John and Mary is a 1969 American romantic drama film directed by Peter Yates, directly following the success of his film Bullitt. It stars Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow in the title roles, directly following their success in Midnight Cowboy and Rosemary's Baby, respectively. The screenplay was adapted by John Mortimer from the 1966 Mervyn Jones novel.
John and Mary | |
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Directed by | Peter Yates |
Written by | John Mortimer Mervyn Jones (novel) |
Produced by | Ben Kadish |
Starring | Dustin Hoffman Mia Farrow |
Cinematography | Gayne Rescher |
Edited by | Frank P. Keller |
Music by | Quincy Jones |
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 begins the morning after John and Mary meet in a bar, during a conversation about Jean-Luc Godard's Weekend, 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.
Actor | Role |
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Mia Farrow | Mary |
Dustin Hoffman | John |
Michael Tolan | James |
Olympia Dukakis | John's Mother |
Stanley Beck | Ernest |
Tyne Daly | Hillary |
It was the film debut of Tyne Daly.[2]
The film had its premiere at the Sutton Theatre in New York City on Sunday, December 14, 1969 and opened the following day.[3][4] It received an R rating upon its original release,[5] which was later downgraded to a PG rating.
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 wrote "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."[6] John Thompson of the Orlando Weekly calls it "a delectable New Wave–inspired dish for thoughtful viewers tired of the same old menu."[7] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote "There is nothing wrong with the idea of John and Mary, just with its execution."[8]
Rotten Tomatoes reports 5 positive and 6 negative reviews of the film for a score of 45%.[9]
According to Fox records, the film required $6,300,000 in rentals to break even, and by December 11, 1970, it had made $8,150,000, resulting in a profit to the studio.[10]
John and Mary | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 1970 | |||
Recorded | 1969 | |||
Genre | Film score | |||
Length | 31:10 | |||
Label | A&M SP-4230 | |||
Producer | Quincy Jones | |||
Quincy Jones chronology | ||||
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The film score was composed, arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones and the soundtrack, featuring vocalists Evie Sands, The Strange Things, Jeff Bridges, The Morgan Ames Singers and four classical pieces performed by a brass ensemble, was released on the A&M label in 1970.[11][12]
All compositions by Quincy Jones except where noted
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Films directed by Peter Yates | |
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Works by John Mortimer | |
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Novels |
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Short fiction collections |
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Plays |
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Radio plays |
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