I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale

"Sure, that's Fredo," responds a random passerby after the director of this documentary portrait shows him a photograph of the conspicuously familiar face of an actor whose name he can't quite remember. John Cazale (1935–1978), one of the most intriguing acting personalities of the 1970s, appeared in five famous films before his exceptionally promising career was cut short by a debilitating illness and premature death. The Godfather: Parts I and II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter. All five movies were nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award, and that's thanks in part to the unmistakable charisma of this multifaceted actor. Many admire the human qualities and acting prowess of the man with a gloomy expression and sometimes a thin mustache, including his close friend Al Pacino, onetime partner Meryl Streep, Francis Ford Coppola, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Sidney Lumet, and Brett Ratner. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)