Petulia

Overview

Petulia is Richard Lester's ode to the Swinging Sixties: a time of psychedelic instability when neither those who were square, nor those who were hip, really had it right. George C. Scott is Archie Bollen, a divorced San Francisco doctor in the midst of "discovering himself." Julie Christie is Petulia Danner, a peculiar young beauty recently married into an established family. Archie's sterile apartment and detached, bemused manner exemplify his inability to emote. Petulia's forward nature and desperate tenderness betray her fear of her sullen, abusive, pretty-boy husband (Richard Chamberlain). The physician and the newlywed embark on a schizophrenic love affair amid Pepsi references, automated motels, roller derbies, and a cameo by Big Brother and the Holding Company -- but they never achieve the daring to truly change their lives.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/28/2016
UPC:	0888574409678
Original Release:	1968
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:45:00
Sales rank:	4,613

Special Features

Closed Caption; Two featurettes: ; The Uncommon Making of Petulia; Petulia: The Uncommon Movie; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Julie Christie	Petulia Danner
George C. Scott	Dr. Archie Bollen,May
Richard Chamberlain	David Danner
Shirley Knight	Polo
Arthur Hill	Barney
Kathleen Widdoes	Wilma
Roger Bowen	Warren
Richard Dysart	Motel Receptionist
Ruth Kobart	Nun
Ellen Geer	Nun
Lou Gilbert	Mr. Howard
Nate Esformes	Mr. Mendoza
Maria Val	Mrs. Mendoza
Vincent Arias	Oliver
Eric Weiss	Michael
Kevin Cooper	Stevie
Joseph Cotten	Mr. Danner
Austin Pendleton	Intern
Barbara Colby	Patient
Rene Auberjonois	Salesman
Josephine Nichols	Neighbor
DeAnn Mears	Nurse
Members of the American Conservatory Theatre	Themselves
Ace Trucking Co.	Actor
The ATC Company	Actor
Big Brother & the Holding Company	Actor
The Grateful Dead	Performer
Peter Albin	Band Member
Joseph Cotton	Actor
John Barry	Composer

Technical Credits

Lawrence B. Marcus

Barbara Turner

Richard Lester	Director
Lawrence B. Marcus	Screenwriter
Barbara Turner	Screenwriter
Raymond Wagner	Producer
Don Devlin	Producer

Editorial Reviews

The first of director Richard Lester's rare diversions from comedy, Petulia, which followed Lester's Beatles films and the acidic satire of How I Won the War, nonetheless finds him expanding on the themes of his earlier work. Adapting John Haase's novel Me and the Arch Kook Petulia, the story of a brief, interrupted love affair between a middle-aged doctor (George C. Scott) and a young, with-it bride (Julie Christie) allows Lester to renew his study of the clash between generations, and between culture and counterculture. But Lester never allows this subtext to overwhelm the story itself, keeping a disciplined watch on the film's most striking feature, its radically novel approach to editing. With little warning, the film flashes periodically to seemingly unrelated scenes, whether real or imagined, past or present becoming clear only as the film progresses. Always pioneering in his cutting, Lester here helps push the limits of what cinematic storytelling could do. (Lester disciple Stephen Soderbergh's work owes a special debt to Petulia). As exciting as this is, it's the director's overall handling of the story, abetted by peerless work from his two leads and cinematographer Nicholas Roeg, that make his material as emotionally engaging as it is formally challenging and culturally resonant. Though rarely heralded as such, Petulia is a major accomplishment, a moving human story that's also one of the great films from and about the 1960s.