Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Blu-ray Movie Review

The price of free love.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 19, 2019

There is probably no film which better captures the spirit of the so-called “swinging sixties” (for better or worse, I’m sure some may be thinking) than Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Paul Mazursky’s then revolutionary 1969 take on what was at the time becoming known as “open marriage” and which has morphed in modern parlance into “polyamory”. While another unavoidably related vestige of the sixties, the “sexual revolution”, is an underpinning of the film, and the entire outing is decidedly anarchistic (especially when placed in the context of a supposedly “mainstream” major studio film of that time period), what’s kind of now ironically funny about parts of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is how quaint it all seems. As the film begins, the opening strains of the “Hallelujah Chorus” play under scenes of a bunch of nudists communing with nature at a retreat that could probably be compared at least in passing to Esalen (in the old commentary ported over to this release, Dyan Cannon “confesses” to Paul Mazursky that her experience on this film led to her attending Esalen retreats regularly). The sight of a bunch of “full frontal” women cavorting and/or meditating (as the case may be) probably shocked “polite” audiences even in the freewheeling year of 1969, but it almost seems positively old fashioned to jaded modern sensibilities. As David Cairns kind of humorously mentions in his appreciation of the film included on this disc as a supplement, the very fact that Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is so securely tethered to the time of its original release has probably meant that the film has drifted in and out (and in again) of favor through the years, and so contemporary reactions may depend as much on some kind of knowledge of the zeitgeist of the late sixties as it may on any personal preferences.

The connection to Esalen is probably reinforced even more strongly once the film moves past the nudists to get to what is a kind of a "long form" encounter group meeting which may also remind some people of programs like EST. That’s where Bob (Robert Culp) and Carol (Natalie Wood) are “properly” introduced, after some initial shots of them driving to the location. There’s a kind of now hilarious “groovy” feeling to the film even in these opening, supposedly floridly emotional, moments, but it’s part of Mazursky’s cheekier proclivities that the audience is obviously being encouraged to at least giggle at some of the excesses, even if some emotional dysfunctions are being disclosed. Mazursky isn't especially subtle in positing Bob as a documentary filmmaker ostensibly at "The Institute" to do research on an upcoming project, only to get so wrapped up in the techniques that his life is changed. In one of the film's more dated aspects, Carol seems to be something of a hanger on, and in fact in her introduction to the group she announces that the only reason she came is because Bob came.

When the two get back to "civilization", they share their new found "wisdom" with another couple, Ted (Elliott Gould) and Alice (Dyan Cannon), who, despite being apparently at least a little younger, are decidedly less progressive than Bob and Carol. The bulk of the rest of the film explores the dialectic between the forward thinking, and arguably intentionally provocative, Bob and Carol, and the more uptight, restrained Ted and Alice. Along the way, marital infidelity is explored, with a lot of nascent "New Age" hooey (a technical term) being bandied about by characters who emphasize how they feel over how they think, when it's obvious that they often think their spouses are behaving like lunatics.

Mazursky is an arch social critic, but in my personal estimation, aspects of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice simply haven’t aged all that well. The film also perhaps doesn’t entirely have the courage of its zeitgeist (so to speak), hinting toward the end that “traditional” marriage is here to stay, no matter how many “new, improved” formulations come along. Still, there’s a rather acute perception of relationships at play in the film, and the four central characters are brought winningly to life by the star quartet (Gould and Cannon each received Academy Award nominations for their performances).

( Trivia alert for those interested: I haven’t been able to confirm this, but after having seen this film for the first time in years, I was struck that one of the non-talking participants at The Institute looks like she was played by future Ma Walton Michael Learned.)

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet provides only the following fairly generic verbiage about the transfer:

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with 1.0 mono audio. The master was preapred in High Definition by Sony Pictures and delivered to Arrow Films.

Sony/Columbia has been one of the more reliable curators of its catalog as it transitions into the digital realm and high definition, and this transfer is largely very nice looking, with a couple of variances. The palette, while surprisingly bright and vivid at times (especially with regard to blues — keep your eyes peeled for a bathrobe Bob wears), does look slightly faded at various points, including the opening scenes in The Institute and some later material in various home environments. Detail levels are often quite inviting, especially in midrange and close-ups, where fabrics on outfits look precise and some of the late sixties quasi-psychedelic patterns resolve without any problems. Grain is just a bit variable, spiking kind of unusually at times (watch during the birthday party for Bob and Carol's son Sean for one such instance), but generally resolving without any issues whatsoever. There are a few very minor signs of age related wear and tear, but nothing significant.

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice features a serviceable LPCM Mono track that capably supports the film's dialogue and the fun, quasi-classical score by Quincy Jones that borrows liberally from Handel's Messiah (Burt Bacharach and Hal David also make sonic "appearances" courtesy of "What the World Needs Now is Love"). Fidelity is fine throughout, offering no problems of any kind with regard to distortion, dropouts or other damage.

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director and Stars features Paul Mazursky (who also co-wrote), Robert Culp, Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon.


• New Audio Commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin


• Bob & Natalie & Elliot(t) & Dyan. . .& Paul (HD; 19:27) is an enjoyable new video essay by David Cairns, who has the temerity to cheekily describe Paul Mazursky as resembling a "suntanned hamster". I put that set of parentheses around the final "t" of Elliott Gould's name since someone didn't proof the disc menu titles carefully enough.


• Tales of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (HD; 17:46) is an archival interview with Paul Mazursky from September 4, 2003, hosted by David Strasberg (and conducted in a venue named after his father, Lee).

As usual, Arrow has also provided a nicely appointed insert booklet.

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

They say that if you remember the sixties, you weren't really there. Luckily, there are films like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice to help remind folks (or introduce folks to) what it was like back then, at least in some respects. I was kind of surprised at how dated some aspects of the film seemed to me in viewing it this time (it's probably been at least twenty years since I've seen it), but as a time capsule, it's rather bracing within the context of its era. Technical merits are generally solid, the supplementary package very enjoyable, and with caveats noted, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice comes Recommended.