Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

Arguably the closest the United States ever produced to a true European auteur in the vein of Fellini, Truffaut, and Begman (except maybe Woody Allen), Paul Mazursky spent the first two decades of his career making incredibly distinct, nuanced, and touching comedies that routinely achieved box office success and critical acclaim (Pauline Kael was a huge fan). But for a while there, Mazursky fans weren't being treated very well by the DVD format. A few years ago, this started to change with solid releases of Moscow on the Hudson and Enemies: A Love Story.

While Mazursky's amazing films from the 70s -- Alex in Wonderland, Blume in Love, Harry and Tonto, Next Stop Greenwich Village, and An Unmarried Woman -- are still unavailable, Columbia Tristar has improved the Mazursky DVD situation significantly with the release of his 1969 debut, a hugely influential comedy about sexual liberation, infidelity, and wife-swapping: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.

On one hand, this is obviously reason to rejoice. But don't break out the champagne just yet. The main feature on this disc is a disappointing (but occasionally entertaining) commentary featuring Mazursky and the film's three surviving stars: Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, and Dyan Cannon. The participants here fall victim to some of the worst tendencies of the audio commentary. Basically, they just laugh and say "it's brilliant" a lot. Admittedly, this is a very funny film and it's occasionally quite brilliant but we don't listen to commentaries to learn this kind of thing, we watch movies.

Still, there are interesting moments. After first observing that he's never made a better film (how could he forget that?), Mazursky argues/admits that his filmmaking has actually "gotten worse" over the years. He also talks about the rumored re-make starring Mike Myers but concludes that it's probably not gonna happen. Another interesting discovery: Mazursky's real psychiatrist plays the psychiatrist in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and several subsequent Mazursky films.

Slightly more enlightening (and, at 18 minutes, a lot shorter) is "Tales of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," a 2003 interview with Paul Mazursky, taped in front of an audience at The Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in Los Angeles. The other 2 parts of this 3-part interview are available on the recently released DVD of The Pickle and the still unreleased DVD of Mazursky's Tempest. In the part presented here, Mazursky makes the persuasive case that Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice would still be relevant today...as long as the clothes were changed.

The conversation also extends into other areas of Mazursky's life and career including stand-up comedy, his psychiatric experiences, the process of restraining Robin Williams, and his influences: W.C. Fields, Peter Sellers, Jimmy Stewart, George Cukor, Spencer Tracy, and Katharine Hepburn. As Mazursky suggests, anyone interested in these stories should also read his terrific 1999 autobiography, "Show Me the Magic."

Those unfamiliar with Mazursky's work are missing a lot and, even if this DVD's features are a little light on substance, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is a great place to start. -- Jonathan Doyle