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Rating: 
Summary: NO LONGER CURIOUS, JUST BORED
Review: I AM CURIOUS YELLOW/BLUE got massive publicity and made a bushel of bucks because of the explicit and frank nudity. The mountains of free publicity made further headlines when it was seized by customs upon entry to the United States and subjected to a heated court battle and banned in cities across the country.
Vilgot Sjoman's document of Swedish society during the sexual revolution has been declared both obscene and revolutionary.
It is neither. Sadly dated, it is laughably pretentious and boring. Almost butt-numbing.
Lena (Lena Nyman), a searching and rebellious young woman, seeks to understand 1960s Sweden, as well as her own sexual identity. Shattering taboos of its time and freely traversing between fact and fiction, I am Curious-Yellow is a two-disc set with I am Curious-Blue, a parallel film with the same characters further blurring the lines between fact and fiction. Much more sociological than strictly erotic. It has an amateurish, pretentious, voyeuristic patina was probably not intentional.
This one's for nostalgic videophiles who recall college days skipped to see this taboo film and then sitting around a coffee shop and discussing its deeper meaning.
Rating:
Summary: NO LONGER CURIOUS BUT BORED
Review: I AM CURIOUS YELLOW/BLUE got massive publicity and made a bushel of bucks because of the explicit and frank nudity. The mountains of free publicity made further headlines when it was seized by customs upon entry to the United States and subjected to a heated court battle and banned in cities across the country. Vilgot Sjoman's document of Swedish society during the sexual revolution has been declared both obscene and revolutionary. It is neither. Sadly dated, it is laughably pretentious and boring. Almost butt-numbing. Lena (Lena Nyman), a searching and rebellious young woman, seeks to understand 1960s Sweden, as well as her own sexual identity. Shattering taboos of its time and freely traversing between fact and fiction, I am Curious-Yellow is a two-disc set with I am Curious-Blue, a parallel film with the same characters further blurring the lines between fact and fiction. Much more sociological than strictly erotic. It has an amateurish, pretentious, voyeuristic patina was probably not intentional. This one's for nostalgic videophiles who recall college days skipped to see this taboo film and then sitting around a coffee shop and discussing its deeper meaning.
Rating: 
Summary: Political Correctness confronts conscience and reality...
Review: I have almost 100 Criterion titles, and that's the ONLY reason I picked this up. The film's sexuality was likely avant in the 60s, but it's very tame by today's standards. Additionally, by the time one wades through the cloying mire of Socialist/Communist platitudes, it barely matters because one is so bored that it's hard to pay attention. This is NOT a film of a young woman discovering her sexuality: it's four hours of anti-America prosetlyzing.
Rating:
Summary: Less than advertised
Review: I have almost 100 Criterion titles, and that's the ONLY reason I picked this up. The film's sexuality was likely avant in the 60s, but it's very tame by today's standards. Additionally, by the time one wades through the cloying mire of Socialist/Communist platitudes, it barely matters because one is so bored that it's hard to pay attention. This is NOT a film of a young woman discovering her sexuality: it's four hours of anti-America prosetlyzing.
Rating:
Summary: I Am Bored (Seriously)...
Review: I saw "I Am Curious (Yellow)" and "I Am Curious (Blue)" when they were originally released in 1967. "Yellow" and "Blue" were filmed simultaneously and released separately less than a year apart. A young female sociologist is taking a survey on sexual mores and attitudes, and this flimsy premise allows her to have sex in various places and in various positions while holding her clipboard and taking notes (sort of like an x-rated Eve Arden). There's lots of full frontal nudity, male and female, and the two leads are very attractive; but the sex, while explicit and real, is neither erotic nor pornographic which was the whole idea -the point being that the film's "political message" is more important and controversial. I still have the Grove Press screenplays ("with over 250 illustrations!") and here are translations of some of the signs the political protesters carry: "Have You Established a New Class System?" "Even Sweden Once Believed in the U.S. Now We Are Ashamed" "I like Communism Without Slave Camps! I Like Socialism Without Tyranny!" "Non-Cooperation! Sabotage! Fraternization! NOW! - A Message to Humanity: Down With Privileged Societies!" and last but not least: "U.S.A. Murderers! U.S.A. Get Out of Vietnam!" YAWN... (...excuse me...) And here are some quotes from the ecstatic European press which I've edited together into one succinct but representative rant: "'I Am Curious' accuses, with amazing poisonousness, monarchy, Social Democracy, neutrality, and the Swedish standard of living...[Director] Sjoman's ferocity is despair...he pulls down all the barriers he discovers, including the outermost sex barrier. But the prison remains: the stronghold of Puritanism, nationalism, egocentricity...A naked, desperate revolt againt well-fed, self-congratulatory, hypocritical, blue-and-yellow-flag-waving Sweden...." Yes, the films caused a sensation and there were "Freedom of (everything)" trials in the cities in which the films played (or attempted to be played). They are still too "hardcore" to be shown on The Sundance Channel or IFC; but on the other hand they would probably bore people to death if they turned up on the Playboy channel. As usual, Criterion's presentation is outstanding (can't wait for "The Honeymoon Killers"!); but if you're looking for cheap thrills or hoping to be politically outraged, this dated "socially conscious" wannabe doesn't even make it as an exploitation film.
Rating:
Summary: I've wanted to see this movie forever...
Review: I've wanted to see I Am Curious - Yellow for what, 35 years now? It made headlines back in the 1960's when it was banned for having too much sex. Now I wonder what all the fuss was about. There was a little bit of sex, a little bit of nudity - but only slightly more than Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl. Only the government could get worked up over this movie.
The other 98% of the movie had to do with commentary on excessive militarism (this movie was made during the Vietnam era - the 1960's version of Iraq), Western support for Spanish dictator Franco, and social justice in Sweden. It might have been relevant at the time - and a small portion of it still is - but many of the ideas shown then seem quaint today.
The movie (as well as the Blue version) might be good for historical purposes, but it just doesn't seem entertaining these days. I would have enjoyed it more in 1968.
Rating:
Summary: Political Correctness confronts conscience and reality...
Review: It is amusing to watch right-vs.-left perspectives on I AM CURIOUS (yellow) blossom, fill, bloom, and fade. However, in spite of apparent anti-US sentiments (which amount to not much more than depiction of anti-Vietnam War demonstrations,) this is hardly an anti-imperialist, or necessarily anti-US, film. We are all too often deceived by apparent 'clues,' in film and elsewhere. The director actually had another idea, when he made this film, as we shall venture here to show. It was rather an overview of modern life, and initiation when young into that life's vagaries, that are pursued in I AM CURIOUS (yellow.) Sexuality: shall we save the viewer some trouble? Understanding of sexuality can be derived elsewhere. Regarding I AM CURIOUS as nothing more than a comic, superficial overview of one young ladie's existence, would be a mistake. It is to cheat oneself. As with many comical films, there may be more here than meets the eye. It may be particularly useful to the newcomer to I AM CURIOUS to remember that A: the director of this film, Vilgot Sjoman, was a student of Ingmar Bergman's, and B: Ingmar Bergman has a very high regard for Vilgot Sjoman's work. ...this film leans on humor as an anti-"Do your own thing" spoof film moreso than does, say, the excellent BLOW UP, the other anti-"Do Your Own Thing" film of the 60s ... Scandalous as BLOW UP in many ways, this film chronicles a coming of age. DONT MISS IT. It is truly as valid in our own age as then. The 60s didn't monopolize the phenomena peculiar to itself, to iself. It appears to have had a sturdy half-life that persists, in its effects, to our own day. The main character is a twenty-four-year-old drama student. Her name is Lena. Not surprisingly, she is a left-winger in politics. She moves through phases. These are of