Silvana Mangano at her very best make it worth to see all segments, but the first one by Visconti and the last one by De Sica are real masterpieces and very superior above the rest in all aspects, specially the main roles and entire atmosphere of story, sets and photography.
20 Reviews
Mangano,Totó and Eastwood
elo-equipamentos21 March 2017
Funny Italian comedy with Mangano in all episodes.but the funniest is with Totó telling some kind nonsense with pit of black humor by pasolini,the last episode come Eastwood in Italian's day making the husband who is now 10 years boring marriage,Silvana Magano is fantastic in every way...Gorgeous!!!
worth at least one watch, though, I guess
christopher-underwood1 December 2020
A film made up of five short films of varying length. Not your average portmanteau enterprise though because there is no link between the various works except that they all star the producer Dino De Laurentiiis' wife, Silvana Mangano and all feature a witch, except they don't, 'b****' more like. A promotional reel of some ten minutes would give the impression of something quite wonderful because within this saga of just under two hours there are some fine shots and marvellously evocative visuals so evocative of the times. A roll call of the directors involved is also impressive, Visconti, Bolognini, Pasolini, Rossi and De Sica but the individual pieces and the overall effect of chucking them all together, not to mention the desperate attempts to get us to laugh, tend to make this a rather painful experience overall. Very much a part of the 'Commedia all'italiana' genre, loved in Italy and France but of nil impact in the UK it features two of the most famous comedians of the time, Toto and the aforementioned Mauro Bolognini. Toto appears in the most irritating but also most memorable segment, that of Pasolini, which is a black comedy saturated in primary colours. The closing section from Vittorio De Sica probably attracts the most attention today as it features a fledgling Clint Eastwood playing it both straight as a hen pecked husband and also as a comic book hero. I fear I may have made all this sound far too interesting when I found it so difficult, worth at least one watch, though, I guess.
The Five Faces of Mangano
Poseidon-318 October 2004
Mangano, the wife of famed producer Dino de Laurentiis, gets a royal showcase here, portraying five different women in five short films, each directed by a noted Italian director. In the first (and lengthiest) one, she is a beleaguered movie star who hides away in the large ski chalet of an acquaintance and is promptly pursued by the men and nearly deconstructed by the women. This film has some interesting camera placement and some intriguing aspects, but isn't particularly revelatory or surprising. One ridiculous scene has her talking into a telephone in which her husband is screaming incoherently nonstop into the other end. An impossibly young and attractive Berger has a small role as a servant. Also, viewers could possibly die from the secondhand smoke emitted from the performers! Next Mangano plays a well-dressed woman whose car is stopped at the site of an accident. She picks up an injured man and speeds through the city waving a white handkerchief, but passes various first aid stations and hospitals along the way. The man mutters unintelligibly while he ponders why she is doing this. In the third short film, she is a green-haired deaf-mute who becomes the wife of a lonely widower who has been searching the country for a bride (and a step-mother for his son.) This is by far the most unusual of the stories and is told with much bizarre imagery, whimsy and surrealism. This will make it hard to take for some people, but it has value as an exercise in oddity and metaphor. Next up, Mangano plays a fiery Sicilian woman who has been wronged. When she expresses her shame to her father, it kicks off a whole chain of assassinations. Finally, she is a bored and unappreciated housewife married to Eastwood (of all people!) who complains to him about the mundane existence they share all the while fantasizing about what their life was once like and could be again with a little imagination. This one probably holds the most interest of the five because of the presence of a boyishly young Eastwood (who is quite game for the various shenanigans in the piece) and the myriad of striking costume and hairstyle changes that occur on Mangano throughout. It is a must-see for fans of the over-the-top "What a Way to Go!"-esque clothes of the time. Why didn't anyone ever make this lady a Bond villainess? One section has her being courted by a gaggle of sexy comic book characters like Flash Gordon and Batman. All but the last film suffer from the dreaded English dubbing, but some amount of entertainment value manages to come through. The title sequence is unusual and interesting. This melange of stories will not appeal to everyone, but most viewers will at least get a slight kick out of the last one if only for the sight of pup Eastwood and the way-out clothes in the fantasy sequences.
