After the death of a common friend, three married men leave their lives together, seeking pleasure and freedom and ultimately leaving for London.After the death of a common friend, three married men leave their lives together, seeking pleasure and freedom and ultimately leaving for London.After the death of a common friend, three married men leave their lives together, seeking pleasure and freedom and ultimately leaving for London.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- Annie
- (as Meta Shaw)
- 'Normandy' Singer
- (as Eleanor Gould)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaScreenwriter John Cassavetes wrote the film's dialogue after doing improvisations with actors Ben Gazzara and Peter Falk. Reportedly, Cassavetes built the film's three main central characterizations around the real-life personalities of the film's three main actors one of whom included himself.
- Quotes
Archie Black: [Arriving at the funeral] I suppose this is proper, all these big cars and chauffeurs. Black shiny cars. Seems dopey for a guy like that. Well, I guess that's what they do. People get symbolic over death. They get very formal, and it's really ridiculous. Because it's probably the most humiliating thing in the world. But I feel very relaxed. People die of tensions. That's all they die of, Gus. That's the truth. Did you know that? I know it, and it's something I'm never gonna forget.
Gus Demetri: Don't believe truth. Just don't believe truth. Archie, I'm telling you, don't believe truth.
Archie Black: That is the truth now. You see, the truth will never kill you. Lies will. Not cigarettes, not alcohol. Lies, Gus. Lies and tensions. That'll kill you. That'll kill you before cancer in the heart. Did you know that?
- Crazy creditsThere are no closing credits and no "THE END" title card. The screen just goes black. In the opening credits, everyone involved in the film (even the "little people") are credited on two "tell all" title cards, right on down from the actors to the grips, a total of 82 credits.
- Alternate versionsThe original theatrical release ran 154 minutes. The out-of-print VHS release from Columbia/Tristar runs 132 minutes.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: Cousins/The Mighty Quinn/True Believer/Tap (1989)
- SoundtracksShow Me the Way to Go Home
(1925) (uncredited)
Written by Irving King
Sung a cappella by Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk and John Cassavetes
The story's basic premise renders an interesting theme. Given some traumatic event, like the death of someone we know, it's natural to grieve and reflect on the choices we've made. We thus gain perspective. But these guys seem oblivious to that process. Their only interest is juvenile self-indulgence of the moment, which creates behavior that is boorish and crude. I could not get interested in them or their drama. Nor did I have any respect for them.
The film's visuals are okay. But the runtime is way too long. A ninety-minute plot would have gotten the point across. Every minute beyond that is superfluous. Some segments are painfully drawn-out, like the one wherein they sit around a table in a bar getting drunk and listening to other people sing silly songs. And the script's dialogue is very talky. Basically, the entire plot can be summarized as three guys getting drunk, vomiting, and talking endlessly about themselves.
Acting is borderline at best. Some scenes encourage improvisation in acting and dialogue. Visuals trend conventional. There are a lot of close-up shots.
"Husbands" tries to be a social commentary on the ties that bind. But the plot and characters are rather awful. Direction and performances trend pretentious and self-conscious. And the whole bloated production seems misguided.
- Lechuguilla
- Oct 3, 2010
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Husbands: A Comedy About Life, Death and Freedom
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,000,000 (estimated)
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![Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, and Ben Gazzara in Husbands (1970)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTVmMGM3ZjktOTA2Mi00ZDhmLTg0YTItZGUzMzIwMmJmYzUwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjI4MjA5MzA@._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,1,90,133_.jpg)