cinema obscura: James Salter's "Three" (1969)

It's a thankless exercise for even the most astute filmmaker to delve into iconic material - material already perfected by another filmmaker.

Case in point #1: François Truffaut's "Jules et Jim" (1962)

Case in point #2: Paul Mazursky who, perhaps foolheartedly, challenged himself with the langorous relationship among two men and a woman in "Willie and Phil" (1980), despite the looming presence of  "Jules et Jim."

Mazursky wasn't the only one. In 1969, novelist James Salter directed "Three," his first - and only - film in which jetsetter Charlotte Rampling seductively drifts around hugely photogenic Mediterranean locations, distracting college buddies Sam Waterston and Robie Porter. The film follows them as they eat, drink, tour and flirt around the subject of sex.

It's about the simple of joy of just hanging out.

Salter, a "writer's writer," is someone whose name still intrigues cinéphiles, despite his modest output. He wrote the stories on which Dick Powell's "The Hunters" (1958), Stacy Cochran's "Boys" (1995) and Sean Mewshaw's "Last Night" (2004) were based. He penned the scripts for Sidney Lumet's "The Appointment" and Michael Ritchie's "Downhill Racer" (both 1969 releases) and Richard Pearce's "Threshold" (1981). He also collaborated on the script for Gregor Nicholas's "Broken English" (1996).

And that's it.

Salter, who died in 2015 at age 90, went to school with fellow writer Jack Kerouac. His pedigree was enviable, his rare film work eclectic.

Regarding Comments: All comments are enthusiastically appreciated but are moderated before publication. Replies signed "unknown" or "anonymous" are not encouraged. Please sign any response with a name (real or fabricated) or initials.  Be advised that a "name" will be assigned to any accepted post signed "unknown" or "anonymous."

Thank you.

~image~

~Sam Waterson, tall and dark, and Robie Porter, blond and hunky, with dream girl Charlotte Rampling in James Salter's lost film, "Three"

~photography: United Artists 1969©