''I Am Curious (Yellow)'' (, ) is a 1967 Swedish

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by

Vilgot Sjöman David Harald Vilgot Sjöman (2 December 1924 – 9 April 2006) was a Swedish writer and film director. His films deal with controversial issues of social class, morality, and sexual taboos, combining the emotionally tortured characters of Ingm ...

, starring Sjöman and

Lena Nyman Anna Lena Elisabet Nyman (23 May 1944 – 4 February 2011) was a Swedish film and stage actress. Having had her first film roles in 1955, Nyman had a role in Vilgot Sjöman's ''491'' (1964) and got her breakthrough in his '' I Am Curious (Ye ...

. It is a companion film to 1968's ''

I Am Curious (Blue) ''I Am Curious (Blue)'' (, ) is a 1968 Swedish film directed by Vilgot Sjöman and starring Lena Nyman as a character named after herself. It is a companion film to 1967's ''I Am Curious (Yellow)''; the two were initially intended to be one 3½ h ...

''; the two were initially intended to be one hour film.

Plot

Director

plans to make a

social film A social film is a type of Interactive cinema, interactive film that is presented through the lens of social media. A social film is distributed digitally and integrates with a social networking service, such as Facebook or YouTube. It combines fea ...

starring his lover (played by

), a young theatre student who has a strong interest in social issues. Nyman's character, also named Lena, lives with her father in a small apartment in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and is driven by a burning passion for

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

and a need to understand the world, people and relationships. Her little room is filled with books, papers, and boxes full of clippings on topics such as "religion" and "men", and files on each of the 23 men with whom she has had sex. The walls are covered with pictures of

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

s and a portrait of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

, reminders of the crimes being perpetrated against humanity. She walks around Stockholm and interviews people about social classes in society, conscientious objection, gender equality, and the morality of vacationing in Franco's Spain. She and her friends also picket embassies and travel agencies. Lena's relationship with her father, who briefly went to Spain to fight Franco as part of the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

, is problematic, and she is distressed by the fact that he returned from Spain for unknown reasons after only a short period. Through her father Lena meets the slick Bill (Börje in the original Swedish), who works at a menswear shop and voted for the Rightist Party. They begin a love affair, but Lena soon finds out from her father that Bill has another woman, Marie, and a young daughter. Lena is furious that Bill has not been open with her, and goes to the country on a bicycle holiday. Alone in a cabin in the woods, she attempts an

ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

life-style,

meditating Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

, studying

nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

and practicing

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

. Bill soon comes looking for her in his new car. She greets him with a shotgun, but they soon make love. Lena confronts Bill about Marie, and finds out about another of his lovers, Madeleine. They fight and Bill leaves. Lena has strange dreams, in which she ties two teams of soccer players – she notes that they number 23 – to a tree, shoots Bill and cuts his penis off. She also dreams of being taunted by passing drivers as she cycles down a road, until finally

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

drives up. She apologizes to him for not being strong enough to practice nonviolence. Lena returns home, destroys her room, and goes to the car showroom where Bill works to tell him she has

scabies Scabies (; also sometimes known as the seven-year itch) is a contagious human skin infestation by the tiny (0.2–0.45 mm) mite ''Sarcoptes scabiei'', variety ''hominis''. The word is from . The most common symptoms are severe itchiness a ...

. They are treated at a clinic, and then go their separate ways. As the

embedded story A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a Narrative, story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are ...

of Lena and Bill begins to resolve, the film crew and director Sjöman are featured more. The relationship between Lena the actress and Bill the actor has become intimate during the production of Vilgot's film, and Vilgot is jealous and clashes with Bill. The film concludes with Lena returning Vilgot's keys as he meets with another young female theatre student.

Nonfictional content

The film includes an interview with Dr.

, filmed in March 1966, when King was visiting Stockholm along with

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...

with a view to starting a new initiative for Swedish support of African Americans. The film also includes an interview with the Minister of Transportation,

Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until as ...

(later

Prime Minister of Sweden The prime minister of Sweden (, "minister of state") is the head of government of the Sweden, Kingdom of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subject to th ...

), who talks about the existence of class structure in Swedish society (he was told it was for a documentary film), and footage of the Russian poet

Yevgeny Yevtushenko Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko (; 18 July 1933 – 1 April 2017) was a Soviet and Russian poet, novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, publisher, actor, editor, university professor, and director of several films. Biography Early lif ...

