Richard Lester's - Petulia - starring Julie Christie George C. Scott

Directed by Richard Lester
USA 1968

San Francisco physician, Archie Bollen, is divorcing, sorting out new relationships with his ex, her new man, his sons, and friends who knew him as part of a couple. At a charity event, Petulia Danner, a young and lovely socialite, throws herself at him, telling him they should find a hotel room and soon announcing she intends to marry him. She's quixotic, vulnerable, and not easy to dissuade. She's also married and faces demons of her own. Bollen returns to his apartment one afternoon and finds her unconscious, savagely beaten, most certainly by her husband. How Archie and Petulia respond to the husband's abuse are the film's conclusion.

***

Lester, having left live television and America for a successful British career, returned once - to San Francisco - for a movie which straddles the Beatles era and his mature works such as Juggernaut and Robin and Marian. He retains some visual pyrotechnics and a liberal use of flashbacks (his great cameraman Nic Roeg has been credited with influence here). This is the story of the affair between Petulia and a recently divorced surgeon. Their passion is a reaction to his melancholy and her antipathy to a bullying, feeble husband. Set within a materialistic society for which Lester's antipathy shines through.

Excerpt from Channel 4 located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: June 10th, 1968

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DVD Review: Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover

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On June 20th, 2006 - Warner are simultaneously releasing FIVE 60/70's gems:

Richard Lester's Petulia with Julie Christie and George C. Scott

A Fine Madness

with Sean Connery, Joanne Woodward and Jean Seberg

Tony Richardson's The Loved One with Robert Morse and Jonathan Winters

I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! with Peter Sellers and Jo Van Fleet

The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight with Jerry Orbach and a young Robert De Niro

Distribution

Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC

Runtime

1:44:44

Video

1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.72 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Audio

English (Dolby Digital 2.0), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 2.0)

Subtitles

English, French, Spanish, None

Features

Release Information:
Studio: Warner Home Video

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1

Edition Details:

• Featurette: The Uncommon Making of Petulia (14:25)
• Theatrical trailer

DVD Release Date: June 20th, 2006
Keep Case
Chapters: 28

Comments:

Brilliant and bright transfer from Warner - image quality is exceptionally good. I see no manipulations and contrast and detail are magnificent, although skin tones have a tendency to look a shade reddish/orange at times. Audio is clean and consistent and there are optional off-white subtitles. The featurette is very good and helped me further appreciate this tremendous film experience.

This is a great cinema and one film that probably should have been released before now. A striking film (beautifully photographed by Nicolas Roeg) that, perhaps unwittingly, captured an era and broaches a quasi-taboo topic. Filled with unique and interesting editing techniques that helps rank it as Lester's stylistic masterpiece. Strongly recommended!

Gary W. Tooze

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