John Cassavetes's 'Opening Night' (1977)
Her Head in FilmsMay 21, 202401:55:36

John Cassavetes's 'Opening Night' (1977)

In this episode, I talk about John Cassavetes's 1977 film, "Opening Night." It's about an actress named Myrtle Gordon (played by the magnificent Gena Rowlands) who witnesses the death of one of her fans and begins to spiral into a breakdown as she struggles to do a play that forces her to confront her feelings about aging. I talk all about why I love this film and Gena's performance but I also talk about some complicated and overwhelming feelings I've had since turning 30 last year and how women can feel anxiety about getting older in a world that worships youth. There are spoilers in this episode.


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Original logo by Dhiyanah Hassan (https://www.bydhiyanah.com/)


Full Show Notes:

• Use the code "CINEMA" to get your first month free at OVID.TV (https://www.ovid.tv/)
• My favorite films on OVID (https://www.ovid.tv/her-head-in-films)
• My episode on John Cassavetes's A Woman Under the Influence (https://herheadinfilms.simplecast.com/episodes/66a3b15c)
• My Mubi list about films about acting (https://mubi.com/lists/the-acting-life)
• La Vie En Rose (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450188/)
• Sylvia Plath's Collected Poems (https://www.faber.co.uk/9780571118380-collected-poems.html)
• "Mirror" by Sylvia Plath (https://genius.com/Sylvia-plath-mirror-annotated)
• My episode on The Night of the Hunter (https://herheadinfilms.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-112-charles-laughtons-the-night-of-the-hunter-1955)

All My Sources

• John Cassavetes: Interviews (edited by Gabriella Oldham) (https://www.google.com/books/edition/John_Cassavetes/uoYWDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover)
• Criterion Collection edition of OPENING NIGHT (https://www.criterion.com/films/957-opening-night)