Paul Mazursky passes away at age 84
#1
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Paul Mazursky passes away at age 84
LA Times
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Paul Mazursky, the Oscar-nominated writer-director who excelled at mining the urban middle class for laughs as well as tears in such movies as "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," "Blume in Love," "An Unmarried Woman" and "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," has died. He was 84.
Mazursky died of pulmonary cardiac arrest Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to family spokeswoman Nancy Willen.
A gentle satirist of contemporary society, Mazursky at his best chronicled the social trends of the late 1960s and the '70s, including its touchy-feely self-improvement fads, shifting rules for love and sex, drug experimentation and other excesses.
In the process, he created characters memorable for their struggles and vanities: the well-heeled couples in his 1969 directorial debut "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" who believe spouse-swapping is the cure for their hang-ups; the divorce lawyer in "Blume in Love" who thinks sexual freedom is great until his wife wants it; and the divorcee in "An Unmarried Woman" who steps gingerly into the singles scene after 15 years of what she thought had been a happy marriage.
Like Woody Allen, Mazursky wrote and directed most of his 17 films, which often were semi-autobiographical. He acted in nearly all of them. He was especially adept at creating strong female characters, as in Jill Clayburgh's standout portrayal of the jilted wife struggling toward independence in "An Unmarried Woman," which garnered three Oscar nominations: best actress for Clayburgh, best picture and best screenplay.
Mazursky died of pulmonary cardiac arrest Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to family spokeswoman Nancy Willen.
A gentle satirist of contemporary society, Mazursky at his best chronicled the social trends of the late 1960s and the '70s, including its touchy-feely self-improvement fads, shifting rules for love and sex, drug experimentation and other excesses.
In the process, he created characters memorable for their struggles and vanities: the well-heeled couples in his 1969 directorial debut "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" who believe spouse-swapping is the cure for their hang-ups; the divorce lawyer in "Blume in Love" who thinks sexual freedom is great until his wife wants it; and the divorcee in "An Unmarried Woman" who steps gingerly into the singles scene after 15 years of what she thought had been a happy marriage.
Like Woody Allen, Mazursky wrote and directed most of his 17 films, which often were semi-autobiographical. He acted in nearly all of them. He was especially adept at creating strong female characters, as in Jill Clayburgh's standout portrayal of the jilted wife struggling toward independence in "An Unmarried Woman," which garnered three Oscar nominations: best actress for Clayburgh, best picture and best screenplay.
#2
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Re: Paul Mazursky passes away at age 84
I really liked Down and Out in Beverly Hills.
#4
Re: Paul Mazursky passes away at age 84
Kinda liked him more as an actor than a director. He was the first Kubrick "Star" in Fear & Desire and his commentary in Blackboard Jungle is a fun listen.
#6
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Paul Mazursky passes away at age 84
In addition to B,C,T&A; Unmarried Woman, and Blume In Love- all of which are quality movies he also did a take on Shakesphere's Tempest with John Cassavettes that I've always liked and Harry & Tonto- a road movie with Art Carney and his cat.
Not an overwhelming filmography, but definitely some quiet gems in there.
I remember seeing the trailer to The Pickle in the theater and feeling bad for him and how far he'd fallen from his heights in the late 60's/70's.
Not an overwhelming filmography, but definitely some quiet gems in there.
I remember seeing the trailer to The Pickle in the theater and feeling bad for him and how far he'd fallen from his heights in the late 60's/70's.
#9
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Paul Mazursky passes away at age 84
I will defend The Pickle as a very warm and affectionate movie with fine performances from a large cast of supporting characters, including a great cameo role for Mazursky himself. I wonder if any of the dislike of this movie is thinking that the intentionally bad movie-within-the-movie is unintentionally bad, and that this feeling carries over to the movie as a whole? The Pickle definitely meanders and is no masterpiece but is hardly a disgrace either.
Last edited by obscurelabel; 07-02-14 at 02:20 PM.
#11
DVD Talk God
Re: Paul Mazursky passes away at age 84
Down and Out in Beverly Hills was a great 80s comedy along with Moscow on the Hudson.
Interesting to mention that Mazursky also acted in the recent Cinemax series Femme Fatales. I was surprised seeing him on it.
Interesting to mention that Mazursky also acted in the recent Cinemax series Femme Fatales. I was surprised seeing him on it.
#14
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Paul Mazursky passes away at age 84
I will defend The Pickle as a very warm and affectionate movie with fine performances from a large cast of supporting characters, including a great cameo role for Mazursky himself. I wonder if any of the dislike of this movie is thinking that the intentionally bad movie-within-the-movie is unintentionally bad, and that this feeling carries over to the movie as a whole? The Pickle definitely meanders and is no masterpiece but is hardly a disgrace either.
But then again, I guess you can't really call B,C, T & A particularly subtle either.
#15
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