Cheap Carnal Knowledge (DVD) (Jack Nicholson, Candice Bergen) (Mike Nichols) Price

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Customer Reviews of Carnal Knowledge

Jack Nicholson portrays your typical chauvinistic male who thinks scoring sexually is the ultimate goal in relationships. He typifies the old male guard before the sexual and human rights revolution of the 1960's and onward. Love was secondary compared with the male conquering the female.

Nicholson plays the role so realistically that it is frighterning graphic: the cruelty of his actions towards Candace Bergen and Ann Margaret, not to mention his best friend Art Garfunkle. Having grown up at the end of the chauvinistic period, I saw this type of behavior between the sexes everyday.

Art Garfunkle, Ann Margaret, Candace Bergen excellently play roles that are graphically realistic. Art has a wonderfully naive nature that is easily exploited by his friend, and his nature sets himself up for disappointments in love.

Candace Bergen plays a nice women who willingly falls prey to Nicholson's aggressive, but charming chauvinism.

Ann Margaret plays the ultimate man's sex dream, but is very initeresting because she wants to break out of the stereotyped role and become a normal wife.

Nicholson is the most interesting character because he has the most tragic outlook on sex and relationships, and at the end, he is reduced to an impotent and pathetic excuse for a human being.

Great film. Every adult should watch this film, especially before they consider a relationship with the other sex.

Ricky Wallace

Great early Nichols
Another great early Nichols. He was on one mean ... streak I tell ya. Virgina Wolf, the The Graduate, Catch 22, and then this film. Which is: Very well done, Very mature, extremely confident in it's telling, thought provoking, well acted, well written, etc.

Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkle star as best buds in this story that follows their sexual encounters from college to middle age. That's really it. No other action takes place in this movie that doesn't have something to do with, yup, Carnal Knowledge. Good title too. Don't you think? Just grabs you.

Like Catch 22, which I just saw, this movie is all about great framing and long one takes. Even though this movie takes place almost completely inside and is very much like a play, it is very cinematic. Nichols always has the camera in the right place, or at least an interesting place. The structure of the film is also so interesting. It just pops around from sexaul encounter to sexual encounter. And it addresses the whole spectrum...: first love, to marriage, to adultery, to apathy, to..well, it covers a lot. And though it tends to focus mainly on the negative, which can be a little bleak, it sure is real.

At times it can be a little slow and a little tedious (you sort of feel Nichols getting a little TOO into some of these long takes), but this remains a very good, intelligent, unflinching movie. Check it out.

B, B+

Coming to the screens of film schools everywhere...
What I found so impressive about this in the early 70's is a mystery--unless it's Ann-Margret's statuesque figure. Most of the dialog is better suited for writer Jules Feiffer's stylish cartoon characters. Even Jack Nicholson can't keep this tub afloat, although it's fun to see mannerisms and intonations which were used to perfection only 3 years later in the incomparable "Chinatown."