I can’t make this sh!t up.
He appeared in only five movies. All five were nominated for Best Picture.
And you probably don’t know his name (I didn’t):
He was also engaged to arguably the best actress of the time right before he died: Meryl Streep.
Thanks to Derek Wayne Johnson for mentioning this documentary in this interview with Matthew Sherwood.
Watch “I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale”
You can watch “I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale” for free on YouTube by clicking the video embed above or here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2ySeLYguBM
Here’s a backup link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67VSqxVcjvw
Check here for other streaming options besides YouTube: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/i-knew-it-was-you-rediscovering-john-cazale
Ratings:
- My Rating: 92/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.8
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: Users: 85/100; Critics: 83/100
Release Date: June 16, 2009
My Review of”I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale”
John Cazale is unforgettable, even if you can’t always remember why.
In “I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale,” director Richard Shepard takes us on a heartfelt journey to rediscover the man behind some of the most iconic films of the 1970s.
For someone who only appeared in five films, John Cazale’s impact on cinema is staggering.
He Made Only 5 Movies (all nominated for Best Picture)
You’ve seen him as Fredo Corleone in “The Godfather” and “The Godfather Part II”.
You’ve marveled at his intensity in “Dog Day Afternoon” and his subtle presence in “The Deer Hunter”.
Yet, chances are, you may not know his name.
This documentary changes that. It reintroduces us to Cazale and highlights his lasting legacy.
John Cazale’s film career is brief but legendary.
- 1972 – The Godfather (played Fredo Corleone)
- 1974 – The Conversation (played Stan)
- 1974 – The Godfather Part II (played Fredo Corleone)
- 1975 – Dog Day Afternoon (played Sal)
- 1978 – The Deer Hunter (played Stan)
Over the span of just six years, he worked with directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, and Michael Cimino, and shared the screen with acting titans like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Meryl Streep.
Cazale died tragically young at 42, succumbing to lung cancer before the release of “The Deer Hunter.”
But every single one of his films was nominated for Best Picture.
Let that sink in—every one of his five films. That’s a statistic almost no actor can match.
Shepard’s documentary isn’t just a tribute. It’s an excavation.
Through interviews with Cazale’s co-stars, directors, and friends, we’re invited to explore the nuances that made this man so remarkable on and off-screen.
Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Meryl Streep, who was also his partner, offer insights into what made him tick, what made him different, and why he still resonates today.
His Roles: A Quiet Storm
The core of Cazale’s brilliance lay in his ability to play fragile, complex characters who teeter on the edge of greatness and failure.
Take Fredo Corleone from “The Godfather” series. In a world of power-hungry, violent men, Fredo is soft, almost pitiable, but you never look away. Fredo’s betrayal of his family isn’t shocking because it’s some grand act of rebellion.
It’s tragic because it’s Fredo’s final attempt to claim any sense of importance, any shred of identity, within a world that will never let him be more than the bumbling brother. Pacino describes Cazale as “…the most tragic figure you could imagine,” and you can feel that depth in every scene he’s in.
In “Dog Day Afternoon,” Cazale plays Sal, a nervous and quiet bank robber. The character barely speaks, but Cazale fills the silence with tension.
There’s a moment in the film when Pacino’s character, Sonny, asks Sal what country he wants to escape to, and Sal’s answer is heartbreaking: “Wyoming.”
It’s absurd and tragic, but in Cazale’s hands, that one word is a window into the mind of a man who doesn’t really know what freedom looks like.
The documentary showcases these moments, allowing us to understand how Cazale’s performances weren’t flashy or show-stealing. They were steady, powerful, and essential to the films’ emotional cores.
Without him, these films lose their balance.
De Niro admits that “John was my acting partner,” and that after his passing, there was a void in his work that no one could fill.
A Director’s Dream Actor
Cazale wasn’t just an actor’s actor—he was a director’s dream. Sidney Lumet, who directed Cazale in “Dog Day Afternoon,” calls him “…one of the greatest actors of his time.”
Lumet praises Cazale’s precision and dedication, noting how he could convey an entire character’s backstory with just a look or a gesture. You get the sense that Cazale didn’t act from the outside in, but from the inside out. He became his characters.
Even in “The Deer Hunter,” where Cazale was gravely ill, his performance is astonishing. Michael Cimino, the film’s director, explains that they had to shoot around Cazale’s deteriorating health, but he never let it affect his work.
His presence in the film is haunting, especially in light of knowing that it was his final role.
In “The Conversation” (1974), directed by Coppola, Cazale plays a technician in surveillance, another small yet critical role. His ability to make supporting roles feel central to the story’s emotional gravity was his trademark.
He was never the leading man in traditional terms, but his influence on those who were is undeniable.
The Love Story: Meryl Streep and John Cazale
One of the most touching aspects of Shepard’s doc is its portrayal of Cazale’s relationship with Meryl Streep. They met while performing on stage in New York and fell deeply in love.
Their relationship became one of the great unsung love stories in Hollywood. Streep was at Cazale’s side through his battle with cancer, even taking roles in theater near the hospital where he was being treated so she could spend every moment with him.
The documentary doesn’t shy away from the heartbreak of Cazale’s final days. Streep, in one of her few interviews on the subject, speaks about Cazale with palpable emotion, reflecting on the intense love they shared and the devastating loss she felt after his death.
It’s a raw, beautiful part of the film that deepens our understanding of both Cazale’s personal and professional life.
The Legacy We Didn’t Know We Had
Shepard’s film isn’t just for cinephiles or die-hard 70s film buffs. It’s for anyone who loves film, period. The documentary makes a case that Cazale’s work, while often underappreciated by the general public, has been quietly shaping our cinematic world for decades. Directors like Brett Ratner and Philip Seymour Hoffman (who sadly also passed too soon) express how Cazale’s authenticity and devotion to the craft influenced their approach to filmmaking and acting.
A surprising revelation from the film is that Cazale’s influence extends beyond the screen. His work has become a point of study in acting schools across the world. His performances, though few, are seen as masterclasses in subtlety and emotional complexity.
Cazale’s friends describe him as deeply humble, someone who never sought the spotlight. Shepard uncovers rare archival footage from his stage work, as well as interviews with lesser-known collaborators, adding richness to the portrait of the man. He was a loyal friend, fiercely intelligent, and incredibly shy. But once the camera was on, all of that fell away, and you saw the raw, unfiltered brilliance of John Cazale.
The Road Not Taken
As with any story of someone who died young, “I Knew It Was You” is filled with an overwhelming sense of what could have been. What roles would Cazale have taken on if he’d lived?
How would his career have evolved?
Pacino reflects on this, saying, “There was so much more to come.”
It’s a sentiment shared by everyone who knew him.
Cazale’s legacy is defined not just by what he did but by the knowledge that we only saw a fraction of what he was capable of.
The Lasting Impact
At 40 minutes, Shepard’s documentary is short, but it packs a punch.
It leaves you wondering how you could have missed Cazale’s name in the roll call of Hollywood greats. It also reminds us that cinema is not just about the stars who carry the film but also about those who shape its heart.
John Cazale was one of those actors. And while his career was brief, his influence is everlasting.
In the end, “I Knew It Was You” is a love letter to an actor who never sought fame but found greatness nonetheless. After watching this doc, you’ll never forget his name again.
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly
Chief Maniac, Daily Doc