John and Mary (film)

John and Mary
Directed by Peter Yates
Produced by Ben Kadish
Written by John Mortimer
Mervyn Jones (novel)
Starring Dustin Hoffman
Mia Farrow
Michael Tolan
Music by Quincy Jones
Cinematography Gayne Rescher
Edited by Frank P. Keller
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
 December 14, 1969 (US)
Running time
 92 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $4.1 million (US/ Canada rentals)[1]

John and Mary is a 1969 American romantic drama film directed by Peter Yates. It stars Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow in the title roles, directly on the heels of Midnight Cowboy and Rosemary's Baby, respectively (as well as Bullitt for Yates). The screenplay was adapted by John Mortimer from the Mervyn Jones novel.

It was released theatrically in North America on December 14, 1969.[2] It received an R rating upon its original release,[3] which was later downgraded to a PG rating.

Synopsis

John and Mary begins the morning after John and Mary meet in a bar, during a conversation about Jean-Luc Godard's Week End, and go home with each other. The story unfolds during the day as they belatedly get to know each other over breakfast, lunch and dinner. Flashbacks of their previous bad relationships are interspersed throughout when something in their conversation brings the thought up.

Cast

ActorRole
Mia FarrowMary
Dustin HoffmanJohn
Michael TolanJames
Olympia DukakisJohn's Mother
Stanley BeckStanley
Tyne DalyHillary

Critical reception

Before the release of the film, both Hoffman and Farrow made the cover of Time in February 1969, with the headline "The Young Actors: Stars and Anti-Stars". This marked and celebrated new actors like Hoffman and Farrow (both hot off their successes in The Graduate and Rosemary's Baby respectively) as significant to their generation.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times says, "John and Mary is supposed to be a contemporary movie, I guess, and yet it's curiously out of touch. John and Mary shadow box uneasily with the American language, trying to sound like all people their age without sounding too much like any particular person."[4] John Thompson of the Orlando Weekly calls it "a delectable New Wave–inspired dish for thoughtful viewers tired of the same old menu."[5] Vincent Canby of The New York Times concludes, "There is nothing wrong with the idea of John and Mary, just with its execution."[6]

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports 3 positive and 5 negative reviews of the film.[7]

Musical score and soundtrack

John and Mary
Soundtrack album by Quincy Jones
Released 1970
Recorded 1969
Genre Film score
Length 31:10
Label A&M
SP-4230
Producer Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones chronology
Cactus Flower
(1969)Cactus Flower1969		 John and Mary
(1969)		 Gula Matari
(1970)Gula Matari1970

The film score was composed, arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones and the soundtrack album. featuring vocalists Evie Sands, The Strange Things, Jeff Bridges and The Morgan Ames Singers and four classical pieces performed by a brass ensemble, was released was released on the A&M label in 1970.[8][9]

Track listing

All compositions by Quincy Jones except where noted

  1. "Maybe Tomorrow (Vocal)" (Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman) − 3:10
  2. "Bump in the Night" − 1:58
  3. "Lost in Space" (Jeff Bridges) − 3:15
  4. "Silent Movies" − 2:11
  5. "Maybe Tomorrow" (Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman) − 4:18
  6. "Main Title" − 2:48
  7. "22nd Fugue for Well-Tempered Clavichord" (Johann Sebastian Bach) − 1:31
  8. "Rondo No. 1" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) − 1:58
  9. "Opus 54, Variations Serieuses" (Felix Mendelssohn) − 2:05
  10. "Allegro from Royal Fireworks Suite" (George Frideric Handel) − 3:58
  11. "Maybe Tomorrow" − 3:58

Personnel

  • Unidentified orchestra arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones
  • Evie Sands (track 1), The Strange Things (track 2), Jeff Bridges (track 3), The Morgan Ames Singers (track 5) − vocals
  • The John and Mary Brass Ensemble (tracks 7-11)

Awards

Won:

  • 1970 BAFTA Award, Best Actor - Dustin Hoffman (For Midnight Cowboy and John and Mary)[10]

Nominated:

  • 1970 BAFTA Award, Best Actress - Mia Farrow (For: Rosemary's Baby, Secret Ceremony and John and Mary)
  • 1970 Golden Globes, Best Actor, Musical/Comedy - Dustin Hoffman
  • 1970 Golden Globes, Best Actress, Musical/Comedy - Mia Farrow
  • 1970 Golden Globes, Best Screenplay - John Mortimer
  • 1970 WGA Awards, Best Adapted Screenplay - John Mortimer

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Big Rental Films of 1970", Variety, 6 January 1971 p 11. See also Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p231. Please note figures are rentals accruing to distributors and not total gross.
  2. ↑ Box Office Mojo.
  3. ↑ Ratings @ IMDb.
  4. ↑ Roger Ebert @ RogerEbert.com.
  5. ↑ John Thompson @ Orlando Weekly.
  6. ↑ Vincent Canby @ NYT.com.
  7. ↑ Rotten Tomatoes.
  8. ↑ Soundtrack Collector: album entry accessed January 30, 2018
  9. ↑ Eyries, P., Edwards, D. & Callahan, M. A&M Album Discography, Part 2: SP 4200-4299 (1969-1971), accessed January 30, 2018
  10. ↑ Awards @ IMDb.
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