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Days of Wine and Roses (film)
Encyclopedia
Days of Wine and Roses is a film directed by Blake Edwards
with a screenplay by JP Miller
adapted from his own 1958 Playhouse 90
teleplay
of the same name. (See: Days of Wine and Roses, 1958 TV drama
.)
The movie was produced by Martin Manulis
, with music by Henry Mancini
, and features Jack Lemmon
, Lee Remick
, Charles Bickford
and Jack Klugman
. The film depicts the downward spiral of two average Americans who succumb to alcoholism
and attempt to deal with their problem.
An Academy Award went to the film's theme music, composed by Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer
. The film received four other Oscar nominations, including ones for Best Actor and Best Actress.
) meets and falls in love with Kirsten Arnesen (Lee Remick
), a secretary
. Kirsten is a teetotaler until Joe introduces her to social drinking. Reluctant at first, after her first few Brandy Alexander
s, she admits that having a drink "made me feel good." Despite the misgivings of her father (Charles Bickford
), who runs a San Mateo landscaping business, they get married and have a daughter named Debbie.
Joe slowly goes from the "two-martini
lunch" to full-blown alcoholism
. It affects his work and, in due time, he and Kirsten both succumb to the pleasures and pain of addiction. Joe is demoted due to poor performance brought on by too much booze. He is sent out of town on business. Kirsten finds the best way to pass the time is to drink, and drink a lot. While drunk one afternoon, she causes a fire in their apartment and almost kills herself and their child. Joe eventually gets fired from the PR firm and goes from job to job over the next several years.
One day, Joe walks by a bar and sees his reflection in the window. He goes home and says to his wife: "I walked by Union Square Bar. I was going to go in. Then I saw myself, my reflection in the window, and I thought, 'I wonder who that bum is.' And then I saw it was me. Now look at me. I'm a bum. Look at me! Look at you. You're a bum. Look at you. And look at us. Look at us. C'mon, look at us! See? A couple of bums."
Seeking escape from their addiction, Joe and Kirsten work together in Mr. Arnesen's business and succeed in staying sober for a while. However, the urges are too strong, and after a late-night drinking binge, Joe destroys an entire greenhouse of his father-in-law's plants while looking for a stashed bottle of liquor.
After commitment to a sanitarium, Joe finally gets sober for a while, with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous
, a dedicated sponsor named Jim Hungerford (Jack Klugman
) and regular AA meetings. When Joe tries to help Kirsten, he instead ends up drinking again, and goes to a liquor store
that closed for the night. Joe breaks into the store and steals a bottle, resulting in another trip to the sanitarium.
Hungerford warns him that he must keep sober no matter what, even if that means staying away from Kirsten. He explains to Joe how alcoholics often demonstrate obsessive behavior, pointing out that Kirsten's previous love of chocolate may have been the first sign of an addictive personality, and counsels him that most drinkers hate to drink alone.
Joe eventually becomes sober for good and a responsible father to his child while holding down a steady job. He tries to make amends with his father-in-law by offering him an envelope full of cash for past debts and wrongs, but Mr. Arnesen lashes out at him for getting Kirsten involved in the alcoholic lifestyle. Kirsten, he says, has been disappearing for long stretches of time and picking up strangers in bars.
One night, after Debbie is asleep, Kirsten comes to their apartment to attempt a reconciliation. Joe sees that if he were to give in, it could lead to more of his previous self-destructive behavior.
Kirsten longs for going back to "the way it was" but as Joe explains to her, "You remember how it really was? You and me and booze — a threesome. You and I were a couple of drunks on the sea of booze, and the boat sank. I got hold of something that kept me from going under, and I'm not going to let go of it. Not for you. Not for anyone. If you want to grab on, grab on. But there's just room for you and me — no threesome."
Kirsten refuses to admit she's an alcoholic, but does acknowledge that without alcohol, she "can't get over how dirty everything looks." "You better give up on me," she says. When Debbie asks "Daddy, will Mommy ever get well?" he says "I did, didn't I?" When Kirsten leaves, Joe fights the urge to go after her. He looks down the street where Kirsten is walking, a "Bar" sign reflecting in the window.
writer Ernest Dowson
(1867–1900):
Miller's teleplay for Playhouse 90, also titled Days of Wine and Roses
, had received favorable critical attention and was nominated for an Emmy in the category "Best Writing of a Single Dramatic Program - One Hour or Longer." Manulis, a Playhouse 90 producer, decided the material was ideal for a groundbreaking movie. Some critics observed that the movie lacked the impact of the original television production. In an article written for DVD Journal, critic D.K. Holm noted numerous changes that altered the original considerably when the material was filmed. He cites as an example the hiring of Jack Lemmon. With his participation "little remained of the founding teleplay, except for actor Charles Bickford reprising his role."
locations included San Francisco
, Albany
and the Golden Gate Fields
racetrack. The Oscar-winning song had music by Henry Mancini
and lyrics by Johnny Mercer
. Single records by Andy Williams and the Henry Mancini chorus made the Billboard Top 40.
