Directed by:
Paul MazurskyScreenplay:
Paul MazurskyCinematography:
Sven NykvistCast:
Natalie Wood, Robert Townsend, Tom Noonan, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Ontkean, Margot Kidder, Tom Brennan, Ray Sharkey, Jan Miner, Kristine DeBell (more)Plots(1)
Director Paul Mazursky's follow-up to his 1978 hit An Unmarried Woman found this filmmaker creating a feature-length homage to the François Truffaut classic Jules and Jim. Willie and Phil begins with Jewish intellectual schoolteacher Willie (Michael Ontkean) meeting gregarious Italian-American fashion photographer Phil (Ray Sharkey) at a screening of Jules and Jim. The two hit it off immediately and soon find their circle of two expanding to three when they meet Jeanette (Margot Kidder), a free-spirited Southerner who has moved to New York City to figure out her life. Jeanette soon moves in Willie, but the three find themselves in a romantic triangle that constantly shifts over the next nine years as each of the three struggles to find their destiny while honoring the love they feel for each other. Mazursky would later remake another foreign classic (Boudu Saved From Drowning) into his hit Down and Out in Beverly Hills. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
![Natalie Wood](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/833/162833889_32599e.jpg)
Natalie Wood
USA
Best movies:
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
West Side Story (1961)
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
![Robert Townsend](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/444/444295_72a7c1.jpg)
Robert Townsend
USA
Best movies:
American Flyers (1985)
A Soldier's Story (1984)
Cooley High (1975)
![Tom Noonan](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/268/268935_717f87.jpg)
Tom Noonan
USA
Best movies:
Heat (1995)
Quarry (2016) (series)
Mystery Train (1989)
![Laurence Fishburne](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/130/162130273_ac4662.jpg)
Laurence Fishburne
USA
Best movies:
The Matrix (1999)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Color Purple (1985)
![Michael Ontkean](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/032/163032190_e82d76.jpg)
Michael Ontkean
Canada
Best movies:
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014)
Street Justice (1987)
Making Love (1982)
![Margot Kidder](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/271/271606_a85fd7.jpg)
Margot Kidder
Canada
Best movies:
Maverick (1994)
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)
Superman (1978)
Tom Brennan
USA
Best movies:
North and South (1985) (series)
Our Town (2003) (TV movie)
Fatal Attraction (1987)
![Ray Sharkey](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/157/814/157814020_c9bbcd.png)
Ray Sharkey
USA
Best movies:
Some Kind of Hero (1982)
Stunts (1977)
Paradise Alley (1978)
Jan Miner
USA
Best movies:
Lenny (1974)
The Swimmer (1968)
Mermaids (1990)
![Kristine DeBell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/280/280268_23729c.jpg)
Kristine DeBell
USA
Best movies:
Bloodbrothers (1978)
I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978)
Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy (1976)
![Edy Williams](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/097/319/97319459_59f03c.jpg)
Edy Williams
USA
Best movies:
Man's Favorite Sport? (1964)
The Naked Kiss (1964)
Dr. Alien (1989)
![Jerry Hall](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/634/158634368_d33557.jpg)
Jerry Hall
USA
Best movies:
Batman (1989)
The Children's Party at the Palace (2006) (TV movie)
Urban Cowboy (1980)
Kathleen Maguire
USA
Best movies:
Edge of the City (1957)
The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979)
![Julie Bovasso](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/401/162401330_98fa94.jpg)
Julie Bovasso
USA
Best movies:
The Verdict (1982)
Moonstruck (1987)
Article 99 (1992)
Jill Mazursky
USA
Best movies:
Harry and Tonto (1974)
Moon Over Parador (1988)
The Pickle (1993)
![Louis Guss](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/640/162640177_0cf71b.jpg)
Louis Guss
USA
Best movies:
The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 (1992) (TV movie) - a.f.
The Godfather: A Novel for Television (1977) (series)
The Godfather (1972)
![Helen Hanft](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/784/162784287_3d45ad.jpg)
Helen Hanft
USA
Best movies:
Manhattan (1979)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Dummy (2002)
Lionel Pina
USA
Best movies:
Sybil (1976) (TV movie)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Marathon Man (1976)
Mary-Pat Green
USA
Best movies:
Twin Falls Idaho (1999)
Yes Man (2008)
My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)