A Woman under the Influence in 35mm

Added to the National Film Registry in 1990.

Added to the National Film Registry in 1990.

John Cassavetes’s seventh feature is a heartbreaking portrayal of a frustrated housewife (Gena Rowlands) losing grasp on reality, making it an urgent response to contemporaneous issues of second wave feminism. For their sixth collaboration, the husband-wife duo worked on a meager budget, with Cassavetes shooting in a real 1910s residence in Hollywood and star Rowlands doing her own makeup and hair. For this unmatched relationship drama, the singular Rowlands was nominated for Best Actress (she lost to Ellen Burstyn for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) and Cassavetes for Directing, his only nomination in the category.

DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: John Cassavetes. WITH: Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands. 1974. 155 min. USA. Color. English, Italian. Rated R. 35mm. Restored print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Restoration funding provided by The Film Foundation and GUCCI.

Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation. 

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