Carnal Knowledge (1971)

The film traces the sexual and emotional confusion of two men from their Amherst College days in the fifties through the Kennedy sixties, up to the Vietnam era. Jonathan, a successful tax ... See full summary »

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writer:

Jules Feiffer

Stars:

Jack Nicholson, Ann-Margret, Art Garfunkel

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

The film traces the sexual and emotional confusion of two men from their Amherst College days in the fifties through the Kennedy sixties, up to the Vietnam era. Jonathan, a successful tax attorney and Sandy, a physician, personify two extremes of self-delusion and self-aggrandizement: Jonathan makes the mistake of thinking sex is love, and embarks on a lifetime of sexual conquest; Sandy dedicates himself to the pursuit of an idealized woman and the dreamy spiritual completeness to be found therein. In Bobbie Jonathan finds a partner whose masochism compliments his selfishness and emotional ambivalence. Jonathan does not want her to hold a job, but neither does he like the fact that she spends all day in bed sleeping, or watching TV. Sandy falls in love with his first college romance, Susan; they marry and have children. But Sandy is haunted by the fear that he was too hasty, even though he and Susan lead a happy domestic life and strive to reinvigorate their sex life by making love "...

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Plot Keywords:

love | sex | college | buxom | love triangle | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1971 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Conocimiento carnal

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Gross:

$28,623,900 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

AVCO Embassy Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer Jules Feiffer originally pitched the concept to director Mike Nichols as a theatre project. After listening to Feiffer's ideas, Nichols said, "I see it as a movie."

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jonathan: If you had a choice...
Sandy: Yeah?
Jonathan: Would you rather love a girl, or have her love you?
Sandy: I want it mutual.
Jonathan: I mean if you couldn't have it mutual.
Sandy: You mean would I rather be the one who loves, or is loved?
Jonathan: Yeah.
Sandy: It's not that easy a question. But, I think I'd rather be in love.
Jonathan: Me too.

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Connections

Featured in Seriously Funny: An Argument for Comedy (1996)

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Soundtracks

"A String of Pearls"
(uncredited)
Written by 'Jerry Gray' and Edgar De Lange
Performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra

User Reviews

The Relationship of Two Men With Women Along Thirty Years

The plot begins with Jonathan (Jack Nicholson) and Sandy (Art Garfunkel) roommates in the university. Each one of them has a different behavior and experience with women: Jonathan is cynical, malicious, and selfish. He does not respect anybody (even his best friend is not respected) and just want to have sex. Women are objects for him. Sandy is almost the opposite of Jonathan and has a different approach with women: he is shy and respectful, he does not have much experience with women. These characteristics are presented in the film having Susan (the gorgeous Candice Bergen, the most beautiful actress of the 70's) as pivot. Then the story advances a few years and shows both of them successful in their professions and boring with their mates. The character of Susan (who married Sandy) is just occasionally mentioned and does not appear on the screen any more. Now, we see basically the relationship of Jonathan with Bobbie (the sexy Ann-Margret). Then, there is another jump in time and other relationship of Jonathan and Sandy are presented in this movie, since its essence is about relationship of men and woman having the focus mainly in Jonathan. In 1971, I was too young to watch this movie and certainly I would not understand most of the story. Only a couple of days ago I had the chance of seeing it. It is amazing how this movie for adults has not aged. Further, it does not look like an American movie. The camera, the screenplay, it does look like European movie (maybe a little of `Jules and Jim'). All the actors and actresses have outstanding performance, but certainly Jack Nicholson and Ann-Margret are superb. My vote is seven.