Director Blake Edwards became a non-drinker a year after completing the film and went into substance recovery. He said that he and Jack Lemmon were heavy drinkers while making the film. Edwards used the theme of alcohol abuse often in his films, including: 10
(1979
), Blind Date (1987
) and Skin Deep
(1989
). Both Lemmon and Remick sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous
long after they had completed the film. Lemmon revealed to James Lipton
on Inside the Actors Studio
his past drinking problems
and his recovery. The film had a lasting effect in helping alcoholics deal with their problem. Today, Days of Wine and Roses is required viewing in many alcoholic and drug rehabilitation
clinics across America.
The picture opened in wide release
in the United States on December 26, 1962. The box office receipts for the film were good given the numbers reported are in 1962 dollars. Total sales were $8,123,077.
of the film was released on January 6, 2001 by Warner Home Video
. The DVD contains an extra commentary track by director Blake Edwards, and an interview with Jack Lemmon. A laserdisc
was released in 1990.
film critic, Bosley Crowther
wrote, "[It] is a commanding picture, and it is extremely well played by Mr. Lemmon and Miss Remick, who spare themselves none of the shameful, painful scenes. But for all their brilliant performing and the taut direction of Blake Edwards, they do not bring two pitiful characters to complete and overpowering life."
The staff at Variety
magazine liked the film, especially the acting, writing, "Miller's grueling drama illustrates how the unquenchable lure of alcohol can supersede even love, and how marital communication cannot exist in a house divided by one-sided boozing... Lemmon gives a dynamic and chilling performance. Scenes of his collapse, particularly in the violent ward, are brutally realistic and terrifying. Remick, too, is effective, and there is solid featured work from Charles Bickford and Jack Klugman and a number of fine supporting performances."
In a review of the DVD critic Gary W. Tooze lauded Edward's direction and the acting, writing, "Blake Edwards's powerful adaptation of J.P. Miller's Playhouse 90 story, starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick in career performances, remains a variation in his body of work largely devoted to comedy... Lemmon is at his best and ditto for Remick in this harrowing tale of people consumed by their mutual addiction. This turns to an honest and heartbreaking portrayal of alcoholism as deftly done as any film I can remember."
Margaret Parsons, film curator at the National Gallery of Art
, said, "[The film] remains one of the most gut-wrenching dramas of alcohol-related ruin and recovery ever captured on film...and it's also one of the pioneering films of the genre."
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
reported that 100% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on seven reviews.
Wins (1963)
Academy Awards
Nominations (1963)
Other wins
Other Nominations
Other honors
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
with a screenplay by JP Miller
JP Miller
James Pinckney Miller , known to friends and associates by the nickname Pappy, wrote under the name JP Miller. He was a leading playwright during the Golden Age of Television, receiving three Emmy nominations...
adapted from his own 1958 Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
teleplay
Teleplay
A teleplay is a television play, a comedy or drama written or adapted for television. The term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish a television plays from stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films...
of the same name. (See: Days of Wine and Roses, 1958 TV drama
Days of Wine and Roses (1958 TV drama)
Days of Wine and Roses was an acclaimed 1958 teleplay by JP Miller which dramatized the problems of alcoholism. John Frankenheimer directed the cast headed by Cliff Robertson, Piper Laurie and Charles Bickford....
.)
The movie was produced by Martin Manulis
Martin Manulis
Martin Manulis was an American film, television and theater producer. Manulis was best known for creating the television program, Playhouse 90 on CBS.-Career:...
, with music by Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
, and features Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
, Lee Remick
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
, Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette , The Farmer's Daughter , and Johnny Belinda...
and Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman
Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
. The film depicts the downward spiral of two average Americans who succumb to alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and attempt to deal with their problem.
An Academy Award went to the film's theme music, composed by Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
. The film received four other Oscar nominations, including ones for Best Actor and Best Actress.
