Carnal Knowledge

"Its time has come."

1971 1h 38m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🍅

89%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 241🍅89%Rotten Tomatoes●77Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 15,947

DramaRomanceComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Two lifelong friends navigate complex sexual encounters and emotional entanglements, wrestling with societal norms and personal desires.

“Its time has come.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jack Nicholson
Jonathan
Candice Bergen
Susan
Art Garfunkel
Sandy
Ann-Margret
Bobbie
Rita Moreno
Louise
Cynthia O'Neal
Cindy
Carol Kane
Jennifer
Sheri Jackson
Mama

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mike Nichols
Writers: Jules Feiffer
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

55 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mike Nichols, shot by Giuseppe Rotunno. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sam O'Steen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Jack Nicholson and Candice Bergen and Art Garfunkel carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Its time has come.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0066892 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mike Nichols directs. Giuseppe Rotunno behind the camera. Sam O'Steen cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 5.7× over at the box office.
255 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Mike Nichols, shot by Giuseppe Rotunno. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Sam O'Steen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Jack Nicholson and Candice Bergen and Art Garfunkel carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Its time has come.".
7IMDB entry: tt0066892 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 11 themes, including "infidelity", "new york city", "eroticism", "coming of age".
9Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Giuseppe Rotunno
Editing: Sam O'Steen
Production design: Richard Sylbert
Costume design: Anthea Sylbert
Makeup / hair: Sydney Guilaroff
Sound: Richard Portman
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,000,000
Box office: $28,623,900
Return: 572% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: Carnal Knowledge (1971)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 77/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 15,947 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 2 wins & 5 nominations total

Also by

Mike Nichols

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2025-05-01
★ 6/10
Psychological study of the romantic lives of two males over the course of 25 years In the late 1940s, Two roommates at Amherst College (Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel) exchange personal info about their sextivities with various women as the years progress to the early ’70s. The female cast includes Candice Bergen, Ann-Margret, Cynthia O'Neal, Carol Kane and Rita Moreno. “Carnal Knowledge” (1971) is not a conventional look at college life in the manner of the later “Small Circle of Friends” or “The ’70s.” Rather, it’s a sometimes depressing, sometimes amusing chronicling of the evolution and devolution of the sexual lives of two college friends, one a smooth-talking narcissist (Nicholson) and the other a sensitive nice guy (Garfunkel). Their friendship and discussions are reminiscent of Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza in the 90s, just more edgy and not as funny. When released, the counterculture revolution of the late 60s was still fresh and nudity was the hip thang, which explains the skinny-dipping sequence in "Woodstock" and, a year later, the nudity in this flick and "The Last Picture Show,” as well as the soon-to-come "Stigma" and “The Harrad Experiment.” Of course, nudity in mainstream movies was nothing new in light of the pre-Hays era, as observed by "Tarzan and His Mate" from 1934. With the code lifted after almost three decades, movies like this seemed to exult in a new sense of libertine freedom. Whilst risqué and cutting edge at the time, it's just a quirky adult-oriented drama today. Nicholson has his likable smirk, as usual, but as the story progresses his character becomes increasingly distasteful and pathetic. Reflect on where he ends up; it’s a powerful point. Garfunkel’s character isn’t anywhere as bad, but he also becomes somewhat pitiable. “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” Although the story is sometimes tedious and there are distasteful elements, the cast is great and the psychological insights interesting. It runs 1 hour, 39 minutes, and was shot in New York City and at Panorama Film Studios in Vancouver. GRADE: B-
CinemaSerf2025-09-20
★ 7/10
“Jonathan” (Jack Nicholson) is having a pep talk with his bright-eyed roommate “Sandy” (Art Garfunkel) about the latter’s nervous interest in “Susan” (Candice Bergen). Their conversations now proceed to give us a blow by blow description of the evolution of their burgeoning romance, only for “Jonathan” to jump the gun and start an affair of his own with her! They keep that a secret from “Sandy” for a while, and indeed the three become a regular social group, but all the while duplicity is never far away. Indeed, throughout their lives it seems that one is “borrowing” from another - until “Bobbie” (Ann-Margret) appears on the scene and offers “Jonathan” a chance to shack-up with someone. She’s a larger than life character who, in reality, craves certainty. An husband, a child, an home. Thing is, though, with “Sandy” now courting the imposing “Cindy” (Cynthia O’Neal) the whole cycle appears set to start again. Are either of these men ever going to settle down, to find stability and happiness, or is this love triangle scenario destined to prevail to old age? Garfunkel delivers quite well here as the generous spirited and sensitive young lad, but it’s really Nicholson who steals the show as the flawed and obnoxious creature who makes hay when the sun shines, but gradually finds himself becoming lonelier and bereft of that which he craves most. Perhaps it’s because there is so much descriptive dialogue of their peccadilloes, but at times it can come across as a combination of the predatory and the sexually sterile but the roles from Bergen and especially the troubled Ann-Margret give this quite a punch. It’s often photographed like it’s a documentary with us looking head on, unaware of who is speaking, or who is listening, or even who else is the room at all. I found it really quite easy to take a dislike to “Jonathan”, but as it progresses I began to feel a bit of pity, and that’s a testament to some skilful acting and potent writing. It’s interesting that there is female nudity a-plenty here, but Nicholson is noticeably always shielded by a pot plant, or a towel or even some steam!