I Am Curious Review

Distributor: Criterion Edition Details: Standard DVD MSRP: $39.95 DVD Release Date: March 11, 2003 Release Specs: Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 1 (U.S., Canada) Number of discs: 2 Disc: RSDL DVD 9 (SS, DL) Special Features: Two Booklets, Introduction by Vilgot Sjöman, Director Commentary, Trailer, Rosset/de Grazia: A Conversation, The Battle for I am Curious - Yellow, Trial Transcripts, Deleted Scene, Self Portrait ‘92,Easter Egg DVD-ROM Special Features: none

Although often considered a pornographic film, in reality, I am Curious (Yellow) and I am Curious (Blue) are far from it and people going in to view it expecting large quantities of graphic sex will be sorely disappointed by the little of it that the films have to offer. However, these films are still very important to fans of adult films, since they paved the way for them and are just as important to the industry, if not more so, than Deep Throat. Upon their entry into the U.S., they were seized by customs for being obscene and the ensuing court case changed the obscenity laws allowing for the legal entrance of adult cinema. Basically the two films are one film that has been broken in half and named after the colors of the Swedish flag. To follow are short reviews of these two often misunderstood films.

Synopsis:
A documentary style look at the political and socioeconomic state of Sweden in the 1960s as seen by Lena (Lena Nyman) as she explores her views and her sexuality.

Audio/Video:
I Am Curious (Yellow) is presented with it’s original Swedish 1.0 mono track, which works well. The audio levels do vary throughout the film, but I think this is due to how they were made, not Criterion messing up. Criterion has included no English or any other language tracks but has included English subtitles for the film. The subtitles are player generated, which is nice as they are not burned in the film and viewers that can understand Swedish can disable them.

I Am Curious (Yellow) is presented in the full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1, which appears to be the original aspect ratio for the film. There seems to be a little discrepancy as to whether the original aspect ratio was 1.33:1 or 1.37:1 but either way, this print is close enough that there should be no complaints about it. The film itself is in black and white and this print is in excellent shape. Criterion has cleaned up the print nicely with very minimal grain in most parts and very little artifacts present. There are a few spots where the grain gets heavier, but these are few and far between. Basically, this is the best this film has looked since it’s theatrical run.

Special Features:
Criterion has compiled quite a few extras for the film, which is great for a film of this age. There is a commentary track, in English, by the director for specific scenes only culled from the director’s diary while shooting the film. For those listening to the commentary, there is a guide in it that tells you where the commentary picks back up so that you can listen to it without breaks. There is an Introduction by Vilgot Sjöman for the film that tells about the creation of the film and includes clips from the film that runs for five-and-a-half minutes.

There is a piece entitled Rosset/de Grazia: A Conversation, which is a twelve minute piece with the film importer Barney Rosset and the attorney for the film Edward de Grazia where they talk about the film. There is another piece entitled The Battle for I Am Curious — Yellow, which is an eight-and-a-half minute piece, which is about the controversial nature of the film in Sweden and the U.S., for different reasons, and about the U.S. banning of the film. There is a text piece which is called trial transcripts, which are excerpts from the 1968 U.S. obscenity trial of I am Curious with excerpts from the testimonies of Stanley Kauffman, John Simon, Reverend Howard Moody, Dr. Tom Levin, Iring Fishman, Reverend Dan M. Potter, Vilgot Sjöman and Norman Mailer. There is the original, but never shown before, trailer for I am Curious in Swedish with optional English subtitles. And last, there is a hidden easter egg, which contains a useless extra of color bars for tuning your television. As to why this would be wanted for a black and white film, I’m not sure, but it’s there.

Navigation:
There are thirty five chapters available for I Am Curious (Yellow) from the main menu. They are identified by a video clip from the scene that the chapter goes to. This chapter structure makes it easy to get to virtually any point in the film. There is a time code for the feature film encoded on the disc.

General Review:
I am Curious (Yellow) is basically three different films rolled into one and I’m not sure that this works out for the best of the film or not in the long run. The film, which is very long, rambles on in places and bounces around in the story. This doesn’t get confusing for the viewer, but can get annoying at times.

