Blume in Love | |
---|---|
Directed by | Paul Mazursky |
Written by | Paul Mazursky |
Produced by | Paul Mazursky |
Starring | George Segal Susan Anspach Kris Kristofferson Shelley Winters |
Cinematography | Bruce Surtees |
Edited by | Donn Cambern |
Music by | Bill Conti (Underscore) (Uncredited) |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 115 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $2,900,000 (US/ Canada rentals) [1] |
Blume in Love is a 1973 American romantic comedy drama film written, produced and directed by Paul Mazursky. It stars George Segal in the titular role, alongside Susan Anspach and Kris Kristofferson. Others in the cast include Mazursky, Marsha Mason and Shelley Winters.
Wandering alone around St. Mark's Square in Venice, Italy where he and his former wife Nina had honeymooned, Beverly Hills divorce lawyer Stephen Blume wonders why he was unfaithful to Nina, whom he continues to love in spite of himself. Through a series of extended flashbacks, he reflects on the aftermath of their breakup and divorce.
Nina comes home to find Blume in his bathrobe and his secretary hidden behind their bedroom door, whereupon she leaves him. Although Blume begins to actively date, he is unsatisfied and grows wistful for his married life. Nina, a social worker, embarks on a journey of self-discovery, trying new experiences like yoga and starting a relationship with Elmo, a free-spirited unemployed musician who is 12 years younger than she.
After his divorce, Blume discovers how much he loved Nina and goes to great, sometimes humiliating and mostly futile lengths to win her back, complicated by the fact that he likes Elmo. Although Nina remains skeptical of his motivations, Blume befriends the easygoing Elmo and the three form an unlikely if precarious group of friends.
One night Blume visits Nina's house, ostensibly to see Elmo, but Elmo is not there. Blume tells Nina that he still loves her. She tells him to leave, but he forces himself on her. Elmo enters and Nina tells Elmo that Blume raped her. Blume admits to the rape and Elmo hits him, ending their friendship.
Elmo visits Blume's office to inform him that Nina is pregnant with Blume's baby. Elmo also tells Blume that he is leaving town because "it's time to go." Blume tells Nina that he wants to help support the child, but she is hesitant. They stay in communication and eventually Nina tells Blume that she wants him to leave town for two weeks in order that she may decide what she wants.
Blume is in Venice for the two weeks away from Nina, but he sees her across the square and they embrace.
The film was nominated for a Writers Guild of America (WGA) award in the category of Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen.
In a contemporary review for the Chicago Sun-Times , Roger Ebert awarded the film four stars out of four, proclaiming it to be "what everybody is always hoping for from Neil Simon: a comedy that transcends its funny moments, that realizes we laugh so we may not cry, and that finally is about real people with real desperations." [2]
Vincent Canby of The New York Times described the film as "a restless, appealing, sometimes highly comic contemporary memoir." [3]
Richard Corliss of Film Comment praised Segal's performance, claiming that "No contemporary actor can touch George Segal for klutzy charm or a seriocomic capacity for suffering (he’s the Tom Ewell of the Seventies), and no film has used his manic copelessness as well as Blume in Love." [4]
In an interview with Robert K. Elder for his book The Best Film You've Never Seen , director Neil LaBute explained: “I was both intrigued and frustrated by what was happening. There’s this fractured telling of the story, several trips to Venice and the rest takes place in Venice, California. So, I think there was attraction to it by the frustration of it—like, ‘What’s happening here? What’s the story?’" [5]
In later years, the film has been cited as a seminal social comedy. [6] [7] [8] On Rotten Tomatoes, Blume in Love holds a rating of 71% from 21 reviews. [9]
A Touch of Class is a 1973 British romantic comedy film produced and directed by Melvin Frank and starring George Segal, Glenda Jackson, Hildegarde Neil, Paul Sorvino and K Callan. The film tells the story of a couple having an affair, who find themselves falling in love. It was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, with Jackson winning Best Actress.
An Unmarried Woman is a 1978 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Mazursky and starring Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy, and Cliff Gorman. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress (Clayburgh).
Kristoffer Kristofferson is an American retired country singer, songwriter, and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night", all of which were hits for other artists.
Shelley Winters was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965), and received nominations for A Place in the Sun (1951) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). She also appeared in A Double Life (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Lolita (1962), Alfie (1966), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), and Pete's Dragon (1977). In addition to film, Winters appeared in television, including a tenure on the sitcom Roseanne, and wrote three autobiographical books.
Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), An Unmarried Woman (1978), Harry and Tonto (1974), and Enemies, A Love Story (1989). He is also known for directing such films as Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Moon over Parador (1988), and Scenes from a Mall (1991).
George Segal Jr. was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as Ship of Fools (1965) and King Rat (1965), he co-starred in the classic drama Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966).
Lesley Ann Warren is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut, aged 17, in 110 in the Shade in 1963, then received wide recognition in the title role of the 1965 television musical Cinderella. She subsequently had starring roles in the Disney musical films The Happiest Millionaire (1967) and The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968), both opposite John Davidson.
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Paul Mazursky, written by Mazursky and Larry Tucker, who also produced the film, and starring Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, and Dyan Cannon. The original music score was composed by Quincy Jones. The cinematography for the film was by Charles Lang. The film received four Academy Award nominations, including ones for Gould and Cannon. Patricia Welles wrote the paperback novel from Mazursky and Tucker's screenplay.
Down and Out in Beverly Hills is a 1986 American comedy film based on the 1919 French play Boudu sauvé des eaux, which had previously been adapted on film in 1932 by Jean Renoir. Down and Out in Beverly Hills was directed by Paul Mazursky, and starred Nick Nolte, Bette Midler and Richard Dreyfuss. The plot follows a rich but dysfunctional family who save the life of a suicidal homeless man. Musician Little Richard appears as a neighbor, and performs "Great Gosh A'Mighty" during a party scene.
Susan Florence Anspach was an American stage, film and television actress who had roles in films during the 1970s and 1980s such as Five Easy Pieces (1970), Play It Again, Sam (1972), Blume in Love (1973), Montenegro (1981), Blue Monkey (1987), and Blood Red (1989).
A Star Is Born is a 1976 American musical romantic drama film directed by Frank Pierson, written by Pierson, John Gregory Dunne, and Joan Didion. Starring Barbra Streisand as an unknown singer and Kris Kristofferson as an established rock and roll star who fall in love, only to find her career ascending while his goes into decline. A Star Is Born premiered at the Mann Village Theater on December 18, 1976, with a wide release by Warner Bros. the following day. A huge box office success, grossing $80 million on a $6 million budget in North America, the film became the 2nd highest-grossing that year. Reviews praised its performances and musical score, but criticized the screenplay and runtime. At the 49th Academy Awards, the film won Best Original Song for its love theme "Evergreen".
The Silver Tongued Devil and I is the second studio album recorded by singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson. It was produced by Fred Foster, released in July 1971 on Monument Records and followed his critically acclaimed debut Kristofferson.
Kristofferson is the debut album of singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, which was produced by Fred Foster and released in June 1970 by Monument Records. After working a series of temporary jobs, Kristofferson became a helicopter pilot for oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico. While he worked, he wrote songs and pitched them to singers around Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee during his free time. Kristofferson's songs were recorded by country singers Roy Drusky, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roger Miller and later he persuaded Johnny Cash to try his material. Cash invited Kristofferson to perform with him at the Newport Folk Festival, after which Fred Foster signed Kristofferson to Monument Records as a songwriter and recording artist.
Jesus Was a Capricorn is the fourth album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1972 on Monument Records. The album cover pictures Kristofferson and his soon-to-be wife Rita Coolidge. "Why Me" reached #1 on the Country singles charts.
Spooky Lady's Sideshow is the fifth solo album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1974 on Monument Records. It was preceded and followed by duet albums with his wife, Rita Coolidge. It was recorded shortly after Kristofferson's appearance in the movie Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. The album mostly consists of songs about decline due to alcohol and drug abuse. That theme of decline proved to be (unintentionally) prophetic as this was Kristofferson's first album that failed to see commercial success on a large scale.
Easter Island is the eighth solo album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1978 on Monument.
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American singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson has been in numerous films, television films, television series and video games. He started acting in the 1970s, appearing in the films The Last Movie (1971), Cisco Pike (1972), Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Blume in Love (1973), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) and Vigilante Force (1976), before starring in the 1976 film A Star Is Born as John Norman Howard, which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He went on to co-star in Stagecoach (1986) and star in films such as Semi-Tough (1977), Convoy (1978), Heaven's Gate (1980), Flashpoint (1984), Big Top Pee-wee (1988), and Welcome Home (1989).
"Help Me" is a song written by Larry Gatlin. A country gospel song, the lyrics tell the story of a world-weary and tired man pleading for guidance and reassurance from God. Gatlin performed the song at the funerals of both June Carter and Johnny Cash and dedicates the song to them during every performance.