Silvana Mangano's most striking film, where Visconti is also in top gear
JuguAbraham4 June 2021
This is a portmanteau film with 5 directors--Visconti, Pasolini, Bolognini, Franco Rossi (not to be confused with Francesco Rosi), and De Sica--each contributing a standalone segment. All the 5 segments are held together by actress Silvana Mangano, playing 5 different types of women, 3 where the woman is manipulated/controlled by men, 1 where the woman controls the man, and 1 where neither man nor woman is in absolute control. This is the ultimate Mangano film, showcasing her screen presence, her ability to act, and making the viewer wonder how she did not become a Sophia Loren (both were born in poverty, both married super-influential Italian film producers) or a Gina Lollobrigida who is rumored to have attracted the powerful magnate Howard Hughes. Mangano had more talent than both.
Of the five segments, the Visconti segment, which opens the film, is the longest of the five, shows the brilliance of the director as well. Visconti's lover Helmut Berger appears in an insignificant role of a young mansion/hotel help, who is seduced by an ugly, rich lady, Visconti's interest in social divides surfaces. When the Mangano character Gloria looks out of the building to the snowy exteriors, Visconti's brief visual recalls the very Pieter Breughel the Elder's painting "The Hunters in the Snow" that enraptured Tarkovsky and used it in "Solaris" and "Mirror" and von Trier in "Melancholia"! (The cinematographer is no other than the gifted Giuseppe Rotunno who worked with celebrated directors Visconti, Fellini, Zinnemann and Huston.) The Visconti segment underscores so subtly how husbands control their wives.
The De Sica segment with a handsome Clint Eastwood has the wife mourning how she is shackled at home by a husband who to his credit is not more attracted to other women than his wife.
The Pasolini segment too has a woman being manipulated by her husband (Toto) and his grown-up son.
The Rossi segment shows a won controlled by the father, only to find her father kills her cousin to save her "honor."
However, it is the Bolognini segment that shows the woman in control and not being controlled,
But it is the Visconti segment that brings out the best in the actress Silvana Mangano and the director.
P. S. Palestinian director Elia Suleiman reprises a visual of the De Sica segment in his film "Divine Intervention." Suleiman ought to have stated that in his film credits. Also Visconti's lead actress in his debut film "Obsession," Clara Calamai, has a minor role of an ex-actress in the Visconti segment. Visconti often re-used his actors in his later works--Ms Mangano was a prominent example.
Of the five segments, the Visconti segment, which opens the film, is the longest of the five, shows the brilliance of the director as well. Visconti's lover Helmut Berger appears in an insignificant role of a young mansion/hotel help, who is seduced by an ugly, rich lady, Visconti's interest in social divides surfaces. When the Mangano character Gloria looks out of the building to the snowy exteriors, Visconti's brief visual recalls the very Pieter Breughel the Elder's painting "The Hunters in the Snow" that enraptured Tarkovsky and used it in "Solaris" and "Mirror" and von Trier in "Melancholia"! (The cinematographer is no other than the gifted Giuseppe Rotunno who worked with celebrated directors Visconti, Fellini, Zinnemann and Huston.) The Visconti segment underscores so subtly how husbands control their wives.
The De Sica segment with a handsome Clint Eastwood has the wife mourning how she is shackled at home by a husband who to his credit is not more attracted to other women than his wife.
The Pasolini segment too has a woman being manipulated by her husband (Toto) and his grown-up son.
The Rossi segment shows a won controlled by the father, only to find her father kills her cousin to save her "honor."
However, it is the Bolognini segment that shows the woman in control and not being controlled,
But it is the Visconti segment that brings out the best in the actress Silvana Mangano and the director.
P. S. Palestinian director Elia Suleiman reprises a visual of the De Sica segment in his film "Divine Intervention." Suleiman ought to have stated that in his film credits. Also Visconti's lead actress in his debut film "Obsession," Clara Calamai, has a minor role of an ex-actress in the Visconti segment. Visconti often re-used his actors in his later works--Ms Mangano was a prominent example.
Watch for Visconti
bob99824 April 2022
Visconti's sketch is the best; he always did well in elegant surroundings and Mangano is at her best here. De Sica has Eastwood before he became a star and forgot how to act; it's a pretty good look at a marriage gone stale. The other three sketches are pretty much useless.
