Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice

Starring:Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, Dyan Cannon, Horst Ebersberg, Lee Bergere, Donald F. Muhich, Noble Lee Holderread Jr., K.T. Stevens, Celeste Yarnall, Lynn Borden, Linda Burton, Greg Mullavy, Andre Philippe, Diane Berghoff, John Halloran, Susan Merin, Jeffrey Walker, Vicki Thal, Joyce Easton
Director: Paul Mazursky
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

While its particulars remain rooted in the sexual revolution of the late 1960s, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is remarkably timeless as a classic comedy of manners. Making an impressive, high-profile directorial debut after success as a screenwriter, Paul Mazursky took the pulse of California society better than anyone, especially with this well-cast, sharply observant comedy that begins when sophisticated couple Bob and Carol (Robert Culp, Natalie Wood) attend a weekend retreat that opens their eyes to the possibilities of open marriage and mutual acceptance of extramarital affairs. When they reveal their newfound liberties to straightlaced couple Ted and Alice (Elliott Gould, Dyan Cannon), the subtle, behavioral richness of the largely improvisational screenplay (by Mazursky and Larry Tucker) rises to the surface, conveyed through the kind of natural rhythms and pauses that were dramatically in vogue in the fast-changing Hollywood of 1969. The film hasn't lost any of its punch, perhaps because American sexual politics have returned to the conservatism that existed before Bob and Carol emerged as the signature comedy of the swinging sixties. The absence of the late Natalie Wood is the only drawback to the DVD's excellent commentary, which reunites Mazursky, Culp, Gould, and Cannon in a casual atmosphere of humorous reminiscence. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Wild House.......2007-05-24

Strangely enough I got this DVD because I recently purchased a house in Hamilton New Zealand that was built by a local builder who was inspired by the Spanish style house in the movie. He built it in 1974 for him and his family. He and his wife seperated in the early eighties (probably had swinger parties, which as was shown in the movie always end in tears)Anyway I thought the movie was quite funny and the house is as groovy today as it was back then.
Cheers

THE BEST!!!.......2007-04-05

If you have not seen the movie Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice..........drop everything you are doing and take the time to see it ! Be prepared to laugh until your stomach aches ! I must admit that the type of humor is, well, different to say the least. It is extremely dry and if you do not have any knowledge of lifestyles in the 70's, you may be a little "in the fog" on this one. But give it a try ! It is worth the time ! I consider it a classic in my personal collection. :)

"First, we'll have an orgy. Then we'll go see Tony Bennett. ".......2007-02-20

Capturing the sexual revolution of the late sixties, this comedy presents two married couples, free-thinking and ready (or so they think) for an open marriage Bob (Robert Culp) and Carol (Natalie Wood) and their best friends, a more traditional couple, Ted (Elliot Gould) and Alice (Dyan Cannon). I love the film and I believe that it has aged very well. Its theme and the way it was presented are definitely not dated. Many scenes are hilarious and superbly acted by all four main characters, Gould and Cannon being outstanding. I also believe that 60s was the best dressed decade for women (don't like pirate shirts for men, though :)) and I enjoyed the beauty of the film. It's got real class that is timeless.

Elephant Talk? .......2006-08-14

In my consumer guide mode, I should first mention one very simple way to tell whether you might like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice--do you like films that are almost all dialogue? If not, you should stay away from this one, because that's 90 percent of it. It's very poignant and often clever dialogue, but dialogue nonetheless.

A dialogue-laden film can't succeed without grand performances, and we get just that from the four principal actors. I was especially impressed with Elliott Gould, partially because I haven't always liked him in other films.

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice deals with normal, middle class couples in the late 1960s who are trying to deal with and adapt to cultural spillover from the then-popular hippie movement. Bob (Robert Culp) is a filmmaker who wants to do a documentary on something of a "personal exploration retreat". While initially checking the retreat out, he and wife Carol (Natalie Wood) completely forget about the film and become wrapped up in the personal exploration taking place. When they get back home, they introduce their new approach to life and interpersonal communications to best friends Ted (Gould) and Alice (Dyan Cannon), who think that Bob and Carol have gone a bit looney. They really think that when later Carol suddenly announces that Bob had a brief affair with another woman and they're both happy with it. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice then becomes primarily an exploration of how average middle class folks deal with attempts to incorporate hippie sexual liberation beliefs into their lives.

It's a great idea, handled with aplomb by writer-director Paul Mazursky and co-writer Larry Tucker. Interestingly, Mazursky revisited the same basic ideas in Scenes from a Mall (1991), which enabled him to show how much popular cultural attitudes had changed between the late 1960s and the early 1990s. Here, the cultural clash between hippies and the middle class allows him to adeptly explore a number of themes, ranging from hippie ideals as a trend to be followed rather than ideals that are believed in for their own sake, to the psychological conflicts of intrinsic desires either against other intrinsic desires or against cultural conditioning and expectations. Mazursky employs an artful restraint so that these themes are only implicit, but they're definitely present.

The ending of the film is highly unusual but effective, although especially for me--as someone who champions extremely liberal sexuality and thinks monogamy isn't really a great idea--there was a contradictory one-two punch of being disheartening, then shortly after uplifting. The effect of the final scene was a bit enigmatically ambiguous. But I don't think that's a bad thing at all.

I Feel This Film Holds Up Remarkably Well.......2006-05-09

Unlike alot of the films rooted in the counterculture of the sixties, "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice" dates well because essentially it is a film that champions fidelity. How else do you expose the shallow aspects of free love without making a farce of it? Director-writer Paul Mazursky doesn't bludgeon his point home but gently tweaks it. The film is also helped that Bob (Robert Culp) and Carol(Natalie Wood) are fully-fleshed characters and not stereotypical new-agers to be mocked. You may laugh at their foibles but you do not laugh at their characters. The more interesting characters are the staid Ted(Elliott Gould) and Alice(Dyan Cannon) who the audience can probably most identify with. Ted and Alice are conservative Yuppie types who may verbalize horror at their swinging compatriots but subliminally fantasize about their lifestyle. All the principal actors are good here and the laugh quota is extremely high.

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