Mark Turner I can remember when this movie was released back in 1969. I was only 12 at the time but I kept hearing about this controversial film that was released that people were shocked by. I wasn't old enough to see it but even MAD magazine did parodied the movie. So naturally when I got older and had a chance to see the movie I was anxious to learn what the controversy was all about. That came when the movie made its way to video. I watched it unimpressed and wondering what the controversy was all about.Now here we are almost 50 years later and the movie makes its way to a new blu-ray edition via Twilight Time. Remembering what I thought of the film years before I decided to try it again and see if I had missed something back then or if it truly was one of those groundbreaking films to come out of the sixties. The end result was that I did see it through different eyes but it didn't make the film that much better.Ted Sanders (Robert Culp) is a documentary film makers who goes to an Esalen-type retreat with his wife Carol (Natalie Wood) thinking that perhaps there is a film to be made about the place. If you're unfamiliar with Esalen it was one of those counter-culture pop psychology type groups where people would try to get in touch with their inner feelings. At a 24 hour session Bob and Carol open up to the group and to one another and find a peace in their ability to be completely honest with everyone.They return home and later go to dinner with their friends Ted (Elliott Gould) and Alice (Dyan Cannon), a conservative couple they're best friends with. They can't talk enough about how wonderful the experience was and when Ted doubts them they try to get him to open up. The thing is every time he says something they don't agree with they call it a cop out until he laments and tells them what they want to here at which point they praise him. Their "enlightenment" goes so far that Carol tries to open up with their waiter making Alice uncomfortable. We're supposed to see Alice as the one with the hang ups but for me she becomes the sanest member of the group.Ted goes to San Francisco for work and while there has a one night stand. When he returns home he tells Carol about it. Surprised at first she then praises him for being open and honest with her. Which surprises Ted who then seems disappointed that she wasn't upset of jealous. For all his bluster about what he supposedly learned at his core Ted is still that "square" inside. After a dinner party the four smoke grass and act silly before Ted and Alice begin to leave. Running out to tell them how much she loves them Carol breaks the news to them about Ted's affair still thinking how wonderful it was. On their way home Alice can't control her anger about the situation and gets physically ill. When they get home she can't stop talking about it as they go to bed. This leads to the funniest and most frustrating parts of the film as Ted wants to fool around but Alice is in no mood. Frustrated he wants to go for a walk but while uninterested in sex she doesn't want him to leave their bed. A second trip to San Francisco for Bob finds him turn down another one night stand to return home early. Except that he finds another man in his bed. Unlike his wife he gets upset and rages at first before she calms him down and they once more talk about feelings and how this is nothing more than sex with no love or attachment involved. Which leads to another funny moment.All of this culminates with the couples dealing with their own issues, a visit to the psychiatrist by Alice, another quick affair and the four of them heading off for a weekend trip to Vegas to see Tony Bennett. The end result of their trip is more revelations and a potential foursome between them all, a final breakdown of acceptance for the "enlightened" to initiate the squares. The movie can be confusing at times. Is it an endorsement of the results of the sexual revolution of the sixties or an indictment? Is it supporting it or condemning it? The sexual revolution opened doors for people to talk but like Pandora's box it also unleashed a flood of bad things as well. STDs reached epidemic proportions, marriage took a nose dive and divorces increased. The traditional family was torn apart and the anything goes attitude was embraced. In its wake the rubble was sifted through and some things recovered. Other not quite so as we've seen the addiction and availability of pornography increase and the family structure still not quite recovered.While watching the film I kept thinking about the characters and the location their story takes place in. Both are affluent couples who because of their wealth and status can afford to take the time for things like this retreat as opposed to hard working blue collar workers who don't have the time or inclination to do so. For those couples life is working and having the nice home and 2.5 kids, happy to do so. It is the bored upper class that always seems to find a need to explore things out of their boredom. People jokingly refer to California as the "land of flakes and nuts" which seems a bit harsh. But you have to admit that the state does tend to welcome the most over the top life styles and concepts. This is in large part due to the film industry itself providing wealth that leads to boredom for so many in the public's eye. My guess is you don't hear much about crew workers on films doing these sort of things because they're the folks based in reality making far less money but working equally hard. California gets its reputation based on what we're told by news and mass media with stories about celebrities, hangers on and scammers promising enlightenment if you just come to a retreat where you can scream away your pain for $99.99 per day. The film here is well made and looks great. The actors do an amazing job with Cannon standing out as someone who wants to stick with her beliefs and ideas but who is basically bullied into following the lead of the rest. It isn't a bullying involving insults or fists but one of if you're not enlightened like us then you must be the one who is wrong. This was the first feature film director Paul Mazursky made and it provided enough interest for him to build a career on. His films were always character driven and interesting well-made movies. For me this one wasn't among the best. It definitely feels dated. Some may remember it fondly, for me it was just there. I will say that Twilight Time has once more done a great job with this one. We're offered the film in blu-ray with a hi-def 1080p presentation. And they've included plenty of extras to enjoy including an isolated music track, an audio commentary track with film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman, an audio commentary track with Mazursky, Culp, Gould and Cannon and TALES OF BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE a featurette with Mazursky being interviewed. This release is, as with all Twilight Time releases, limited to just 3,000 copies so fans should act quickly if they want one.