Entertains sufficiently
r96sk11 January 2022
Rather zany, 'The Witches' entertains sufficiently.
Anthology films aren't usually my thing but I found the oddness of this production to be worth watching. It somehow works. There are five stories portrayed, all of which have their moments even if some are definitively better than others. The music is good, also.
"The Witch Burned Alive", the opener, is the standout, "Civic Spirit" is amusingly short, "The Earth Seen from the Moon" is one of the weaker entries as it drags a little, "The Sicilian Belle" is a little forgettable and, the finale, "An Evening Like the Others" is the most strange but does satisfy due to its unusualness and comical nature.
That last one's weirdness is elevated by the appearance of Clint Eastwood - which is made even more peculiar as he doesn't even voice his character due to the Italian language barrier; Giuseppe Rinaldi provides the voice, fwiw. It is bizarre yet, again, does work.
The star of this 1967 release, though, is Silvana Mangano, who leads all five stories. She is excellent across them all, this is my first exposure to her and I'm intrigued to potentially see more of her work in the future.
Anthology films aren't usually my thing but I found the oddness of this production to be worth watching. It somehow works. There are five stories portrayed, all of which have their moments even if some are definitively better than others. The music is good, also.
"The Witch Burned Alive", the opener, is the standout, "Civic Spirit" is amusingly short, "The Earth Seen from the Moon" is one of the weaker entries as it drags a little, "The Sicilian Belle" is a little forgettable and, the finale, "An Evening Like the Others" is the most strange but does satisfy due to its unusualness and comical nature.
That last one's weirdness is elevated by the appearance of Clint Eastwood - which is made even more peculiar as he doesn't even voice his character due to the Italian language barrier; Giuseppe Rinaldi provides the voice, fwiw. It is bizarre yet, again, does work.
The star of this 1967 release, though, is Silvana Mangano, who leads all five stories. She is excellent across them all, this is my first exposure to her and I'm intrigued to potentially see more of her work in the future.
"Oh my darling Absurdity!" - Not much of a film; Mangano's watchable.
HenryHextonEsq14 April 2001
This portmanteau film, comprised of 5 short efforts by noted Italian directors, is decidedly unsuccessful. The best 2 are Luchino Visconti's "The Witch Burned Alive" and "An Evening Like The Others" by Vittorio De Sica, and those are far from excellent, but are quite effective. The whole thing is dated in quite a negative way, although some of the visuals and music is impressive, particularly that tune in the first segment that Mangano dances to. What perplexes is the general lack of film-making invention in any of them - any surrealism is mild and far from interesting. Pasolini's piece is pretty objectionable and bizarre, yet with seemingly no reason to it, with two frankly farcical characters indulging in dull, insubstantial activities. It's just irritating and has no reason to its stilted madness. The "Sicilian Belle" "piece" is just inconsequential, worse even than the fairly tenuous "Civic Spirit". What this odd but tedious collection of films do all display is an attempt at style-over-substance modish cinema. The whole thing seems very half-hearted really, with few directorial or writing touches evident. The de Sica piece however, has quite a good use of fantasy sequences, using the sensuous Silvana Mangano to the full. In its favour it can be said to have style - at least in the de Sica and Visconti pieces - and a rather effective array of hair stylings for Mangano, who appeals in all of the pieces. Mangano makes no impression in the middle 3 segments, perhaps as she's a mute "Absurdity" in Pasolini's, and is a mere catalyst in the other 2. She's good enough in the bookending pieces though, creating some character, unlike any other performers. Clint Eastwood is pretty anonymous really, but the last piece does flow well, with inventive, sometimes bizarre sequences of Silvana Mangano's fantasies. Overall, a disappointment, but with compensations. Beware the Pasolini segment...! Rating:- ** 1/2/*****
Nothing To Do With Witches
ConfuzzledShannon9 October 2018
I understand he theme of the movie is the difference of roles women play but the title is so misleading. My other problem is this is tagged as a comedy. There was only one of the four stories I found funny. That was because the characters were so over the top and so cartoon like. The story with Clint Eastwood was only okay. The first story was probably the worst and I wanted to quit the movie many times during it. Some interesting camera every once and while but not worth the watch in my opinion.
surreal, absurdist, very Italian, very 60's
pacificpubs18 December 2000
Surreal, absurdist (kind of), very Italian, very 60s. You should definitely see this movie if you like a) 60's clothes, b) 60's movie sets, c) weird movies, d) Silvana Mangano, and e) obscure Clint Eastwood titles (yes, he's in it, too), among other things.
