Product Details

• Actors: Dustin Hoffman, Mia Farrow, Michael Tolan, Sunny Griffin, Stanley Beck
• Directors: Peter Yates
• Writers: John Mortimer, Mervyn Jones
• Producers: Ben Kadish
• Format: NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JP2Q
• For more information about "John and Mary" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A perceptive analysis of a one night stand, John and Mary arrived with the tagline, "It's not your mother's love story." And so it isn't. With hindsight, though, this New York-set, European-style romance seems more quaint than revolutionary. John (Dustin Hoffman) meets Mary (Mia Farrow) at a bar where they bond over Jean-Luc Godard. Turns out she isn't a fan, but the ice has been broken, and a connection is made. The timeline proceeds to shift from the night they met, the day after their tryst, and their previous relationships (his with a flighty model, hers with a married politician). Aside from quotable lines, like "Cinema verité is just an excuse to follow a little girl into the ladies room," John Mortimer's script uses voiceover to convey the couple’s inner thoughts. With his preppy outfits, Hoffman looks much like his post-collegiate character in The Graduate, while Farrow, with her baby-doll dresses, looks much like her hip housewife in Rosemary's Baby, though their performances here are quite different. Featuring a spare soundtrack by Quincy Jones and direction by the versatile, if inconsistent Peter Yates (Bullitt), John and Mary is an underrated look at love among young singles torn between convention and desire. The sexual politics may seem dated, but the chemistry between Hoffman's fastidious John and Farrow's flippant Mary is as appealing as it is unlikely (TIME magazine dubbed them "The Moonchild and the Fifth Beatle"). With Olympia Dukakis as John's mother and Tyne Daly as Mary's roommate. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Underrated Classic!, April 3, 2007

By 

A. Scott "artistinmotion" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: John & Mary (DVD)

This is a brilliant example of what life was like in late 1960s New York. Coming right after their big hit films, Hoffman (MIDNIGHT COWBOY) and Farrow (ROSEMARY'S BABY) show a completely different, intimate side to their acting. While the film is somewhat fragmented, stick with it: you will find ultimate satisfaction in the story of two rather confused people trying to be as "urbanized" as their surroundings. One highlight is the "egg scene," in which the two engage in a discussion of organic foods. There are also many terrific appearances in character roles: Tyne Daly (CAGNEY AND LACEY) as one of Farrow's roommates and Marian Mercer (who had just won a Tony Award for PROMISES, PROMISES) as a self-absorbed fashion photographer stand out. All in all, a really gratifying cinematic experience.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 60s Nostalgia..., December 16, 2008

By 

Laurel-Rain Snow "Rain" "Rainy Days" (Fresno, California) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: John & Mary (DVD)

John & Mary is typical of the era which is featured in this tale of two singles, beaten down by the dating game, who meet at a local club in Manhattan and spend a twenty-four hour period together.

Viewed from each character's eyes, we see the cynicism that cloaks their vulnerability, as each one looks at his/her life through flashbacks.

Mia Farrow and Dustin Hoffman portray the characters very well -- the four stars are due to the somewhat tired story of singles life in the sixties.

3 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Okay Movie, October 11, 2008

By 

Eric Marshall (Hammond, IN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: John & Mary (DVD)

I watched this movie last spring and I thought it was okay. There are two things that really bother me about this movie: One, Mia Farrow spends almost the entire film wearing a dreaded baby doll dress (probably a more worse 60's fashion than the miniskirt) and then makes the cut more deeper by wearing heavy tights to match the color (it was brown). As that weren't enough Dustin Hoffman's character John discovers that Mary doesn't wear a bra; which means that she's a feminist. That raises the question: If Mary (Farrow) is a feminist then why is she wearing a baby doll ensemble?
The second thing that bothers me is the film's rating. As you know when "John and Mary" was released in the fall of 1969 it was rated R, then when it was released on video in the 80's the MPAA changed it down to PG. Guess what this movie is rated now it's available on DVD? R again! (the MPAA has done another flip-flop as what they did to "Targets" for example) And you know why: It's because of a very tame scene that occurs in the first ten minutes in which the camera catches Mia Farrow's butt and the rest of her naked body. That raises the burning question: What had changed? I must admit this rating system is a joke. So much that I wrote a letter to the company's president Dan Glickman telling him this is got to stop and that this is a classic example of why America will never escape the shadow of the 60's. Above all, it is average and my mother actually liked it. Oh, did I forget to mention that I almost got myself a hard-on from the last scene in this movie in which Hoffman and Farrow strip nude and get into bed?