sex, activism, yoga, vegetarianiasm, and non-violence. The director documents her gradual disillusionment. She learns of life this way; of the hip, the cool, the bourgeois, the conventional. Yet she does it with more humor than the photographer in the landmark Antonioni film, BLOW UP, does! One scene in particualar seems to capture the humor and essence of the theme of the entire film. Lena is in the middle of a chat with a female friend. It is about politics. Wittily enough, the conversation changes abruptly. It turns into a conversation about masturbating with shower sprayers and vacuum cleaners(thanks for the DVD edition. The previously available, and shortened, VHS Hens Tooth Video edition (useful as it was) omitted a few scenes, like this. One was left augmenting the film with the Grove Press script. Not so with this DVD edition.) I AM CURIOUS (YELLOW) was a controversial film in the 60s. It endured an obscenity trial here. The director was called in from Sweden to defend his piece. When it was finally released it was a let down for some viewers. All expeted a sizzling sex film. Instead they got humor. It also featured anti-vietnam demonstrations. No doubt part some expected an anti-establishment film. The director had a different idea. He wanted to show Lena growing up, and learning about both sides of the coin, about different points of view. He ventures to show the follies of college-aged leftism, not just the pruderies and pigheadedness of right-wing fascism. Lena gradually becomes some kind of enlightened , though she may resent it. She comes to see, no doubt, a few points of view besides her own, by the end of the film. The movie itself was a milestone. It broke taboos. After I AM CURIOUS (YELLOW), the movies changed. Film actors took their clothes off more often in mainline Hollywood films. They had sex on the screen: so what. Is this necessarily a virtue ? Such a trend may only serve prurient interests and drives : even the most liberal among us must be honest enough, open-minded enough to admit that. Did this film do any more than THAT? I think so. I think it did do more. It broke more important taboos. IT SHOWED TO THE YOUNG THAT IT MAY NOT BE THE ESTABLISHMENT THAT NEEDS ALL THE EXAMINING. Would that things could be so simple!
Perhaps the generation of LSD suicides needed to become more introspective. They needed to examine themselves as much as they examined their 'leaders' and the bourgeois complacency around them. This film helped to break a pervasive 60s assumption that new blood always knows all things. I began to understand why I never heard leftists discussing this film, in spite of its alleged slant. Why would a left-wing leader, say, recommend or discuss this film? A film that suggests young, college-aged leftists might challenge their own views (and by implication, conservative students, as well)? One might lose potential recruits for one's cause! and a chance to practice leadership skills with one's own set of young puppets... Politics may change. The basic phases college students go through haven't changed. That is why I consdider this film important, even today. This is particularly so for younger college students. They are so ripe for the picking, recruiting by leftist campus 'leaders,' occasionally out for their own aggrandizement, like many are. Such students are often exposed to subtly demanding peers who require their 'involvement' and partnership in 'movements,' and 'fads/trends.' This is done occasionally at the expense of the individuals' development. This is one of the messages of I AM CURIOUS (yellow) Leaders young and old, of the left or of the right, have their own agendas. They can be selfish ones. There may be more important things for a young person to do. To each his own. 'People follow like sheep:' one of the important messages of this valuable, if humorous, highly entertaining and controversial film. CAVEAT STUDENTI! Let the young beware. And don't miss this film. (PS: for those curious: blue and yellow are references to the colors of the Swedish flag.)
Rating: 
Summary: Apart from the sex scenes, it is better then I expected.
Review: The Criterion Collection's "I am Curious" box set. It contains two films by Vilgot Sjöman.
"I am Curious Yellow" and "I am Curious Blue," released in Sweden as "Jag är nyfiken - en film i gult" and "Jag är nyfiken - en film i blått," respectively. The films are named for the color of the Swedish flag.
It is best described as a docudrama on the changing political opinion of late 1960's Sweden. it contains good political material but contains sex scenes which I don't see any need for in the film. The filmmakers interview peopl and ask their opinion on matters ranging from seperation of Church and state, to the monarchy, to social issues.
The film has a notorious record in the US and was initially banned as obscene, but the ban was overturned.
The special features on the DVD are also quite good.
There is partial director's audio commentary for selected scens of both films, transcripts of court proceedings regarding the film's release, two films about the film's censorship and subsequent lawsuit, video introduction by director Vilgot Sjöman, Scenes from "Self portrait 91" another film by director,Vilgot Sjöman, theatrical trailers and a deleted scene.