Rhyme or Reason?
kirbylee70-599-52617930 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I love foreign films...for the most part. They give a viewer an insight into other countries and film styles from around the world. That exposure reveals how various directors in the U.S. have altered their styles from the things they've learned abroad. At the same time it can show how foreign directors have been influenced by American directors. But not always.
In some cases there are directors who march to their own drum, creating their own unique and singular style. Those directors are most often hailed as creative geniuses whose artistic expression exceeds the limits place on them by the art form they have chosen. I'd love to be included among those who feel this way but unfortunately I'm not. I see film as a combination of art and commodity, an entertainment for all. Art for the benefit of one doesn't impress me. But that's just my opinion.
I'd never heard of THE WITCHES before it was being released to blu-ray by Arrow. I was familiar with its producer, Dino De Laurentiis. I'd heard of several of the directors involved including Vittorio de Sica, Luchino Visconti and Pier Paolo Pasolini. But I'd never had access to seeing features directed by them which has always bothered me. Watching what they've delivered here hasn't stopped me from wanting to see their works but I wouldn't base my interests on this offering.
The film is composed of 5 segments, one for each director and all starring Silvana Mangano. Mangano was the wife of producer De Laurentiis at the time and while she was recognized as a star one has to assume he produced this film in the hopes of furthering her career. Other than the fact she is featured in all 5 there is no connecting theme here that I could make out.
In the first segment she's featured as a reclusive movie star/model who's run off to her friend's ski villa. There she's met with awe by her friend's social circle, the women who choose to pick at her frailties and the men who all want to bed her for the night. She moans, she feints, she over dramatizes her life and then moves on. The piece comes off as a reflection on fame and the down side of it, never offering a standard story with beginning, middle and end. Well shot and acted the worst part of this is the fact as the lengthiest story here it goes nowhere and tells us nothing.
Our next offering has Mangano as a woman driving her car and being held up by an accident on the road. She volunteers to take the injured man to the hospital and the majority of this segment is little more than her driving recklessly to the point of potentially doing more damage to the man than he already received. The end can be seen coming miles in advance and therefore loses any surprise or humor that one would expect. This piece felt like a comedic effort that just goes a little too long. It is also the best piece offered.
Third up is the weirdest of the bunch. Told in excruciatingly surrealistic style it tells the story of a man whose wife has died leaving him with their grown son and no one to look after them. He meets a woman who is mute, runs off and marries her and then brings her home to a shack they live in. Longing for a better home he convinces her to fake a suicide threat in hopes people will give them money to prevent it from happening. The end result isn't what anyone expected. From the extreme colors chosen for people's hair, clothing and homes this looks like an episode of Pee Wee's Playhouse. The acting is also over the top, a combination of pantomime and spoken word. The end result is one of those what have I just watched style films.
Fourth is another somewhat entertaining piece that has a woman manipulating her father. First she refuses to tell him what her problem is only to then tell him a man made an inappropriate pass at her. In return he seeks revenge by killing the man responsible which sets into motion a chain of killings all done in revenge of the previous killing. The piece is short and to the point but offers little.
Lastly is the story of a woman who feels that her marriage has fallen flat, the excitement gone from their lives. He goes to work, comes home and ignores her while she's done all she can to please him. As the segment unfolds she imagines him in various scenarios in the same location, showing her the affection and attention she craves while their reality is far from it. As with all the stories it ends nowhere, nothing advanced or changed. This segment is notable for the casting of Clint Eastwood in the role of the husband. By this time he was a star in Italy having made his first two spaghetti westerns the 2 years before. Watching him here is painful at times, especially when a segment calls for his interpretation of Fred Astaire like moves.
