Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

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Movie
German title Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Original title Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1969
length 105 minutes
Rod
Director Paul Mazursky
script Paul Mazursky ,
Larry Tucker
production Larry Tucker
music Quincy Jones
camera Charles Lang
cut Stuart H. Pappé
occupation

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is an American film directed by Paul Mazursky . The script was written by Larry Tucker , who was also the producer, and Paul Mazursky. The main characters were Natalie Wood , Robert Culp , Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon . The music was composed by Quincy Jones . The cameraman was Charles Lang . The film was nominated for four Academy Awards. The film is based on a novel by Patricia Welles.

action

Bob and Carol return to Los Angeles after a weekend retreat full of emotional honesty, Esalen Institute style . They share their enthusiasm for their newfound philosophy of sexual openness with their more conservative friends Ted and Alice Henderson, who have their doubts about it. Shortly afterwards, the filmmaker Bob has an affair with a young production assistant while shooting a film in San Francisco. When he gets home, he admits the affair to Carol and describes the event as a purely physical, not an emotional act. To Bob's surprise, Carol fully accepts his extramarital behavior. Carol later gleefully reveals the matter to Ted and Alice as they leave a dinner party. Bob's infidelity and Carol's openness about it lead Alice to physical discomfort on the drive home.

Over time, Ted and Alice accept that Bob and Carol are satisfied with their sexual freedom. Ted later confesses to Bob that he was tempted to have an affair but couldn't pull it off. Bob tells Ted to be rational and cheat because even if tempted, he'll feel guilty afterward and at least have fun. On another visit to San Francisco, Bob decides not to meet the young woman again and instead returns home a day earlier. When he arrives, he discovers that Carol is having an affair with her tennis instructor. Although Bob is initially outraged, he quickly realizes that it was a purely physical encounter, like him. He sits down, chats and even drinks with the man.

When the two couples travel to Las Vegas together, Bob and Carol reveal Carol's affair. Ted then admits his recent affair on a business trip to Miami. Outraged, Alice concludes that this new ethos leads to its obvious conclusion: a foursome where they swap partners . Ted hesitates and explains that he loves Carol "like a sister". But later he finally admits that he does find her attractive. After talking about it, all four take off their clothes and climb into bed together. Bob and Alice swap kiss passionately, just like Ted and Carol, but after a few moments all four just stop.

In the end, the four of them ride the elevator together and leave the casino hand in hand with their original partners. Men and women of different cultures and races gather in the casino parking lot. The four main characters exchange long glances with each other and the strangers, which is reminiscent of the non-verbal communication that was shown earlier in the film. In this final scene, the movie's theme song reminds the viewer that “the world needs love now”. During the end credits, the couples look each other in the eye.

Soundtrack

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Soundtrack by Quincy Jones

Publication
(s)

1969

admission

1969

Label (s) Bell
bell 1200

Genre (s)

Film music

Title (number)

10

running time

31 min 41 s

production

Quincy Jones

The score was composed, arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones and featured Jackie DeShannon with Burt Bacharach and Hal David's “What the World Needs Now Is Love” and Sarah Vaughan with “I know that my Redeemer liveth” from Part III of Handel's Messiah . The soundtrack album was released in 1969 on the Bell label. The Vinyl Factory said, "In 1969, Jones produced this scintillating score, with its elaborate string arrangements and jazzy interludes. What sounds like a lot of work has gone into an unconventional soundtrack for an unconventional film about sexual experimentation."

Track list

All compositions by Quincy Jones unless otherwise noted

  1. "Main Title From Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (Handel's Hallelujah Chorus)" ( George Frideric Handel adapted from Quincy Jones) - 2:24
  2. "Sun Dance (Handel's Messiah Pt. 3)" (Handel adapted from Jones) - 3:46
  3. "Giggle Grass" - 2:30
  4. "Sweet Wheat" - 3:31
  5. "What The World Needs Now (Instrumental)" ( Burt Bacharach , Hal David ) - 3:07
  6. "What The World Needs Now" (Bacharach, David) - 3:48
  7. "Celebration of Life (Instrumental) (Handel's Hallelujah Chorus)" (Handel adapted from Jones) - 2:54
  8. "Sun Dance (Instrumental) (Handel's Messiah Pt. 3)" (Handel adapted from Jones) - 3:31
  9. "Dynamite" - 2:34
  10. "Flop Sweat" - 3:27

reception

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice was a hit with the box offices and critics. In 1969 , it was the fifth-highest grossing film at $ 31,208,099.

The Rotten Tomatoes film has 87% based also 15 reviews. The film service writes: “Largely funny satire on human inadequacies and on the ideals of the" love generation ". Although not always unerring in its parody zeal, Paul Mazursky's early work has its charm as a self-deprecating portrait of the eventful late sixties. "

Awards

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice was nominated for Best Cinematography , Best Original Screenplay , Best Supporting Actor (Elliott Gould), and Best Supporting Actress (Dyan Cannon) at the 1970 Academy Awards.

In 1969 he received the New York Film Critics Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best American Comedy Not Based on a Template.

TV adaptation

Screen Gems produced a short-lived sitcom of the same name based on the film from 1973 and 1974 for the US broadcaster ABC . The actors were Anita Gillette , Robert Urich , David Spielberg and Anne Archer . Ten-year-old Jodie Foster appeared as the daughter of Ted and Alice. In the film, the two had a son.

Since the film unique sexual nature was he was rated R . For the series, the content had to be defused and the characters were significantly weaker in their pronunciation and beliefs about sex. The series went badly and was therefore ended after a season.

In popular culture

  • An episode of New Girl in 2016 was called "Bob & Carol & Nick & Schmidt".
  • Together with Blume in Love (1973), Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice was the opening film for Quentin Tarantino's New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles in 2014 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice . In: Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  2. ^ Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. Retrieved February 10, 2020 .