Cast

as himself *

as Lena *

Börje Ahlstedt Nils Börje Ahlstedt (born 21 February 1939) is a Swedish actor who has worked extensively with the world-famous director Ingmar Bergman in films like ''Fanny and Alexander'' (1982), ''The Best Intentions'' (1992), ''Sunday's Children'' (1992) a ...

as Börje * Peter Lindgren as Lena's father * Chris Wahlström as Rune's woman *

Marie Göranzon Britt-Marie Elisabeth Göranzon Malmsjö (born 27 October 1942) is a Swedish actress. Marie Göranzon has been part of Sweden's Royal Dramatic Theatre-ensemble since 1967. She trained at the Royal Dramatic Training Academy from 1964 to 1967. ...

as Marie * Magnus Nilsson as Magnus * Ulla Lyttkens as Ulla *

Anders Ek Anders Ek (7 April 1916 – 17 November 1979) was a Swedish film actor. He was born in Gothenburg, Sweden and died in Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous ...

as Exercise leader *

as himself *

as himself Uncredited roles *

Holger Löwenadler Holger Carl Minton Löwenadler (1 April 1904 – 18 June 1977) was a Swedish film actor. He starred in Ingmar Bergman's '' A Ship to India'' (1947). He appeared in '' Divorced'' (1951), which was written by Bergman. Other appearances inclu ...

as The King *

Bertil Norström Per Bertil Norström (9 September 1923 – 6 September 2012) was a Swedish actor. Born in Sala Municipality, Sweden, Sala, he was married to the actress Margreth Weivers from 1947 until his death. Selected filmography *1956 - ''The Staffan Stolle ...

as Factory worker *

Dora Söderberg Dora Söderberg (10 November 1899 – 9 November 1990) was a Swedish stage, film, and television actress. Daughter of the famous Swedish novelist and playwright Hjalmar Söderberg. Dora Söderberg was a highly acclaimed character actress a ...

Old lady in elevator *

Öllegård Wellton Ingeborg Viola Öllegård Wellton-Hell (née Wellton; 18 April 1932 – 26 June 1991) was a Swedish actress. She was married to actor Erik Hell from 1960 until his death in 1973. She studied at the Royal Dramatic Training Academy from 1950&ndas ...

as Yevtushenko's Interpreter *

Sven Wollter Sven Justus Fredrik Wollter (11 January 1934 – 10 November 2020) was a Swedish actor, writer, and political activist. Wollter is one of the most renowned Swedish actors, he was awarded Best Swedish actor twice. In his native country, he becam ...

as Captain

Release

Censorship

The film includes numerous and frank scenes of

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...

and staged

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...

. One particularly controversial scene features Lena kissing her lover's (Borje's) flaccid

penis A penis (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate. The term ''pen ...

. Released in Sweden in October 1967, it was released in the U.S. in March 1969, immediately attracting a ban in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

for being

pornographic Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...

, with the

Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1854, the BPD is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. It is also the 20th largest law enforce ...

seizing the film reels from the Symphony Cinemas I & II on Huntington Avenue. After proceedings in the

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (in case citations, D. Mass.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose Jurisdiction (area), territorial jurisdiction is the Commonwealth (U.S. state), C ...

(''Karalexis v. Byrne'', 306 F. Supp. 1363 (D. Mass. 1969)), the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York (state), New York, and Vermont, and it has ap ...

, and the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

(''Byrne v. Karalexis''
396 U.S. 976 (1969)
an

, the Second Circuit found the film not to be obscene. The

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

film censorship board banned the film's exhibition in the state on 8 July 1969, in a decision backed by Francis B. Burch, who was the state's attorney general at the time; he described the film as hard-core pornography. The ruling was challenged by the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

, and although an appeals court eventually declared that the film was not obscene, the ban was ultimately upheld with a split 4-3 vote. On 3 December 1969, in response to the ruling, the film's American importer, Grove Press, took the case for distributing the film in all states to the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

, sparking a legal battle that spanned three years, ultimately ending in 1972, when Grove Press agreed to remove a minute and a half from the film for its Maryland showing. An

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

ist set a fire in the Heights Theatre in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

during the film's run there. In April 1970, sheriff's deputies in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, seized prints of ''I Am Curious (Yellow)'', as well as ''

Dracula (The Dirty Old Man) ''Dracula (The Dirty Old Man)'' is a 1969 American erotic horror comedy film written, produced, and directed by William Edwards. Cast * Vince Kelley as Alucard / Dracula * Ann Hollis as Ann * Libby Caculus as Marge * Joan Pickett as Joan * Bill ...

