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The Stepford Wives

The Stepford Wives

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Unbelievable, but spooky
Review: First off: this isn't the most believable film I've ever seen. Do these women age? And if they don't, wouldn't their family notice? Would the Stepford Husbands allow their daughters to marry any man who was in on the secret? And what's with those flowing dresses? There are lots of inconsistencies. How boring would it be for any halfway intelligent man to live with a mindless robot (and I don't care how big her breasts are!) (Oh, I forgot about Hugh Hefner--but he doesn't count). That said: what a spooky movie--very suspenseful. And, yes, it's funny in a very campy way. I'd recommend seeing this film--it's no "Blair Witch Project", but definitely above average.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A CULT CLASSIC!
Review: This is the best thriller ever made in American movie history! A woman and her family move to a small town, where there's a deep, dark secret that goes on with the wives of Stepford. She's deteremind to find out what it is, but winds up falling for the trap. It's so scary, I had a hard time sleeping! :)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Makes you think
Review: This is a neat movie because it poses the question: How far would you go in order to have the perfect wife and kids, or for that matter, redo your surroundings exactly the way you want them to be? In a way, this could almost have been part of a Star Trek: The Next Generation story.

When I saw it the first time, years ago, I thought it was a sort of a feminist shot at traditionalism. But it's much more than that. And as our technological base improves it becomes more possible every day.

I think that this movie was ahead of its time.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: SPOOKY
Review: THIS IS SPOOKY BECAUSE IT IS NOT THAT FICTIONAL.PRETTY SOON THEY MAY BE ABLE TO DO THIS .IT IS SLOW AT TIMES,BUT HAS AN ORIGINAL STORY.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Could've Been Better
Review: This movie adaption of Levin's great book is only so-so. It's plot is original and intriguing, yet it could have been executed much more cleanly. I may be biased since I have just read the book, but I thought that the book was better, and I didn't like the parts where the movie strayed from the book, especially towards the end. Levin's ending left you wondering...did the men in Stepford really do what you think they did, or are you crazy too? The movie leaves no doubt, no mystery. Overall, I guess I would recommend it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: "You're the best, you're the champ, you're the master...!"
Review: Well, not quite. The sad thing about Ira Levin's brilliant little satirical Gothic about the backlash against Second Wave Feminism is that it's never quite received a film adaptation that does it justice. The 2004 comic version is a travesty, but even this 1975 original is not quite as good as you'd like: the pacing is very slow, especially at the beginning; the crucial part of Walter is underwritten; and while Katharine Ross is much better (especially in the last ten minutes, when she's superb) than she was given credit for at the time it's not quite the knockout performance the part of Joanna deserves. On the other hand, there are many things that make this film worth seeing, particularly the great dialogue and the fine supporting performances by Tina Louise, Nanette Newman, and (especially) Paula Prentiss as the heroine's best friend Bobbie. Indeed, there are several parts of the film that are literally unforgettable: Newman's much-quoted "breakdown" at the pool party ("I'll just die if I don't get this recipe!"); Joanna's consciousness raising session, with the Wives breathlessly promoting the joys of cleaning products; and, most of all, the great last scene, with the Wives placidly sweeping through the supermarket in their ruffled prairie dresses and sunhats as they patiently push their shopping carts...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Cool Movie - bad transfer
Review: I just got the newly released (June 15, 2004) DVD and was surprised to see how low quality the image looks on a HDTV with a progressive scan player. You may want to rent this one before you buy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I'll simply die if I don't get this recipe!
Review: THE STEPFORD WIVES was a unique film. It set out to make a horror film where clean spotless sunlit kitchens were just as scary as rainy spooky old mansions at midnight. Made in the mid 1970s during a wave of feminism and controversy over the ERA Ammendment - it never got the acclaim it deserved for it's building creepiness and Sci Fi twists. The remake is what it is, but here's where most people first glimpsed Stepford - a very real suburb where homemaking is a science.

Katharine Ross(in an EXCELLENT turn)plays Joanna Eberhard who moves from NYC to Stepford with her husband and two daughters. She's a photographer and homemaker who's dabbled in the women's movement but never really taken up the cause. She begins to realize the women of Stepford are all obsessed with housework, and worse ... subservient and servile to their husbands. She joins up with another woman who finds this all strange, Bobbie -- played oustandingly by Paula Prentiss. Together they find out a string of clues that maybe not all is well in Stepford, and the seemingly benign suburban bliss may be MANUFACTURED by the creepy Men's Society that every husband is a part of.

Bryan Forbes took over this project after speculations Brian De Palma should film it. He made a very effective treatment of the novel, but added his own touches. His wife Nannette Newman influenced the costumes by demanding rather than proposed Playboy bunny outfits the wives should look Victorian with hats and gloves and long dresses - creepy and sexy. Tina Louise (Ginger on Gilligan's Island) also makes a great cameo as Charmaine - one of Joanna and Bobbie's radical friends who transforms to a Stepford Wife by startingly ripping up her tennis court for a pool her husband wants.

You get the film in widescreen, and the transfer is passable for a movie of this age. Colors are 1970s soft and there is grain, but it looks fine. You get a 12 minute featurette with all the principle players, and they explain how the movie was made and what it was like. Some people say the pacing was slow, but this was the 1970s! I think its suppposed to develop slowly like the novel, and you get to know the characters. The last ten minutes are completely shocking, and no test audiences made them whimp out (cough cough - the remake's ending was reshot). This was a politically relevant well-crafted film with great acting! Superb in every way! Check out the source novel by Ira Levin as well.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A great, but very slow-moving picture.
Review: After seeing the new version of The Stepford Wives (which, incidentally, I loved) I had to seek out the original, which I haven't seen since I was a kid. I was very impressed by most of the performances, most notably Paula Prentiss, who was absolutely magnetic. Although the story was absorbing, and the direction was good, the movie, not unlike Rosemary's Baby, seemed to go nowhere fast. