Film Still

I Am Curious—Yellow

Vilgot Sjöman

Sweden

1967

121 minutes

Black and White

1.33:1

Swedish

180

Synopsis

Seized by customs upon entry to the United States, subject of a heated court battle, and banned in numerous cities, Vilgot Sjöman’s I Am Curious—Yellow is one of the most controversial films of all time. This landmark document of Swedish society during the sexual revolution has been declared both obscene and revolutionary. It tells the story of Lena (Lena Nyman), a searching and rebellious young woman, and her personal quest to understand the social and political conditions in 1960s Sweden, as well as her bold exploration of her own sexual identity. I Am Curious—Yellow is a subversive mix of dramatic and documentary techniques, attacking capitalist injustices and frankly addressing the politics of sexuality.

Cast

LenaLena Nyman
BörjeBörje Ahlstedt
RunePeter Lindgren
ChrisChris Wahlström
MarieMarie Göranzon
MagnusMagnus Nilsson
UllaUlla Lyttkens

Credits

DirectorVilgot Sjöman
ProducerGöran Lindgren
Executive producerLena Malmsjö
CinematographyPeter Wester
SoundTage Sjöborg
EditingWic Kjellin and Carl-Olov Skeppstedt
MusicBengt Ernryd

Disc Features

  • New high-definition digital transfer
  • New video introduction by director Vilgot Sjöman
  • Director’s diary: Vilgot Sjöman’s commentary on selected scenes from the film
  • New video interview with legendary publisher Barney Rosset and attorney Edward de Grazia about the controversy surrounding the film
  • The Battle for “I Am Curious—Yellow”, a video essay on the film’s censorship and trial
  • Excerpts from the transcripts of the trial for I Am Curious—Yellow
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Essay by critic Gary Giddins
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

From the Current

Sex and Politics: An Interview with Vilgot Sjöman

by John Lahr Mar 10, 2003

The Swedish director of I Am Curious explains how he fused the themes of eroticism, self-exploration, voyeurism, and nonviolence into a film about the new freedoms of the young. QUESTION: I Am Curious seemed to be a cinematic Tristram

Still Curious

by Gary Giddins Mar 10, 2003

When Philip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint appeared in 1969, sending the intelligentsia into exegetical panic over masturbation and self-loathing, Roth remarked that his book was at present an event, but in time would be a novel. It did not take long; the author of the far more subversive...

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