Plot
Public relations man Joe Clay (Jack LemmonJack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
) meets and falls in love with Kirsten Arnesen (Lee Remick
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
), a secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
. Kirsten is a teetotaler until Joe introduces her to social drinking. Reluctant at first, after her first few Brandy Alexander
Brandy Alexander
Brandy Alexander is a sweet, brandy-based cocktail consisting of cognac and crème de cacao that became popular during the early 20th century.It was supposedly created at the time of the wedding of Princess Mary and Viscount Lascelles, in London, in 1922...
s, she admits that having a drink "made me feel good." Despite the misgivings of her father (Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette , The Farmer's Daughter , and Johnny Belinda...
), who runs a San Mateo landscaping business, they get married and have a daughter named Debbie.
Joe slowly goes from the "two-martini
Martini (cocktail)
The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. H. L. Mencken called the martini "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet" and E. B...
lunch" to full-blown alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. It affects his work and, in due time, he and Kirsten both succumb to the pleasures and pain of addiction. Joe is demoted due to poor performance brought on by too much booze. He is sent out of town on business. Kirsten finds the best way to pass the time is to drink, and drink a lot. While drunk one afternoon, she causes a fire in their apartment and almost kills herself and their child. Joe eventually gets fired from the PR firm and goes from job to job over the next several years.
Seeking escape from their addiction, Joe and Kirsten work together in Mr. Arnesen's business and succeed in staying sober for a while. However, the urges are too strong, and after a late-night drinking binge, Joe destroys an entire greenhouse of his father-in-law's plants while looking for a stashed bottle of liquor.
After commitment to a sanitarium, Joe finally gets sober for a while, with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
, a dedicated sponsor named Jim Hungerford (Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman
Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
) and regular AA meetings. When Joe tries to help Kirsten, he instead ends up drinking again, and goes to a liquor store
Liquor store
In the United States, Australia and Canada, a liquor store is a type of store that specializes in the sale of alcoholic beverages. In South Africa and Namibia these stores are generally called bottle stores....
that closed for the night. Joe breaks into the store and steals a bottle, resulting in another trip to the sanitarium.
Hungerford warns him that he must keep sober no matter what, even if that means staying away from Kirsten. He explains to Joe how alcoholics often demonstrate obsessive behavior, pointing out that Kirsten's previous love of chocolate may have been the first sign of an addictive personality, and counsels him that most drinkers hate to drink alone.
Joe eventually becomes sober for good and a responsible father to his child while holding down a steady job. He tries to make amends with his father-in-law by offering him an envelope full of cash for past debts and wrongs, but Mr. Arnesen lashes out at him for getting Kirsten involved in the alcoholic lifestyle. Kirsten, he says, has been disappearing for long stretches of time and picking up strangers in bars.
One night, after Debbie is asleep, Kirsten comes to their apartment to attempt a reconciliation. Joe sees that if he were to give in, it could lead to more of his previous self-destructive behavior.
Kirsten longs for going back to "the way it was" but as Joe explains to her, "You remember how it really was? You and me and booze — a threesome. You and I were a couple of drunks on the sea of booze, and the boat sank. I got hold of something that kept me from going under, and I'm not going to let go of it. Not for you. Not for anyone. If you want to grab on, grab on. But there's just room for you and me — no threesome."
Kirsten refuses to admit she's an alcoholic, but does acknowledge that without alcohol, she "can't get over how dirty everything looks." "You better give up on me," she says. When Debbie asks "Daddy, will Mommy ever get well?" he says "I did, didn't I?" When Kirsten leaves, Joe fights the urge to go after her. He looks down the street where Kirsten is walking, a "Bar" sign reflecting in the window.
Cast
- Jack LemmonJack LemmonJohn Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
as Joe Clay - Lee RemickLee RemickLee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
as Kirsten Arnesen Clay - Charles BickfordCharles BickfordCharles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette , The Farmer's Daughter , and Johnny Belinda...
as Ellis Arnesen - Jack KlugmanJack KlugmanJacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
as Jim Hungerford - Alan HewittAlan HewittAlan Hewitt was an American film, television and stage actor.He never became a major star, but he did have a lengthy career which included smaller parts in several well-known programs, including Daktari, I Dream Of Jeannie, Dr...
as Rad Leland - Tom Palmer as Ballefoy
- Debbie Megowan as Debbie Clay
- Maxine StuartMaxine StuartMaxine Stuart is a retired American actress. She has appeared in numerous television series, including Chicago Hope, NYPD Blue and Trapper John, M.D.....
