Carnal Knowledge (1971)

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writer:

Jules Feiffer (written by)

Release Date:

5 November 1971 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

The film traces the sexual and emotional confusion of two men from their Amherst College days in the fifties through the Kennedy sixties...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Sex | College | Friend | Reference To Lassie

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 23

4:00 AM

TCM

Cast

Jack Nicholson	...	Jonathan
Candice Bergen	...	Susan
Art Garfunkel	...	Sandy (as Arthur Garfunkel)
Ann-Margret	...	Bobbie
Rita Moreno	...	Louise
Cynthia O'Neal	...	Cindy
Carol Kane	...	Jennifer

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | UK:X | Argentina:16 | Canada:18A (video rating) | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Sweden:11 | UK:18 (video rating) | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

AVCO Embassy Pictures

Trivia:

The fight scene between Nicholson and Ann-Margret took a week to shoot, and at the end of it both performers had lost their voices.

Quotes:

Jonathan: What are you crying for? It wasn't a Lassie story.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gossip Girl: Carnal Knowledge (#2.17)" (2009)

Hi!!! Would You Like To Have Sex!!!!!

This movie is one of the most accurate reflections of the sixties sexual revolution, it's about knowing that there are no strings attached, and that it is in fact just sexual intercourse and nothing else!! All is fine and good except one thing....YOU GOT MARRIED!!!!...Now enters the commitment, or shall I say, lack of it...There is a cynical outlook on each other.....The verbal abuse that is the end result of a relationship that has nothing but sex to offer, serves as an acrimonious aftermath to everyone's insincerity!! Some people (Ann Margaret) give up in life....Some people (Art Garfunkel) get resentful and searching...And others (Such as Jack Nicholson) remain misunderstood even to himself!! The college day's fiasco with Candace Bergen (Between Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel) should have served as a harbinger of things to come!! Instead, the hedonistic challenge casual sex provided for everybody, not only made people oblivious to the negative emotional battleground casual sex had the potential for presenting, but it established a pattern of recklessness for everybody's self centered priorities!! The prestige of being a Central Park West intellectual evokes an aura of false confidence, and it is evident that New York City merely spreads out the welcome mat for adversity before most any place else!! This is a film where people talk to one another, but it doesn't work out......So they have sex, they know they will grow tired of it, but when this occurs, they can't accept it either!!! Popular scapegoats seem to be; confusion, idealistic notions which have turned to blatant misconceptions, a distasteful awakening with selfishness, and disgruntled generalizations that "Women are all ball-busters!!" (Not just independent!!) It becomes a living nightmare for all of the characters concerned to distinguish between casual sex, and apathetic hobby!!! All of them are isolated by the negative consequences of casual sex!!! Jack Nicholson's condescension from a sex surrogate (Rita Moreno) denounces meagerness, and thus, becomes a form of precarious vindication which will give the movie audience a thorough comprehension of the type of person Jack Nicholson is, and always will be too!!

Mike Nichols is a fabulous director, and this film is compelling in it's ability to tell the truth!!! Controversial for the time because erroneous perceptions about sex and the truth about sex are about as compatible a mixture as oil and water!! Above all else in this film, recognize the amazing array of talent this movie possesses!!