'', from the Ritz Theatre on N Tarragona St; the theater's manager was charged with "two counts of unlawful showing of an

obscene An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin , , "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Generally, the term can be used to indicate strong moral ...

film and maintaining a public nuisance". The film opened at the Vogue Art Theater in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

on 8 August 1969; hours after it opened there, it was seized by District Attorney

Mike McKevitt James Douglas "Mike" McKevitt (October 26, 1928 – September 28, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Colorado from 1971 to 1973. Early life and education Born in Spokane, Washingto ...

, who promptly banned the film from being shown in the city, due to it violating a then-new obscenity law that was passed in the state; McKevitt had complained to District Judge Edward J. Byrne that the film was "obscene and pornographic". The film's ban was challenged by its US importers, who succeeded in getting attorney Edward H. Sherman to return the film on 13 August 1969. On 21 August 1969, Byrne labelled the ban an act of censorship and a "prior restraint on the defendants' right to freedom of speech"; subsequent to this, he lifted the ban on the film. The film reopened at the Vogue Art on 22 August 1969, with 400 customers being reported as being in attendance. Among other Scandinavian nations, it was allowed uncut in Denmark (which one year earlier had become the first country in the world to legalize pornography), while it was banned in Norway due to its explicit sexual content. The film was censored by as much as 49 seconds in Australia between 1970 and 1971. In the United Kingdom, John Trevelyan, a secretary of the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films A film, also known as a movie ...

trimmed the film by eight minutes, reducing its running time to 114 minutes. The Irish Film Censor's Office made two cuts to the film before its premiere in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1973.

Box office

The film was popular at the box office and was the 12th most popular film in the United States and Canada in 1969 and the highest-grossing foreign-language film in the United States and Canada of all-time with a gross of $20,238,100. It was number one at the US box office for two weeks in November 1969. One reason it did so well was that it became popular among film stars to be seen going to the film. News of

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

seeing the film legitimized going to see it despite any misgivings about possible pornographic content.

Jacqueline Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular fi ...

went to see the movie, judo-felling an awaiting news photographer,

Mel Finkelstein Mel Finkelstein was a Pulitzer Prize nominated photographer who rode the streets of New York City as a "camera cowboy" for more than 40 years working as a newspaper and freelance photographer.. Early life Finkelstein was born in Brooklyn, New Y ...

, alerted by the theatre manager, while leaving the theatre during the showing.

Critical reception

Contemporary

Initial reception to ''Curious Yellow'' was divided.

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' referred to it as a "Good, serious movie about a society in transition", and

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...

said he felt "like a better man" after having seen it. Conversely,

Rex Reed Rex Taylor Reed (born October 2, 1938) is an American film critic, journalist, and media personality. Raised throughout the southern United States and educated at Louisiana State University, Reed moved to New York City in the early 1960s to begi ...

described the film as "about as good for you as drinking furniture polish" and

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' lambasted it as "a dog... a real dog" and "stupid and slow and uninteresting".

said the movie was "vile and disgusting" and Sjöman was "a very sick Swede with an overwhelming ego and a fondness for photographing pubic hair", but

described it as "one of the most important pictures I have ever seen in my life". In the UK, Patrick Gibbs of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' wrote that "there's not much for patrons in this cinema-verite material, presented in the

Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as F ...

style as if it were holy writ."

Penelope Mortimer Penelope Ruth Mortimer (née Fletcher; 19 September 1918 – 19 October 1999) was a Welsh-born English journalist, biographer, and novelist. Her semi-autobiographical novel '' The Pumpkin Eater'' (1962) was made into a 1964 film of the same nam ...

of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' wrote that "it is publicised as being very sexy. I have no more to say about it, except that that is a lie." Alexander Walker of the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' remarked that as a result of having been cut in the UK, it "will now never satisfy the curiosity of people who know it as the first Swedish film to show the sex act. Every scene of that kind has been severely 'reduced' by our censor and we are left with a dull film of almost parochial impact about a girl public opinion-tester endlessly asking Swedes their views of class, colour, war and pacificism—oddly enough, not sex, unless you take a protest poster that reads 'COLOURED PEOPLE BE PREPARED—THE WHITES ARE STAGGERING' to fall into that category."