On the whole while the movie was interesting to watch from a historical perspective it lacked anything I would call entertaining. It is a case of style over substance, where the directors were more concerned with showing off how different they were than the mainstream, how artistic they could be and little more. As I said I'm a fan of foreign film but not of movies that purport to enlighten me or to show off how artistic they can be at the expense of entertainment. Others may enjoy films of that sort but for me and most they tend to be ones to pass by.
For those fans, the ones who enjoy works like this, Arrow has come through again with a version that will be a must to those fans collections. To start with they're offering a 2k restoration of the film done exclusively for this release. Extras also include a new commentary track by film critic and novelist Tim Lucas, an interview with Ninetto Davoli, an English language version of the segment featuring Eastwood, a reversible sleeve with new artwork by Graham Humphreys and for the first pressing only an illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by Pasquale Iannone and Kat Ellinger. No matter what the film no one can say that Arrow short changes fans and their customers. Their product remains some of the best there is available.
In some cases there are directors who march to their own drum, creating their own unique and singular style. Those directors are most often hailed as creative geniuses whose artistic expression exceeds the limits place on them by the art form they have chosen. I'd love to be included among those who feel this way but unfortunately I'm not. I see film as a combination of art and commodity, an entertainment for all. Art for the benefit of one doesn't impress me. But that's just my opinion.
I'd never heard of THE WITCHES before it was being released to blu-ray by Arrow. I was familiar with its producer, Dino De Laurentiis. I'd heard of several of the directors involved including Vittorio de Sica, Luchino Visconti and Pier Paolo Pasolini. But I'd never had access to seeing features directed by them which has always bothered me. Watching what they've delivered here hasn't stopped me from wanting to see their works but I wouldn't base my interests on this offering.
The film is composed of 5 segments, one for each director and all starring Silvana Mangano. Mangano was the wife of producer De Laurentiis at the time and while she was recognized as a star one has to assume he produced this film in the hopes of furthering her career. Other than the fact she is featured in all 5 there is no connecting theme here that I could make out.
In the first segment she's featured as a reclusive movie star/model who's run off to her friend's ski villa. There she's met with awe by her friend's social circle, the women who choose to pick at her frailties and the men who all want to bed her for the night. She moans, she feints, she over dramatizes her life and then moves on. The piece comes off as a reflection on fame and the down side of it, never offering a standard story with beginning, middle and end. Well shot and acted the worst part of this is the fact as the lengthiest story here it goes nowhere and tells us nothing.
Our next offering has Mangano as a woman driving her car and being held up by an accident on the road. She volunteers to take the injured man to the hospital and the majority of this segment is little more than her driving recklessly to the point of potentially doing more damage to the man than he already received. The end can be seen coming miles in advance and therefore loses any surprise or humor that one would expect. This piece felt like a comedic effort that just goes a little too long. It is also the best piece offered.
Third up is the weirdest of the bunch. Told in excruciatingly surrealistic style it tells the story of a man whose wife has died leaving him with their grown son and no one to look after them. He meets a woman who is mute, runs off and marries her and then brings her home to a shack they live in. Longing for a better home he convinces her to fake a suicide threat in hopes people will give them money to prevent it from happening. The end result isn't what anyone expected. From the extreme colors chosen for people's hair, clothing and homes this looks like an episode of Pee Wee's Playhouse. The acting is also over the top, a combination of pantomime and spoken word. The end result is one of those what have I just watched style films.
Fourth is another somewhat entertaining piece that has a woman manipulating her father. First she refuses to tell him what her problem is only to then tell him a man made an inappropriate pass at her. In return he seeks revenge by killing the man responsible which sets into motion a chain of killings all done in revenge of the previous killing. The piece is short and to the point but offers little.
Lastly is the story of a woman who feels that her marriage has fallen flat, the excitement gone from their lives. He goes to work, comes home and ignores her while she's done all she can to please him. As the segment unfolds she imagines him in various scenarios in the same location, showing her the affection and attention she craves while their reality is far from it. As with all the stories it ends nowhere, nothing advanced or changed. This segment is notable for the casting of Clint Eastwood in the role of the husband. By this time he was a star in Italy having made his first two spaghetti westerns the 2 years before. Watching him here is painful at times, especially when a segment calls for his interpretation of Fred Astaire like moves.
