I KNEW IT WAS YOU : REDISCOVERING JOHN CAZALE

In the 1970’s John Cazale starred in five motion pictures all of which were nominated for Best Picture Oscars (with 4 of them winning them). His co-stars were the heavyweights of the profession and between them they collected another 12 Oscars for their work in these classic movies, and in this HBO Documentary they lined up one after another to wax lyrically about their peer.  Yet nobody outside of their world can even remember his name.

Born in 1935 in Revere Massachusetts and of Italian descent, his first job in New York was a messenger where he worked alongside another would-be actor Al Pacino.  The two of them were doing summer stock and staying in a communal house in Provincetown when Israel Horowitz cast them in his latest play which won both men Obie Awards back in N.Y. and turned out to be their breakthrough roles.

Pacino’s star rose quickly and he was already cast as Michael in ‘The Godfather’ when Cazale landed his first major movie role as Fredo his older brother.  He went on to star alongside Pacino in ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ as well as reprising his role as Fredo in ‘The Godfather Part 11’ in which in one the movie’s most memorable scenes, Michael finally accuses his brother of betrayal with ‘I knew it was you’ …..giving us the title for this look back at both the actor and the man.

His other two roles were in ‘The Conversation’ and then finally in ‘The Deer Hunter’ by which time his lung cancer had kicked in and as the Producers could not get insurance on him, Robert DeNiro personally underwrote the risk as everybody knew that Cazale was perfect for the part.  He died in 1978 before the movie could be released at the age of 42 years old.

The passion for his craft was the focus of what all the actors that were interviewed for this doc raved about.  That, and the fact that he brought such a sharp intensity to each and every role as Pacino testified, it made everyone else in that same scene give much better performances.  His love of the theater also gave him the love of his life …..Meryl Streep, who met him when they were performing Shakespeare in the The Park, and they later starred in ‘The Deerhunter’ together too, and she was with him until the very end. 

This is such a fascinating glimpse into an extraordinary man that achieved so much and left such a fine body of work as his legacy. It makes for a perfect record to help us remember the man whose face (from ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ in my case) is etched in our memories, but not his name.  It certainly has triggered me to want to o back and re-look at each of the five magnificent movies he was in, and re-discover John Cazale.

★★★★★★★★★