as Dottie - Jack AlbertsonJack AlbertsonJack Albertson was an American character actor dating to vaudeville. A comedian, dancer, singer, and musician, Albertson is perhaps best known for his roles as Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure , Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Amos Slade in the 1981 animated film The Fox...
as Trayner - Ken Lynch as Liquor Store Proprietor
- Gail Bonney as Gladys the Cleaning Lady
- Mel BlancMel BlancMelvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
as TV Cartoon Characters (voice) - Jack Riley as Waiter
- Katherine SquireKatherine SquireKatherine Squire was an American actress who appeared on Broadway and in regional theater, movies and television, from the 1920s through the 1980s.-Early life:...
as Mrs Nolan - Lisa Guiraut as Belly Dancer
- Jennifer EdwardsJennifer EdwardsJennifer Edwards is an American actress best known for playing the title role in the NBC made-for-television movie Heidi , which aired on November 17, 1968...
as Debbie Clay at age 5 - Lynn BordenLynn BordenLynn Borden is an American actress best known for her role as "Barbara Baxter" in the final season of the Shirley Booth sitcom Hazel, which aired on CBS from 1965 to 1966.-Background:...
uncredited as a party guest
Background
JP Miller found his title in the 1896 poem "Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetat Incohare Longam" by the EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
writer Ernest Dowson
Ernest Dowson
Ernest Christopher Dowson , born in Lee, London, was an English poet, novelist and writer of short stories, associated with the Decadent movement.- Biography :...
(1867–1900):
- They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
- Love and desire and hate;
- I think they have no portion in us after
- We pass the gate.
- They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
- Out of a misty dream
- Our path emerges for a while, then closes
- Within a dream.
Miller's teleplay for Playhouse 90, also titled Days of Wine and Roses
Days of Wine and Roses (1958 TV drama)
Days of Wine and Roses was an acclaimed 1958 teleplay by JP Miller which dramatized the problems of alcoholism. John Frankenheimer directed the cast headed by Cliff Robertson, Piper Laurie and Charles Bickford....
, had received favorable critical attention and was nominated for an Emmy in the category "Best Writing of a Single Dramatic Program - One Hour or Longer." Manulis, a Playhouse 90 producer, decided the material was ideal for a groundbreaking movie. Some critics observed that the movie lacked the impact of the original television production. In an article written for DVD Journal, critic D.K. Holm noted numerous changes that altered the original considerably when the material was filmed. He cites as an example the hiring of Jack Lemmon. With his participation "little remained of the founding teleplay, except for actor Charles Bickford reprising his role."
Filming
The film's Northern CaliforniaNorthern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
locations included San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, Albany
Albany, California
Albany is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 18,539 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their community...
and the Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area...
racetrack. The Oscar-winning song had music by Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
and lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
. Single records by Andy Williams and the Henry Mancini chorus made the Billboard Top 40.
Director Blake Edwards became a non-drinker a year after completing the film and went into substance recovery. He said that he and Jack Lemmon were heavy drinkers while making the film. Edwards used the theme of alcohol abuse often in his films, including: 10
10 (film)
10 is a 1979 romantic comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and starring Bo Derek, Dudley Moore, and Julie Andrews. Considered a trend-setting film at the time, and one of the year's biggest box office hits, the film made superstars of Derek and Moore....
(1979
1979 in film
The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
), Blind Date (1987
1987 in film
-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
) and Skin Deep
Skin Deep (1989 film)
Skin Deep is a 1989 American film starring John Ritter, written and directed by Blake Edwards.-Plot:Zachary "Zach" Hutton is a successful author who has a weakness for alcohol and beautiful women. Zach's mistress walks in on him in the process of cheating on her, followed by his estranged wife Alex...
(1989
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
). Both Lemmon and Remick sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
long after they had completed the film. Lemmon revealed to James Lipton
James Lipton
James Lipton is an American writer, poet, composer, actor and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. He is the executive producer, writer and host of the Bravo cable television series Inside the Actors Studio, which debuted in 1994...
on Inside the Actors Studio
Inside the Actors Studio
Inside the Actors Studio is a series on the Bravo cable television channel, hosted by James Lipton. It is produced and directed by Jeff Wurtz; the executive producer is James Lipton. The program, which premiered in 1994, is distributed internationally by CABLEready and is broadcast in 125 countries...
his past drinking problems
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and his recovery. The film had a lasting effect in helping alcoholics deal with their problem. Today, Days of Wine and Roses is required viewing in many alcoholic and drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
clinics across America.
