All five John Cazale films have been rated

Actor John Cazale is known not only for his talents and intensity as an actor, but also for having one of the most impressive filmography of any actor with a career as short as his. A prolific theater veteran, Cazale appeared in only five feature films before his sudden death from lung cancer in 1978 at the age of 42. However, these five films are often considered some of the best and most important films of the 1970s. Which says something.

Cazale appeared in three Francis Ford Coppola films (“The Godfather,” “The Godfather Part II,” and “The Conversation”), as well as Sidney Lumet’s thrilling bank robber drama “Dog Day Afternoon” And “The Deer Hunter” by Michael Cimino. Cazale played supporting roles in all of them. Each of them was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Three of them won.

Cazale’s film career was, of course, only a small part of his acting experience. Known for being cautious and shy, he made his stage debut in 1962 in a production of the play “JB.” He also performed in numerous off-Broadway shows such as “Spoon River Anthology,” “The Iceman Cometh,” and Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” (he played Angelo). In 1977, he was scheduled to make his Broadway debut playing Agamemnon in the first play of Aeschylus’ Oresteia trilogy. Cazale only played the role in the show’s first preview, as he had to withdraw for health reasons. He received a cancer diagnosis shortly afterward.

All of Cazale’s performances are marked by tragedy, as one can see how much talent and presence he had on the big screen. Had he remained healthy, there is every reason to believe that Cazale would have continued to give astonishing performances to interesting, ambitious filmmakers.

Of the five films he appears in, /Film offers the following (perhaps controversial) rating for their quality.

Michael Cimino’s intense Vietnam War drama “The Deer Hunter” is a pessimistic and thoughtful portrait of PTSD and the true depths to which it extends. The film revolves around a small group of friends from Pennsylvania’s Slavic community who are drafted for the war in 1968. Robert De Niro plays the more taciturn Mike Vronsky, while Christopher Walken wins an Oscar for playing Mike’s best friend, Nick, who suffers. More frankly after his war experience. And their war experience He was Horrible. While serving as soldiers, young Americans were captured by the Viet Cong and Forced to play Russian roulette games (Although they eventually escaped.)

John Cazale plays their hometown friend Stan, who regularly joins them on deer hunting trips. Cazale had already been diagnosed with terminal cancer when he signed on to play the role, and the story goes that De Niro and co-star Meryl Streep (who was dating Cazale at the time) had to petition to get his job. It was not possible to insure him, so De Niro also paid for his friend’s insurance; De Niro loved him very much. Cazale died before The Deer Hunter was released.

But “The Deer Hunter” ranks last due to its slow action. The story of PTSD, the traumas of war, and the horrors of combat are all prominent and powerful, but Cimino’s film opens with a 50-minute Robert Altman wedding sequence that feels strangely disconnected from the eventual tragedy of war. Cimino was trying to determine who these characters were, of course, but he allowed himself to drag on for too long.

It would be brave of me to list Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” at No. 4 on any list, because it regularly tops most lists as one of the best films of all time. However, this is less a testament to my personal taste, and more a comment on how amazing John Cazale’s filmography is. It’s also a commentary on Cazale’s role in the film, which is smaller and less important than in any of his other notable films.

In The Godfather, Casale plays Fredo Corleone, the middle son of mafia don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). “The Godfather” revolves mostly around Michael (Al Pacino), Vito’s youngest son, who begins the film resentful of his family’s criminal enterprise, but ends the film with control of the business. Michael is the only one who seems qualified enough to lead, and he takes on the responsibility he doesn’t want… But then he falls into the role very accurately by the end of “The Godfather.”

Fredo, on the other hand, is seen as somewhat weak-willed and definitely not fit for leadership. He only exists in the story as a “less preferred option” when it comes to leading the mafia. Meanwhile, Corleone’s eldest son, Sonny (James Caan), is extremely reckless. Only Michael, a reluctant villain, has enough money and the love of his family to take charge. There is a Shakespearean quality to “The Godfather” that highlights the tragedy of each character. Fredo’s tragic flaw is his lack of leadership skills.

Also, as we’ll learn later in “The Godfather Part II,” Fredo’s story is more than just “the other brother.”

In “The Godfather Part II”, Michael handles the mafia well and has internalized the need to kill anyone who might betray or expose the family. His brother has already been assassinated, and Fredo appears to be next in line when he betrays Michael to a rival family. Michael always suspected that Fredo might become a renegade, knowing that he did not have the constitution that would allow him to be in the mob. (Spoiler: Things don’t go well for Fredo in the movie.)

“The Godfather Part 2” is held in higher esteem than its predecessor because of its two-pronged story. Half of the film is about Michael’s continuing descent into moral depravity, while the other half is about him The younger version of Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone (now played by Robert De Niro) flees to the United States and finds a living in the world of crime. The Godfather Part II links the crime to Algerian-like American ambition, coupled with the limited opportunities available to immigrants.

“The Godfather Part II” is loved by movie fans and friends alike. Many understand the underlying tragedy of the film and how survival can turn into tyranny. Others admire Michael’s “take care of business” professionalism, as he combines his desire for violence with power. That there is any confusion at all reveals the film’s moral complexity.

In Coppola’s “The Conversation”. (released the same year as “The Godfather Part II”), Gene Hackman plays Harry Cole, a professional surveillance expert and wiretapper who takes his job seriously at the expense of everything else. He can listen extensively to distant conversations using advanced recording devices, but he is not very skilled at actual conversation. He tries to remain neutral about his spy skills, but feels guilty about what he is doing, especially when he learns what some of his agents do with the information he captures.

You see, Harry filmed a distant conversation between a couple in Union Square, and spent the bulk of the film remixing it in a way that made it listenable. What he finds is horrific and darker than he expected. “The Conversation” is a fascinating commentary on the use of modern media to penetrate a new moral snarl, dealt with by a technically minded engineer who cannot use his engineering to escape it.

John Cazale plays Cole’s assistant, Stan, and is almost the “regular” counterpart to Harry. He knows a lot about recording equipment, but he doesn’t have the light touch that Harry does. He also seems more able to get out of the room and lead a normal life. Stan is a reminder that there are real people in this universe.

Cazale’s best film is Sidney Lumet’s 1975 bank robbery film “Dog Day Afternoon.” The most attractive thing about Lumet’s film is how shabby the main characters are. They are not professional thieves and their plan goes horribly wrong. A bank robbery turns into a hostage situation very quickly, and the need to get a little money soon becomes a media spectacle. Leading the effort is Sonny Wortzick (Al Pacino), who, as viewers eventually learn, has been robbing the bank to pay for sex-reassignment surgery for his trans girlfriend (Chris Sarandon), who still lives by her dead name. John Cazale plays Sal, one of Sonny’s compatriots, who declares himself willing to engage in violence if necessary. He’s kind of a scary character.

“Dog Day Afternoon” was based on a real-life robbery committed by John Wojtowiczwho also intended to secure sex reassignment money for his trans girlfriend (a woman named Elizabeth Eden). Although Wojtowicz didn’t get the money he wanted from the robbery, he did make a huge sum from selling the film rights to his life story. Thanks to the success of “Dog Day Afternoon,” Aiden was able to undergo reassignment surgery. I got married after that.

Lumet’s film is a heartfelt, humane crime thriller anchored in frank discussions of queerness and strange love. It’s also an intense, sweaty thriller that interrogates the police state (Sonny’s chanting of “Attica” is a reference to police violence in a nearby prison), as well as a poignant tale of romantic despair. It’s one of the best films of the 1970s, and for my money, the best film in Cazale’s impressive series.