HUSBANDS (1970)
Written & Directed by John Cassavetes
Produced by Al Ruban
Released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
USA. 142 min. Rated PG-13
With Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, Jenny Lee Wright & Jenny Runacre
DVD Special Features: Commentary by Marshall Fine, author of the 2005 biography Accidental Genius: How John Cassavetes Invented The American Independent Film; a new mini-documentary “The Story of Husbands: A Tribute to John Cassavetes"; and the original 1970 trailer  

Cassavetes scholars will know, but many others may not, that at least two of his key films have been commercially unavailable for many years: his finest late-career effort, Love Streams (1984), and Husbands, although now we have Sony’s release of the latter to rectify a glaring omission in the digital catalog of Cassavetes’ most important films. With the release of the Criterion Collection box set in 2004, a major barrier to having most, if not all, of his seminal films was seemingly shattered, and Criterion made a valiant effort in doing so. However, the considerable hard work that Boston University Professor Ray Carney (the Cassavetes film expert and author of several books on the director) produced for the collection was glaringly and inexcusable omitted, due to alleged disagreements between Carney and Cassevetes’ widow, Gena Rowlands, over various issues—including the possible release of a previously unknown alternate version of one of Cassavetes’ early films. And although it’s great to have this new edition of Husbands, it’s merely a no-frills edition, with the basic extras but no other substantial supplementary material. Both the Criterion discs and this DVD of Husbands remain disappointing for these and many other reasons.

The positives here include a crisply remastered anamorphic print of the film, author Marshall Fine’s excellent and informative commentary, and a new 30-minute documentary/tribute to Cassavetes. Husbands remains one of Cassavetes’ best, a uniquely disquieting comedy-drama that follows three early-middle-aged friends from Long Island, Gus (Cassavetes), Harry (Ben Gazzara) and Archie (Peter Falk), on a journey through grief and self-discovery following the sudden death from a heart attack of their fourth best friend, Stuart. 

After the funeral, the three friends play basketball and go swimming, pull an all-nighter at a dive bar in Manhattan, and attempt to return to their jobs, but then Harry has a punch-up with his wife and mother-in-law, prompting him to decide to go to London, with Gus and Archie in tow. In London, the three check into a hotel, gamble, and pick up three women, including Gus’ uproarious encounter with the much taller Mary (Jenny Runacre, a new and brilliant acting discovery at the time). All three struggle with awkward attempts at infidelity, communication with each other, their curiously blunted emotional reaction to Stuart’s death, and the temptation to shirk all responsibility and, perhaps, recapture the glories of fading youth. This synopsis can only begin to describe Husbands, which runs the gamut from funny, sad, infuriating, to poignant in a heartbeat. As with all of Cassavetes’ work, it is not for those who prefer conventional Hollywood films, and was in fact produced with the exact opposite goal in mind.

Sony has produced an adequate release here, but several questions remain. Will we ever see a definitive edition of Husbands, containing any/all alternate versions, including the 154-minute preview version infamously screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival in October 1970 (at which middle-class college students berated Cassavetes and his cast for glorifying middle-class values), or even the fabled four-hours-plus rough cut that Ben Gazzara, to this day, calls his favorite version? (It’s not certain if this marathon edit survives).  BBC director Tristram Powell’s contemporaneous making-of documentary, produced with Cassavetes’ approval, would be a welcome addition, but is notably absent here. We can only hope that Love Streams will soon receive the full deluxe release it so richly deserves, along with perhaps yet another future expanded release of Husbands, so that serious Cassavetes fans can add more expansive, truly definitive editions of his films to their collections. As it is, this Husbands, while a most welcome effort, is decidedly not the definitive edition, which still remains to be assembled.         

The DVD extras may only whet viewers’ appetites for more in-depth information on Husbands and Cassavetes, and they would do well to seek out Fine’s biography and Ray Carney’s essential collection Cassavetes On Cassavetes, as well as Carney’s extensive website (people.bu.edu/rcarney/cassavetes) on the director’s career, since the full story of the production of Husbands (as with all of his films) is a particularly complex and fascinating one. Scott David Briggs
August 18, 2009