Gena Rowlands,
Ben Gazzara,
John Cassavetes,
Joan Blondell,
Paul Stewart
... see more 
John Cassavetes' Opening Night stars Gena Rowlands (Mrs. Cassavetes) as end-of-tether Broadway actress Myrtle Gordon. She is about to open in a play written by her old friend Sarah Goode (Joan Blondel... read more
Your Rating
Flixster Reviews (204)
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October 2, 2009Cassavetes is probably the coolest filmmaker of all time. His films are like having a whiskey and a cigar in some quiet little jazz club somewhere. This cast is to die for, Rowlands, Gazzara, Blondell and Cassavetes are brilliant. The improvisation isn't always on the ball and al... read more
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April 22, 2008Cassavetes gritty feeling blends well with backstage drama. Gena Rowlands is great wonderfully backed by Joan Blondell in one of her best latter day performances.
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February 13, 2012Gena Rowlands is great once again in Cassavtes's "Opening Night". I liked the film especially the madness from the characters. The improvisation is at it's finest but as for the film, I'm not sure if it's great. "Opening Night" is too long and some scenes drag and questions raise... read more
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January 8, 2010So this is basically three movies in one, but all the parts work so well because the entire thing is anchored by another stellar performance by Gena Rowlands. The best part for me, though, has to be her and Cassavetes lighting up the screen in the final 15-20 mins.
If I were an ... read more -
December 10, 2009I had the luck to watch this years ago on the silver screen,during a retrospective of Cassavetes work. I watched this again on dvd and I would watch it again countless times. Far more than just a star's guilt trip or raging madness, this film was made for the love of the theatre.... read more
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August 2, 2011The acting in Opening Night is superb - easily the best part of the movie. Gena Rowlands is wonderful as an extremely troubled actress. The parts that are the most arresting are when we see Rowlands' character in her everyday life and how she is completely losing control. However... read more
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November 21, 2009John Cassavetes is notorious for making really dull and listless films. He's also a bit vane for starring in his own films. Who does he think he is? M. Night Shymalan?
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September 5, 2008This is the kind of old movie I like. It's from the 70s, it's slow moving, it feels kind of classic. And perhaps most importantly, Cassavetes is a forerunner of independent cinema in America.
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March 12, 2008As expected, features some pitched dynamic interplay between Rowlands and Gazzara. By this point, Cassavetes could do no wrong with the camera.
Critic Reviews
July 28, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety
July 28, 2008
Jeff Menell, Hollywood Reporter
John Cassavetes was unique in his visions and his films.
July 28, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Juggling onstage and offstage action, Cassavetes makes this a fascinating look at some of the internal mechanisms and conflicts that create theatrical fiction. Full Review
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The scenes in which Myrtle consults first one and then another spiritualist are typical of Cassavetes's genius in filming madness. Full Review
September 11, 2008
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Intriguing but enigmatic backstage theater melodrama with shades of All About Eve. Full Review
August 11, 2008
Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser
The unpredictability of Rowlands' character brings one surprise after another to the narrative as the other characters scramble to accommodate or cajole her, and the surprises are often as funny as th...
July 28, 2008
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
As per usual it features a superb cast, including the ever-present Gena Rowlands, who successfully improvise their way the film. Full Review
June 23, 2008
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
As densely layered and difficult as anything else Cassavetes ever directed, as dense as any American film from the 1970s. Full Review
June 15, 2007
Derek Malcolm, This is London
the film is almost suffocatingly long, even though its ideas about actors, acting and real life are among Cassavetes's most intriguing. Full Review
June 15, 2007
Total Film
As you might expect, coming from indie godfather John Cassavetes, 1977's Opening Night is something else, a weird, raw, ragged portrait of an actress on the verge of a Full Review
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Opening Night
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