This film would be great for all audiences if the sex scenes were removed.
Rating: 
Summary: the best way to see these films
Review: There is no better news for film fans than to see that one of your favorite movies has been chosen to be part of the Criterion Collection. "I Am Curious", yellow and blue, have been given the king's treatment with this release. The picture has been totally restored, and the films sparkle with vibrant black-and-white contrast. The audio is even more impressive, with nary a hint of distortion, crackle, or hiss. As to be expected, there are an extensive number of bonus materials dealing with the extreme controversy surrounding the films and their viewing in the United States. More a patchwork of social and sexual commentary than a traditionally narrative story, "I Am Curious" seems to exude a pulse and liveliness all its own. There is spontaneous humor, drama, and intense poignancy to be found within the running times of these two films, as well as a rather mind-expanding look into the social situation of 1960's Sweden. While the films are certainly notorious for their then-daring scenes of sexuality and frontal nudity, that aspect is really only a small piece of a big pie. Sadly, as is often the case, the films were totally taken out of context in the U.S., where they were successful solely on being perceived as sex films instead of intelligent social commentary. Still, if it weren't for the sex controversy the films garnered, I don't imagine that there would be this wonderful Criterion dvd to watch and learn from. Definitely groundbreaking, "I Am Curious" truly lives up to the Criterion motto of "important classic and contemporary films". If you've seen them before, you'll know how good they look in this presentation. If you are simply curious to know what all the fuss was about, these two discs and the accompanying booklets will leave you feeling like a film scholar. Recommended for those interested in film history, censorship, obscenity laws, or simply movies that offer something unusual and thought-provoking.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: This was one of the most notorious movies of the 20th century--references to it even made Mad Magazine in the 1970s, surely proof of its universal reputation as forbidden cultural fruit.
It shows frontal nudity, simulated sexual intercourse, and, probably most shockingly at the time, the lead actress Lena (also the name of the character) kisses her lover's (flaccid) penis--in a kind of tender, funny way . . . her gesture is far removed from pornographic imagery, believe it or not.
But the sexual aspect of the movie, which was no doubt responsibile for the fascination it exerted on the American public imagination of the late 1960s and 1970s, has been long ago superceded by standard film fare.
Is the movie still worth watching? Absolutely. The main point of the movie is showing the difference between young Lena's poltical and social views, which are amusingly portrayed as idealistic and Left wing, with her approach to her own love life--which is ferociously traditional. Lena passionately marches against the Vietnam War, protests against Franco's Spain, and interviews inarticulate middle-class functionaries, putting them on the spot (is this where Michael Moore got his idea for ROGER AND ME?) about the injustice of the Swedish class system. All this is expected, and would almost be a cliche if it wasn't handled with such humour by the director. But we simultaneously watch her personal life develop, particularly her love life, and here she acts according to a very different set of values--despite her belief in the power of non-violence in politics, she points a rifle at an unfaithful lover and seems ready to shoot him. This satire is extended and very well done.
There are also many aspects of the movie, related specifically to the time, which actually enrich the experience for viewers watching in the 21st century. For example, Olaf Palme makes an extended cameo appearance as a young junior government minister; this is the same man, of course, who rose to become Swedish Prime Minister and was later assassinated with a .44 magnum while walking one evening with his wife, in a crime that was never solved.
On the whole, aside from cheerfully and amusingly portrayed sex that seems almost naive and innocent in today's terms, the film succeeds in asking enduringly relevant questions about the inter-relationship between private behaviour and public political beliefs. In Sweden, they may have been the stuff of effective satire, as in this movie; in the USA of the same period, the same basic dynamics played out very differently in the strange scene that unfolded in San Francisco, New York, and places like Chicago and Michigan: full of political rage, drugs, sexual experimentation and--ultimately--violent crimes.
The mixture of deliberate and accidental elements in the movie (including its historical context) add a subtle, foreboding quality that enhances the satirical, sexy and intelligent tone. I AM CURIOUS (YELLOW) is an early, and still insightful, movie about Western society and culture. Highly recommended.
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