Shadows

Director John Cassavetes' first feature film, a cinéma vérité classic scored by Charles Mingus, follows three African-American siblings -- Hugh, Ben and light-skinned Lelia -- aspiring to make it in Beat-era Manhattan. Lelia (Lelia Goldoni) falls in love with a white man, who balks when he discovers that she is black. Cassavetes' use of montage, improvisation and non-professional actors influenced directors for decades to come.