Retrospective

In 1974, when an uncut version of the film debuted in Australia, critic Colin Bennett of ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' remarked that "almost the only fascination now lies in the revelation of what was considered far too notorious to be imported into ustraliaa few short years ago", adding that "sociologically, this satirical stuff may have had more point in 1967 Sweden, and I suppose it does reveal a modicum about Scandinavian social attitudes. It is also peculiarly dated. ..One finds oneself no longer curious." In recent years, ''Yellow'' has received some reappraisal, thanks in part to

Gary Giddins Gary Giddins (born 1948) is an American jazz critic and author. He wrote for ''The Village Voice'' from 1973; his "Weather Bird" column ended in 2003. In 1986, Gary Giddins and John Lewis created the American Jazz Orchestra which presented conc ...

, who authored the 2003 essay accompanying the Criterion Collection DVD release, and a review by Nathan Southern on the

All Movie Guide AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

website. Southern assesses the picture as "a droll and sophisticated comedy about the emotional, political, social, and sexual liberation of a young woman... a real original that has suffered from public incomprehension since its release and is crying out for reassessment and rediscovery". As of August 2015, ''I Am Curious (Yellow)'' received a 52% rating based on 25 reviews, 13 "fresh" and 12 "rotten" on the review aggregate website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

Awards and honors

Nyman won the award for

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress award ...

at the

5th Guldbagge Awards The 5th Guldbagge Awards ceremony, presented by the Swedish Film Institute, honored the best Swedish 1967 and 1968, and took place on 21 October 1968. ''Hugo and Josephine'' directed by Kjell Grede was presented with the award for Best Film. Aw ...

for her role in this film and ''I Am Curious (Blue)''.

In popular culture

Various television series have episodes with similar titles, such as ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...

"I Am Curiously Yellow"; ''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...

'' ("I Am Curious, Maddie"); ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' ("

I Am Furious (Yellow) "I Am Furious (Yellow)" is the eighteenth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired in the United States by the Fox network on April 28, 2002. In the episode, Bart creates a co ...

"); ''

That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American television sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966, to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress who moves from her hometo ...

'' ("I Am Curious Lemon"); ''

Ed, Edd n Eddy '' Ed, Edd n Eddy'' is an animated television series created by Danny Antonucci for Cartoon Network. The series revolves around three friends named Ed, Edd (nicknamed "Double D" to avoid confusion with Ed), and Eddy—collectively known as "th ...

'' ("I Am Curious Ed"); and ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 1970 to March 1974 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. After the final first-run telecast on ABC in March ...

'' ("I Am Curious...Partridge"). Additionally, an issue of ''

Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics. The series focusing on the adventures of Lois Lane began publication with a March/April 1958 cover date and ended its run in September/October ...

'', named "I Am Curious (Black)", focuses on

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...

, who becomes a black woman for a day to experience racism. In the ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...

'' seventh season episode "The Strategy",

Don Draper Donald Francis "Don" Draper, born Richard "Dick" Whitman, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the AMC television series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), portrayed by Jon Hamm. At the beginning of the series, Draper is the charismatic yet en ...

references having just seen this movie in a theatre. Episode 285 of ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...

'' featured a story called "I Am Curious, Jello," which followed up on the censorship trial between Los Angeles prosecutor Michael Guarino and

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

singer

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and political activist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Init ...

two decades after the case was thrown out of court. American car manufacturer

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

introduced a special order color for 1971. "Curious Yellow" is a vibrant greenish yellow, one of their "High-Impact" colors. The eleventh studio album by the English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band The Fall makes reference to the film in its title, '' I Am Kurious Oranj''. It made a question in ''Trivial Pursuit'': "What Swedish sex film caused a stir in 1967?" Answer: ''I am Curious (Yellow)''.

References

External links

''I Am Curious (Yellow)''
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

''I Am Curious (Yellow)''
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''Still Curious''
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Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...

''Byrne v. Karalexis''
{{DEFAULTSORT:I Am Curious (Yellow) 1967 films 1960s avant-garde and experimental films 1967 drama films Swedish avant-garde and experimental films 1960s erotic drama films 1960s Swedish-language films Films directed by Vilgot Sjöman Films about adultery Swedish black-and-white films Films about sexually transmitted diseases Films about filmmaking Films about Martin Luther King Jr. Films set in Stockholm Films shot in Sweden Censored films Obscenity controversies in film Self-reflexive films Sexual revolution Works subject to a lawsuit Swedish erotic drama films Film censorship in the United States Film censorship in Sweden 1960s Swedish films