better, sharper film that’s in there - which is both fascinating and frustrating.

Love Gena. Look up her movie with Bette Davis on youtube. Strangers. It’s in 10 parts or I’d link it.

Also excellent, R43! Watched it on Youtube a year or so ago-

“Gloria” with Gena Rowlands, is an excellent movie! Gena was at the peak of her beauty and I think it’s her best work. The movie had a tough, realistic, gritty feel to it. Nothing was glamorous, except for Gena and her fabulous wardrobe. The Gloria character was fascinating. Gena deserved the Oscar for that performance.

R43 I also watched it on youtube, back when I was in Russia!

R45 As a lifelong devotee of drunken mimicry, I would rank Liza Minnelli's balls-out mesmerizing reprise of Linda Marolla Bach in Arthur 2: On the Rocks just above.

So maybe he should have been a producer and gotten a better cinematographer. His hearts better than most of Hollywood.

R39 Is that this scene?

R49- Yes it is. One of my favorite scenes in film!!!

Gene defines BROAD. Sexy. Tough - and the toughness protects a soft core. She was beautiful in a memorable way, not a plastic cut up, shaped to look like what IG fans will like (that's for YOU miss kardashian).

I loved her in Unhook the Stars. Not a perfect movie, but she's so moving in it. At the end, I teared up - I wanted to know where she was going - but I also didn't want to know, if that makes sense. Acting wise, she ran circles around Marisa Tomei. Her honorary Oscar was well deserved.

FWIW, I worked on a talent desk for Kevin Huvane (CAA) for a while. As a teen/20 something, he worked at the Dakota as an elevator boy. He said Gena and John were kind, talkative and incredible down to earth. He said John and Yoko (if you got her at the right time) were as well. He said some of the regular tenants treated the staff like shit but they treated them like family.

My favorite Gena Rowlands film is Woody Allen’s “Another Woman”.

The little kid won a Razzie award. That seems kind of mean. Was he bad? I don't remember.

He tied with Laurence Olivier for the first Razzie. (but that was the year the also nominated excellent stuff like Dressed to Kill and The Shining.)

I have now rewatched Gloria twice.

Definitely in my top 25.

There were even better scenes than what I mentioned above.

Spoiler-

When she finds the kid and pulls a gone on two gangsters and forces them into the bathroom- Fucking AWESOME.

Subway Scene.

The restaurant scene!!!!!

How the fuck this film didn't descend into camp is beyond me. It's all Gena and solid direction.

The best.

Fuck me. ^^. I meant "gun". Pulls a gun.

She's particularly lovely in [italic]Lonely Are the Brave[/italic], though her part is not that big.

Gotta say that this film is supremely underrated.

I have watched 2 times since this thread started and it is a fantastic film. All Gena. She was around 50!!!! Amazing.

And as dated as her "outfits" may look now-

Gena was like Alicia Silverstone in Clueless- parading around in Ungaro couture.

It takes the film to another level when you realize this.

Awesome.

And I had forgotten about the last 30 minutes where she initiates a sit down with "Tanzini". It's amazing. Excellent writing and suspense that doesn't require sound effects or any bullshit.

Eh, Gloria. Why don't you take a walk?

In which NYC apartment building did Tony live? Is that the Dakota?

Where can I watch for free?

Picksberg

The character actors in Gloria were expertly cast IMO. Marvelous faces. I don't recall seeing most of them in other films.

Yes, the Dakota and the line "a million bucks for an apartment and it's got a slow elevator" was an improv. (IIRC).

A few years ago I saw Rowlands walking in NYC. She's tiny.. Cassavetes must have been pocket sized.

R68 So how did director son Nick turn out to be 6'6"?

[quote] but then it disappears a la Cousin Oliver.

I think you mean a la Chuck Cunningham (on "Happy Days").

Cousin Oliver never disappeared off "The Brady Bunch."

Yeah Nick is quite tall which makes little sense. John was 5'7" at his tallest.