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When writer-director Paul Mazursky's An Unmarried Woman opened in 1978, it had the slogan, “She laughs, she cries, she feels angry, she feels lonely, she feels guilty, she makes breakfast, she makes love, she makes do, she is strong, she is weak, she is brave, she is scared, she is… an unmarried woman.” This makes the film sound hokey, but it’s actually an unpretentious look at a woman’s life turned upside down.

Jill Clayburgh is terrific as Erica, a Manhattan gallery worker who has to forge a new life after her husband (a deliciously self-absorbed Michael Murphy) leaves her for a younger woman. Clayburgh delineates each stage of Erica’s transformation into an independent woman – from abandonment and grief to anger, reconciliation, and empowerment – with delicacy and wit, and Mazursky captures the performance with a visual style that alternates elegant, formal compositions and freewheeling handheld camerawork to perfectly accentuate his title character’s rollercoaster journey.

Director: Paul Mazursky
Cast: Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy
Country: USA
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

BD50 | 1080p | 02:04:27 | 44.6 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English
Subtitles: English

Extras:

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary features Paul Mazursky and Jill Clayburgh. The bulk of the comments address the staging and shooting of key scenes from the film -- a lot was apparently done impulsively -- the identities of the main protagonists and the dilemmas they are presented with, the film's straightforwardness and sense of humor, his fondness for shooting scenes with food, etc. The commentary was recorded in 2005.

• Michael Murphy - in this new video interview, actor Michael Murphy remembers his work with Paul Mazursky and Jill Clayburgh on An Unmarried Woman and how for years the character he played haunted him. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Portland, Maine in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080p).

• Lisa Lucas - in this new video interview, actress Lisa Lucas discusses the lasting impact her work with Paul Mazursky had on career as well the director's creative instincts and personality. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Portland, Maine in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

• Sam Wasson - in this new video interview, author Sam Wasson (Paul on Mazursky) explains what makes Paul Mazursky's work unique and some of the key themes that define it. There are specific comments about the conception of An Unmarried Woman as well. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Los Angeles in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 1080i).

• Paul Mazursky at the AFI - presented here is an audio version of a lecture with Paul Mazursky that was part of a Harold Lloyd Master Seminar at the American Film Institute, which was recorded on June 4, 1980. The director discusses his background, the evolution of his career, the particular ways in which he prepares before he shoots a new film, a fight he had with a camera operator on An Unmarried Woman, etc. In English, not subtitled. (75 min, 1080p).

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for An Unmarried Woman. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080i).