When Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice hit theaters, it turned heads and got everyone talking with its bold take on relationships.
A hot tub with naked people
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice — or BCTA, as we’ll also call it from here — is truly one of director Paul Mazursky’s standout films, and a key landmark of the New Hollywood era. New Hollywood, also known as the ”American New Wave,” was a game-changing period in film during the late 1960s and 1970s.
It shifted the focus from the traditional studio system to a more director-driven approach, giving filmmakers the freedom to explore more complex and controversial topics.
The idea for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice came to Paul Mazursky when he read an article in Time magazine about Fritz Perls, a “gestalt therapist” who was apparently having a wild time in a hot tub with naked people at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.
Esalen, founded in 1962, was a New Age therapy hotspot — definitely not your average spa! Intrigued, Mazursky and his wife decided to check it out, finding themselves as the only couple in a group of strangers who actually knew each other. After some fun experiences at Esalen, plus a little writing collaboration with his buddy Larry Tucker in Palm Springs, Mazursky came up with the final script for what would become a hilarious and boundary-pushing film.