On the whole while the movie was interesting to watch from a historical perspective it lacked anything I would call entertaining. It is a case of style over substance, where the directors were more concerned with showing off how different they were than the mainstream, how artistic they could be and little more. As I said I'm a fan of foreign film but not of movies that purport to enlighten me or to show off how artistic they can be at the expense of entertainment. Others may enjoy films of that sort but for me and most they tend to be ones to pass by.
For those fans, the ones who enjoy works like this, Arrow has come through again with a version that will be a must to those fans collections. To start with they're offering a 2k restoration of the film done exclusively for this release. Extras also include a new commentary track by film critic and novelist Tim Lucas, an interview with Ninetto Davoli, an English language version of the segment featuring Eastwood, a reversible sleeve with new artwork by Graham Humphreys and for the first pressing only an illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by Pasquale Iannone and Kat Ellinger. No matter what the film no one can say that Arrow short changes fans and their customers. Their product remains some of the best there is available.
re: Pasolini segment
fiona1312 August 2003
I once caught 15 minutes on Italian tv of Pasolini's contribution and was completely fascinated by it. Having now also seen his film "Uccellacci e uccellini," made the same year as "Le Streghe" and in much the same absurdist style, I understand even more fully the political commentary being made in both films. The social and political commentary in Pasolini's work is delivered obliquely and with great humor but is nonetheless vital to an understanding of both the style and content of his films. Even after having lived in Italy for some time, speaking the language fluently and learning as much as I could about the complicated political events of the fifties, sixties and seventies, I am aware that as a foreigner I am still at a disadvantage to fully "getting" the point that's being made in these two films. I would think it would be nearly impossible to find them anything other than strange and disconnected without some familiarity with the Italian political milieu of that period. However, that said, I think the beauty of the stylization - successfully realized and united on every level, design, costumes, cinematography and most particularly, acting - works irregardless and is entertaining in and of itself. It's especially interesting to see a comic performer as beloved and mainstream as Toto was at that time, so willingly and completely giving himself over to a director as completely experimental and also so controversial in an extremely volatile political climate as was Pasolini. My only negative comment about "Le streghe" is that I wish it weren't so impossible to get hold of as I would love to see this very beautiful film in its entirety.
Only the final segment is worth seeing
gridoon202418 February 2020
1st story: too long, largely pointless (it's about the price of fame, I guess?). 2nd: An insignificant little joke. 3rd: Pasolini was never famous for his comedies - and after seeing this, you'll know why. Silvana Mangano takes a back seat here to Toto's endless, tiresome mugging. 4th: WTF was that? 5th: This one is the best, Mangano's sex appeal finally erupts and Clint Eastwood is unexpectedly funny. It's still labored and has a weak ending, though. ** out of 4.
Strange Movie
januszlvii26 January 2023
The Witches.( Le Streghe in Italian) Is one of the strangest movies I ever saw. First off it is not the least bit funny, and sitting through the first four segments is basically what did I just watch? It was supposed to be a "Tour De Force" for. Silvana Mangano, but she did not impress me. One poster here actually said she is a better actress then Sophia Loren or Gina Lollobrigida ( RIP Gina). That is absolutely untrue and I will add Elsa Martinelli to the better actress list. Not to mention much better looking. Then why did I sit through this film? Clint Eastwood of course. The Witches.segment 5. An Evening Like The Others Clint ually steals this right away from Mangano ( he works 6 days a week 9 hours a day) likes westerns and in Mangano's fantasy sequence he is dressed in black like Randolph Scott)), and does a good job. Anyway the opening credits are clever and Eastwood is good, but everything else in between is awful. 2/10 stars.
