Three Reasons: Cul-de-sac
September 15, 2011
Film Info
- United Kingdom
- 1966
- 112 minutes
- Black and White
- 1.66:1
- English
- Spine #577
Roman Polanski orchestrates a mental ménage à trois in this slyly absurd tale of paranoia from the director’s golden 1960s period. Donald Pleasence and Françoise Dorléac star as a withdrawn couple whose isolated house is invaded by a rude, burly American gangster on the run, played by Lionel Stander. The three engage in role-playing games of sexual and emotional humiliation. Cul-de-sac is an evocative, claustrophobic, and morbidly funny tale of the modern world in chaos.
Cast
| George | Donald Pleasence |
| Teresa | Françoise Dorléac |
| Richard | Lionel Stander |
| Albie | Jack MacGowran |
| Christopher | Iain Quarrier |
| Christopher’s father | Geoffrey Sumner |
| Christopher’s mother | Renee Houston |
| Philip Fairweather | Robert Dorning |
| Marie | Marie Kean |
| Cecil | William Franklyn |
| Jacqueline | Jacqueline Bisset |
| Horace | Trevor Delaney |
Credits
| Director | Roman Polanski |
| Producer | Gene Gutowski |
| Original screenplay | Roman Polanski and Gérard Brach |
| Executive producer | Sam Waynberg |
| Music | Krzysztof Komeda |
| Cinematography | Gilbert Taylor |
| Production design | Voytek |
| Editing | Alastair McIntyre |
| Production supervisor | Robert Sterne |
Disc Features
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Roman Polanski, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Two Gangsters and an Island, a 2003 documentary about the making of Cul-de-sac, featuring interviews with Polanski, producer Gene Gutowski, and cinematographer Gilbert Taylor
- Television interview with Polanski from 1967
- Theatrical trailers
- PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film critic David Thompson
New cover by Eric Skillman
Current Posts
Video
Film Essays
Cul-de-sac: High Tides
By August 16, 2011
“It is my best film. I always loved it. I always believed in it. It is real cinema, done for . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Cul-de-sac: High Tides
By August 16, 2011
“It is my best film. I always loved it. I always believed in it. It is real cinema, done for . . . Read more »
Video
Press Notes
Press Notes: Cul-de-sac
August 29, 2011
“Roman Polanski’s status as a world-class filmmaker of deep, epic regard is entrenched, but . . . Read more »
Posters
Three of a Kind
August 19, 2011
Cul-de-sac poster, design for Polish release by Jan Lenica. Read more »
Film Essays
Cul-de-sac: High Tides
By August 16, 2011
“It is my best film. I always loved it. I always believed in it. It is real cinema, done for . . . Read more »