MartinHafer I called "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" a vague film because there are very few certainties in the film. If you want a movie with a clear message and ending, then this film is NOT for you. I really think what you think of the movie is entirely dependent on the viewer and how they interpret what they see. I see it's listed as a comedy, but I could easily see someone thinking it's a drama. I could also see it as an endorsement of sexual freedom--or a film about the importance of fidelity in a marriage! Bob and Carol go to an encounter weekend--the sort of pseudo-therapy type group that was gaining popularity in the late 1960s. During the opening credits as they arrive there, you see lots of nudity--though the rest of the film is amazingly skin-free. There, they learn to let go of their inhibitions and be completely honest with each other--or at least try to be. The result is that they become closer as a couple--which could lead to serious complications when Bob tells Carol about an affair he recently had. But, using the model of their encounter group, Carol isn't upset but happy that they can be this honest. Later, when their best friends Ted and Alice hear of this, it throws them for a spin--how can a couple be THIS honest and still remain a couple?! Later, this new-found freedom leads to a four-some--a four-some that is really much more tease than please. Following this, the film ends in a manner that is just plain bizarre.I just don't know what to think of this film. While the acting pretty good and the film quite arousing at times, it also will no doubt be frustrating because just when you think the fireworks are going to occur, the film ends! Sexy but unsatisfying.

mifunesamurai I feel that the director sold the idea of the movie to the studios as a hip sex comedy film. Then he went out and purposely made a serious film for its time. And when it came time to release it, the studio continued to sell it a sex comedy, which it isn't. There is humor, but not laugh out funny.What Mazursky did was capture moments of the relationships and tied them up beautifully. The first scene is amusing as Bob and Carol go to a remote retreat to discover themselves. The other interesting moment was when Alice and Ted are going to bed and just found out about Bob's infidelity and how disgusted they are that Carol has accepted it. Some argue that it is too long a scene, but that's what makes it amusing, watching Elliott Gould brilliantly attempting to have sex with Alice, but she is in no mood. This playful event is worth watching alone for the acting abilities of Gould and Dyan Cannon.The other great scene is when Bob rejects another fling to go home earlier and finds Carol with the tennis instructor. How it unravels is pure delight and shines the light on man's hypocrisy that it's okay for them to sleep around, but for the wife! Bob eventually comes around and accepts the situation with a great moment in cinema history.The final scene when they all get it on together is played wonderfully. But when they get to that bed, they all realize the situation they are in. Are they able to handle the reality of an orgy? A poignant moment played without dialogue right to the final frame. The very end scene is pure homage to Fellini's 8 1/2 as the characters come out of the casino with a crowd and they all march in a circle and then group together.A very interesting piece of cinema history, and one worth tracking down. Maybe out of date, but it sure shows us the period that it was aimed at, a period were it was time to liberate the mind and soul. We may need it again, as there are now evil forces attempting to shut down the human spirit for financial gain.

sddavis63 I admit that I was a bit puzzled by the perspective of this movie. All the way through, it seemed to be building to the logical conclusion that the four main characters were going to end up swinging together, culminating in Alice's expected suggestion to the other three that they have an orgy. All the way through it seemed to be a celebration of the sexually free-wheeling 60's, with Bob and Carol essentially enjoying an open marriage - not only having affairs but telling each other about them and sometimes even meeting each other's lovers - and basically trying to convince Ted and Alice to join them in this lifestyle of freedom. Then, in the end, it didn't happen. That didn't upset me - I was pleased by the ending of the movie, but still surprised. The lasting message that I got from the movie was that, ultimately, sex without love is an empty thing, but love without sex is a wonderful thing. Thus, the concluding scenes of the four deciding that their friendship made it impossible to begin a sexual relationship and the eye contact they make with strangers while on their way to the Tony Bennett concert, while all the way the closing song ("What The World Needs Now Is Love") plays in the background. I loved the ending and thought it perfectly appropriate. I also loved the beginning of the movie with the encounter session which was absolutely hilarious.Robert Culp & Natalie Wood & Elliott Gould & Diane Cannon as the respective title characters were fantastic all the way through, and their performances made an interesting story even better. The only thing I never really figured out was the decision to open the movie with the "Hallelujah Chorus"? What was the relevance? I wasn't sure. Small point, though, in an overall great movie.