The first level of the film is a look at the political and socioeconomic structure of Sweden in the 1960s. These are done by interviews of citizens and parts of the ruling class and a look at how the government there was changing at the time. This level of the film is apt to be of less interest these days to the majority of viewers out there and turn many off to the film, especially considering that the bulk of the first half hour only looks at this level.

The second level of the film is a coming of age story involving Swedish young adult Lena (Lena Nyman) and how she deals with her sexuality and understanding the politics of her country. If this level of the film had been given a film of it’s own, I think that it would hold up better today and interest more viewers than the collective that is demonstrated here.

The third level of the film is a making of the film level where Vilgot Sjöman and other members of the crew invade the screen along with their equipment, partially in the coming of age portion and in other parts for some comic relief. For instance during the yoga demonstration when the whole crew demonstrates their abilities.

As erotica, the film is essentially useless, despite the pervasive nudity throughout. Most of the nudity is sterile and isn’t erotic in any aspect. As far as the controversial sex scenes, by today’s standards they are very tame and most viewers won’t understand what all the fuss was about. Most, if not all, of the sex and oral play appear to be simulated. As to whether the cunnilingus and fellatio were actually performed isn’t clear. It appears that even the director is unsure whether any actual sex happened during the filming.

The film, for the most part, was unscripted, which works for it and against it at the same time. There are points where it rambles on and gets a little bogged down and there are other places that the film benefitted from the spontaneity of the scene. While watching the film, I couldn’t help but wonder if the film would have benefitted from the three various aspects being made into three separate films, but then again, by removing them, each one would have lost part of the impact, so it might be better that they are all together.

The film would have benefitted from tighter editing and shortening the film by about a half hour. And the film would be more accessible today if there was less of the political stance and more of the coming of age portion. Although not a masterpiece of foreign cinema, I Am Curious (Yellow) is still a fun and interesting film to watch.

Parting Thoughts:
Although, often considered to be pornography, I am Curious (Yellow) really isn’t and viewers who are looking for erotica when viewing this film will be sorely disappointed. In it’s time the nudity and graphic sex may have been shocking, but today they aren’t. This is going to be a hard film for many viewers to watch as they may get lost in the politics, but this is a rewarding film for those that choose to view it. This is also an important film for fans of adult erotica to remember as it is due to it that they have adult entertainment today to view. If the film interests you, I’d recommend a rental over a purchase as I doubt that most viewers would want to view it more than once.

Synopsis:
A documentary style look at the social and religious state of Sweden in the 1960s as explored by Lena (Lena Nyman) while she explores the sexuality of others around her.

Audio/Video:
I Am Curious (Blue) is presented with it’s original theatrical Swedish 1.0 Mono track, which sounds excellent. The dialog is clear and can be heard at all times and the track is clear of pops and hissing sounds. The audio levels vary occasionally, but it is nothing that will ruin your viewing experience. Criterion hasn’t included any English or any other language track for the film but has included English subtitles. The subtitles are player generated so they can be turned off and on.

I Am Curious (Blue) is presented in the full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1, which could be the original aspect ratio for the film. If the film wasn’t originally presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio then it was originally presented in the ratio of 1.37:1, either way this presentation works very well. This black and white film is in excellent shape here with only a few occasional artifacts. Criterion has done an excellent job of cleaning up the print and this is probably the best this film has looked since it’s original theatrical run.

Special Features:
There are a few extras included on the disc, but not as many as on the Yellow disc. As with the Yellow film, there is a director’s commentary, which is available on selected scenes. There is a guide with the commentary which tells the viewer what chapter the commentary picks back up on. There is a deleted scene included on the disc from the blue film which shows Lena going after a state church. The scene is presented with a Swedish audio track and optional English subtitles. This scene hasn’t been cleaned up as much as the rest of the film has but still looks good. There is a feature titled Self Portrait '92 which is an 18 minute piece composed of excerpts from a made for Swedish television program by Vilgot Sjöman about his career. The program is in Swedish mostly, with optional English subtitles. And last, there is a hidden easter egg, which contains a useless extra of color bars for tuning your television.

Navigation:
There are 32 chapters available from the main menu for I Am Curious (Blue). Each one is identified by a name for the scene that it goes to. The chapters do a good job of breaking up the film and making it easy for the viewer to get to any portion of the film. There is a time code for the feature film encoded on the disc.

