JOHN & MARY 69 (DVD) DVD

John and Mary
John and Mary attracted a great deal of press coverage in 1969 for being the one of the first American films in which the male and female leads (Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow) start out the film by spending the night together, rather than holding off until the end. The morning after, the boy and girl wander about New York, wondering if they'll truly commit themselves to one another. Both characters are haunted by unsuccessful earlier affairs, and both have enough hang-ups to fill volumes of psychological textbooks. Come nightfall, John and Mary end up back in bed...and learn each other's names for the first time. John and Mary was considered "beautiful," "progressive" and "significant" in the permissive 1960s; nowadays it's about as controversial as The CBS Morning News. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Dustin Hoffman as John Mia Farrow as Mary Michael Tolan as James Sunny Griffin as Ruth Stanley Beck as Ernest Tyne Daly as Hilary Alix Elias as Jane Marian Mercer as Mags Elliot Susan Taylor as Minnie Olympia Dukakis as John's Mother

Crew Robert Wightman - Art Director Anthea Sylbert - Costume Designer Peter Yates - Director Frank Keller - Editor Quincy Jones - Composer (Music Score) Jones Alan - Songwriter Marilyn Bergman - Songwriter Irving Buchman - Makeup John Robert Lloyd - Production Designer Gayne Rescher - Cinematographer Ben Kadish - Producer Phil Smith - Set Designer Art Cruickshank - Special Effects L.B. Abbott - Special Effects David Dockendorf - Sound/Sound Designer John Mortimer - Screenwriter Mervyn Jones - Screenwriter Mervyn Jones - Book Author

John and Mary
John and Mary comes across as quite dated when seen today; for some that will be too big a hurdle to overcome, for others it may add to their interest in and appreciation of the film. Certainly, John and Mary succeeds in capturing some of the zeitgeist late '60s society and late '60s American moviemaking. As a time capsule of either or both, it is quite interesting. As timeless drama, however, the film is less effective. It's a bit too self-conscious; one gets the feeling that the creators were trying too hard to create something "new" or "different." Commendably, director Peter Yates decides to relate the tale in an unhurried manner, letting the film proceed at its own pace and opening up the possibility that the audience can simply be drawn into a study of two characters. Unfortunately, these characters and their problems are not interesting enough to warrant this approach, and after a while it simply emphasizes their shallowness. Fortunately, Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow are on hand, both offering very honest, affecting performances that indicate a depth to the characters that is not to be found in the writing, and make much of the movie work better than it should. As a character study, John and Mary is quite flawed, but it succeeds as a showcase for two talented actors. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
 

Dustin Hoffman: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Actor (winner) Dustin Hoffman: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Com (nominated) John Mortimer: Golden Globe, Best Screenplay (nominated) Mia Farrow: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or C (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, Spanish Subtitle Options: English, Spanish Sound Processing: DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: Photo galleries: Behind the scenes Production Publicity DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1: Cinemascope MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 92 min   DVD Chapters: Disc #1 -- John and Mary 1. Main Titles/Good Morning [6:48] 2. Pickup Scene [4:15] 3. Extreme Caution [4:04] 4. Small Talk [:41] 5. I See [3:47] 6. Too Easy [2:54] 7. Roommate Logistics [3:29] 8. Distinct Advantage [:44] 9. Twenty Questions [2:24] 10. Now What? [7:41] 11. Phone Calls [1:36] 12. Who's Ruth? [2:37] 13. Faux Pas [2:56] 14. Perfect Afternoon [5:28] 15. Time to Go [2:11] 16. Needy People [4:20] 17. What's She Like? [3:40] 18. Frantic Search [2:12] 19. No More Running [7:59] 20. John and Mary/End Titles [1:11]