Five faces for a woman
juliosilveira29 August 2005
On a sleepless night, in my late childhood I was struck by this bizarre movie, in a late-late hours rerun. It blew my mind, and I still wonder around video rentals looking for a copy, in vain. It was conceived probably as a showcase for Silvia Mangano but it is only natural that with such talented directors the movie is not about her, it is instead about them. The first and last episodes are a charming display of misogyny, being the first the silent vivisection of a woman while in the later, featuring a almost speechless Clint Stewood, a cathartic (or rather hysterical) woman lists verborhagically the common places of women paradoxes. But it is Pasollini's "Earth seen from the moon" piece that really breaks through, depicting the perfect woman - half blond, half brunet and entirely mute. His is a little fable on women leading men into idiocy, condition incarnated by famous slapstick comedian Totó. The shortest episode, "Senso Civico" is completely superfluous and echoes another superfluous over-excited-Italian-freak-in-the-traffic episode played by Roberto Begnini in Jim Jarmush's "Night on earth". Still the best pick if you want to trade insomnia for fun.
One of the Weirdest and Most Surreal Anthologies I've Seen.
LLAAA483715 October 2007
*** out of ****
This is basically a collection of five short films all about women and the roles that people feel that they play in society. It gives us different interpretations of women and how people feel around them.
The first story is about a famous actress who hides away from the public at a ski resort, before discovering that she's pregnant. But when she calls her husband, he is not at all supportive of her desire to have children. It starts out slow, but it becomes pretty haunting to watch after a while.
The second story gives us a woman who has an injured man in her car who is supposed to drive him to the hospital, but instead drives by several of them before going to where she wants to go. The man doesn't appear to be hurt too badly. Perhaps this is supposed to be a comment on how a woman supports a man in times of need?
The third story is an indescribably weird and chaotic satire of a father and son who look for a woman to be the father's wife and his son's mother. They come upon a woman who is deaf and are able to get something going with her before the story gets even weirder. This film actually really made me feel weird and left my mind broken in a million directions, but i couldn't stop watching it no matter how much i tired.
The forth is a story about a man who murders several people because of a woman. This one isn't really funny at all and is actually pretty depressing when you really get right down to it.
The fifth story has Clint Eastwood in it as the uninteresting husband of a woman who escapes into an imaginary world where she gets sweet revenge on him for being so boring.
My favorite story is the third, simply because it is so strange and unlike anything that it must be seen to be believed. Overall, i enjoyed it and found it to be very entertaining and interesting. It's creepy and weird if you aren't prepared. Check it out.
contains adult content and some violence.
This is basically a collection of five short films all about women and the roles that people feel that they play in society. It gives us different interpretations of women and how people feel around them.
The first story is about a famous actress who hides away from the public at a ski resort, before discovering that she's pregnant. But when she calls her husband, he is not at all supportive of her desire to have children. It starts out slow, but it becomes pretty haunting to watch after a while.
The second story gives us a woman who has an injured man in her car who is supposed to drive him to the hospital, but instead drives by several of them before going to where she wants to go. The man doesn't appear to be hurt too badly. Perhaps this is supposed to be a comment on how a woman supports a man in times of need?
The third story is an indescribably weird and chaotic satire of a father and son who look for a woman to be the father's wife and his son's mother. They come upon a woman who is deaf and are able to get something going with her before the story gets even weirder. This film actually really made me feel weird and left my mind broken in a million directions, but i couldn't stop watching it no matter how much i tired.
The forth is a story about a man who murders several people because of a woman. This one isn't really funny at all and is actually pretty depressing when you really get right down to it.
The fifth story has Clint Eastwood in it as the uninteresting husband of a woman who escapes into an imaginary world where she gets sweet revenge on him for being so boring.
My favorite story is the third, simply because it is so strange and unlike anything that it must be seen to be believed. Overall, i enjoyed it and found it to be very entertaining and interesting. It's creepy and weird if you aren't prepared. Check it out.
contains adult content and some violence.
1966 - Italy - 'nuff said!
Buddha-Jones13 August 2003
These five shorts have an undeniable breezy quality, commenting on the freewheeling Italian lifestyle of the swingin' sixties and also offering some timeless "period" storytelling. The favorite is "The Witch Burned Alive". Visconti's work is redolent of Fellini's "Juliet of the Spirits"' upper class shenanigans, with the celebrity angle making Woody Allen's comments nearly half a century later seem, well, tired and inferior. Silvana Mangano appears a bit, well, exhausted in this film and others of the series, like Chrisitna Applegate on a bad day, but the costuming and Kitzbuehl apres ski setting in a chalet make Visconti's short irresistible. The Pasolini work is charming in a semi-dada-esque way, especially with the knowledge that the young male pimply faced "actor' may well have been really a boy toy from the streets of Roma. The story has a punk rock feel that rings with folkloric quirkiness and white magic.