General Review:
I am Curious (Blue) isn’t a sequel to I am Curious (Yellow), but is a companion film. They were both filmed at the same time but Vilgot Sjöman had more footage than he could use in one film, so he made two films instead. I am Curious (Blue) isn’t just a rehash of Yellow, it is it’s own film, which covers it’s own topics.

As with Yellow, this film is basically several films in one mold. On one level you have a look at the social and religious stance of Sweden and the people there. Most of this aspect is portrayed by Lena talking with people on the streets about their views and is shown through various demonstrations that take place in the film. There is also a portion of the film that focuses on the prison system in Sweden at the time. Although some of this material can be very dry, it somehow fits into this film better than it did in Yellow.

On another level you see Lena exploring the sexuality of people around her, her own sexuality seems to have taken a back burner seat in this venture. There is a much bigger emphasis on lesbianism in this film than heterosexual relationships. The film opens with a talk at an all girls school, which shows some horrible misperceptions of lesbianism and masturbation. Throughout the film Lena is a voyeur into the sexual lives of several people around her and how they are working out. There is a smaller portion which covers Lena’s sexual relationships, but it is far less pronounced here than in Yellow.

And on the last level, you have a making of the film type environment where the camera crew is plainly visible. In several cases this atmosphere is used, as it was in Yellow, to insert some humor into the film. This aspect is worked into the actual film so that it flows along with it, which can mess with your perceptions of reality in the film as at one moment you are watching a documentary style scene. The next moment you are watching what appears to be a scripted scene, and the next thing you know the director is talking to one of the cast members about their performance and motivation in a scene. This is definitely a unique film that Vilgot Sjöman has created.

When Yellow came out it sparked tons of controversy and ended up changing the obscenity laws here in the U.S. allowing films to change and as a result was a heavily seen film. When Blue came out, it didn’t cause all of the publicity of Yellow and even to this day is far less seen than Yellow is. The sexual themes in this film, as with the nudity, are vastly reduced from Yellow playing a much smaller role. This is not to say that the film wasn’t tame for it’s time though, especially since it contains a graphic lesbian scene for the time. As with Yellow, when viewed today, the sexual portions seem very tame and may cause viewers to wonder what all the controversy was about. Viewers who are viewing this film just for the graphic sex will be sorely disappointed with this outing as well since the lesbian scene is the most graphic in the film. As with Yellow, the sex scenes here are sterile and not useful for erotica purposes. If you are looking for a true adult film, this is not one to watch.

This film bounces around more in the telling of it’s story than Yellow does but due to how it is put together it works better than Yellow does. There is less of an attempt for a linear story here which allows the structure of the film to be less frustrating to viewers. The politics isn’t as heavy handed as it was in the first one as well, which helps the film. Although there are a few dry portions to the film, the tighter editing and the shorter run time work for the film allowing it to be more accessible by today’s audiences.

Although it is doubtful that this film will ever be considered to be exceptional foreign cinema, it along with the companion film I am Curious (Yellow), have left their mark in cinematic history and ever since their import to the U.S. our cinema has never been the same. The film breaks down boundaries that used to exist in Hollywood and also started the acceptance of adult cinema in the U.S. If for no other reason than this, this film, along with Yellow, are both very important pieces in cinematic history and very deserving of the Criterion treatment that they have been given.

Parting Thoughts:
In some ways, I am Curious (Blue) works better than I am Curious (Yellow). Viewers who are looking for pornography will be disappointed by this film as the graphic sex is even less here than it is in Yellow. Blue may be more accessible to more viewers than Yellow was due to it’s structure and shorter run time. If you are interested in the film, I’d recommend a rental over a purchase since many viewers won’t want to see this film more than once.

Special Features:
The only shared extras are two booklets that come with the discs. The first one is an essay about the two films, which is also in text form on the yellow disc. The second one is an interview with director Vilgot Sjöman, which is also in text form on the blue disc.

Parting Thoughts:
It’s great that Criterion has released these films on disc and have done such a great job with the presentation of them. Fans of either film will definitely want to pick up these discs as this is the best they have ever looked and probably the best they ever will. Viewers who have not seen the films yet but are interested in them would probably be better off renting before purchasing as there is a good chance you’ll never want to watch either one again.

Past Reviews Interviews