Box office
The producers used the following ironic tagline to market the film:- This, in its own terrifying way, is a love story.
The picture opened in wide release
Wide release
Wide release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing nationally . Specifically, a movie is considered to be in wide release when it is on 600 screens or more in the United States and Canada.In the US, films holding an NC-17 rating almost never have a...
in the United States on December 26, 1962. The box office receipts for the film were good given the numbers reported are in 1962 dollars. Total sales were $8,123,077.
Home media
A DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
of the film was released on January 6, 2001 by Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
. The DVD contains an extra commentary track by director Blake Edwards, and an interview with Jack Lemmon. A laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
was released in 1990.
Critical response
The film became one of Blake Edwards' best-regarded films, opening to praise from the critics and audiences alike. New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
film critic, Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
wrote, "[It] is a commanding picture, and it is extremely well played by Mr. Lemmon and Miss Remick, who spare themselves none of the shameful, painful scenes. But for all their brilliant performing and the taut direction of Blake Edwards, they do not bring two pitiful characters to complete and overpowering life."
The staff at Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine liked the film, especially the acting, writing, "Miller's grueling drama illustrates how the unquenchable lure of alcohol can supersede even love, and how marital communication cannot exist in a house divided by one-sided boozing... Lemmon gives a dynamic and chilling performance. Scenes of his collapse, particularly in the violent ward, are brutally realistic and terrifying. Remick, too, is effective, and there is solid featured work from Charles Bickford and Jack Klugman and a number of fine supporting performances."
In a review of the DVD critic Gary W. Tooze lauded Edward's direction and the acting, writing, "Blake Edwards's powerful adaptation of J.P. Miller's Playhouse 90 story, starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick in career performances, remains a variation in his body of work largely devoted to comedy... Lemmon is at his best and ditto for Remick in this harrowing tale of people consumed by their mutual addiction. This turns to an honest and heartbreaking portrayal of alcoholism as deftly done as any film I can remember."
Margaret Parsons, film curator at the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
, said, "[The film] remains one of the most gut-wrenching dramas of alcohol-related ruin and recovery ever captured on film...and it's also one of the pioneering films of the genre."
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 100% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on seven reviews.
Awards
Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
Wins (1963)
- Best Original Song, Henry ManciniHenry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
(music) and Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
(lyrics).
Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
Nominations (1963)
- Best ActorAcademy Award for Best ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
, Jack Lemmon. - Best ActressAcademy Award for Best ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
, Lee Remick. - Best Art DirectionAcademy Award for Best Art DirectionThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
, Joseph C. Wright and George James Hopkins. - Best Costume Design, Don Feld.
Other wins
- San Sebastián International Film FestivalSan Sebastián International Film FestivalThe San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
: OCIC Award Blake Edwards; Prize San Sebastián, Best Actor, Jack Lemmon; Best Actress, Lee Remick; 1963. - Fotogramas de Plata, Spain: Fotogramas de Plata; Best Foreign Performer, Jack Lemmon; 1964.
Other Nominations
- Golden Globes: Golden Globe; Best Motion Drama Picture; Best Motion Drama Picture Actor, Jack Lemmon; Best Motion Drama Picture Actress, Lee Remick; Best Motion Picture Director, Blake Edwards; 1963.
- British Academy of Film and Television ArtsBritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
: BAFTA Film Award; Best Film from any Source, USA; Best Foreign Actor, Jack Lemmon; Best Foreign Actress, Lee Remick; 1964.
Other honors
- Was selected by the film critics of The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as one of the 1000 best films ever made. - Selected as one of American Film Institute'sAmerican Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
best 400 films.
Notable quotes
- Joe: My name is Joe Clay. I'm an alcoholic.
- Kirsten: Thanks for the compliment, but I know how I look. This is the way I look when I'm sober. It's enough to make a person drink, wouldn't you say? You see, the world looks so dirty to me when I'm not drinking. Joe, remember Fisherman's Wharf?Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CaliforniaFisherman's Wharf is a neighborhood and popular tourist attraction in San Francisco, California. It roughly encompasses the northern waterfront area of San Francisco from Ghirardelli Square or Van Ness Avenue east to Pier 35 or Kearny Street...
The water when you looked too close? That's the way the world looks to me when I'm not drinking.
External links
- Days of Wine and Roses film trailer at You Tube
- Days of Wine and Roses at The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
1000 Best Movies Ever Made