"Civic Spirit" is the most emblematic of the five, very au courant of the era, using an injured man as an excuse to barrel through Rome traffic at top speed under the guise of being hospital bound, while the driving beauty is really just using the poor hapless man as a shill to get to a rendezvous on time-- very cute, and Silvana looks fabulous once again, as she rushes to meet her playboy date. This film is on cable on occasion late at night and worth sitting through for the afficionado of these fine directors. Brava to Silvana, an actress largely forgotten in the pantheon of stars of international merit. Two pinkies held semi-high.
"Civic Spirit" is the most emblematic of the five, very au courant of the era, using an injured man as an excuse to barrel through Rome traffic at top speed under the guise of being hospital bound, while the driving beauty is really just using the poor hapless man as a shill to get to a rendezvous on time-- very cute, and Silvana looks fabulous once again, as she rushes to meet her playboy date. This film is on cable on occasion late at night and worth sitting through for the afficionado of these fine directors. Brava to Silvana, an actress largely forgotten in the pantheon of stars of international merit. Two pinkies held semi-high.
No streghe in numbers
RJC-9918 June 2004
The best 25 minutes of Clint Eastwood's career lurk inside this uneven grab bag of shorts by five directors, among them greats. So good is he in Vittorio De Sica's brilliant segment (as the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit who unleashes his wife's libidinous Walter Middy) that you wonder what would have happened had Eastwood done more comedy. His gifts were wasted on spaghetti and spurs.
De Sica's imagination is the star here. The rest of the material is mildly charming, middling, dated, watchable only for Silvano Mangano, or, in the case of the Pasolini, dreadful.
De Sica's imagination is the star here. The rest of the material is mildly charming, middling, dated, watchable only for Silvano Mangano, or, in the case of the Pasolini, dreadful.
Woof!
madmad3 October 2004
This one's a big-named Dog. The last segment, with Mangano and Clint Eastwood, is at least interesting, if only for a look at baby Clint, but ultimately goes nowhere. Big style, substance missing in action. Trivia note: in the first segment, filmed in Kitzbuhel, Austria, one of the press photogs is a Kitzbuhel local who was a ski instructor at the time, according to my husband who lived in Kitzbuhel around the same period. Yawn. I kept hoping something profound would happen. Hope was dashed. The Italians have a perfect word for this: Stupidagine!
A diverting if inherently odd package
philosopherjack1 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
One of the stronger entries from the 60's spate of European anthology films, The Witches is a five-part showcase for Silvana Mangano (which might admittedly seem, across this time and distance, to be a peculiar undertaking). Two of the segments barely register - Mauro Bolognini's is a one-joke thing (albeit a well-handled one), and Franco Rossi's barely even that. Luchino Visconti's opener, a frostily languid look at a celebrity's spiritual malaise hits mostly familiar beautiful-people-in-crisis notes. Pier Paolo Pasolini's is the most formally and thematically intriguing - a zany, sometimes Chaplinesque comedy in which a bereaved man and his son search through urban wasteland for a new wife/mother, striking out with shop dummies and other unsuitable candidates before settling on a deaf girl (Mangano at her loveliest), who utterly suffices until she slips on a banana peel while standing on one of the upper levels of the Colisseum (yep), which isn't a problem because she returns from the beyond and things go on as before, yielding the motto that being dead and being alive are the same thing (some other Pasolini films might not lead one to interpret this premise as positively). It's at once the most frivolous chapter and yet the most socially-anchored and spiritually questioning. The film ends with a Vittorio De Sica piece in which the star plays a bored, frumpy-looking wife, her marriage drained of passion, trying to buck up her low-energy husband while living a much more exciting inner life, all of which is considerably lifted by the fact of the husband being played by a (dubbed) Clint Eastwood in one of his all-time loosest, most game performances: it's one segment that you might wish had been longer. With the added bonus of its strenuously zany opening credits, it's a diverting if inherently odd package, generally boosting one's appreciation of Mangano's range.
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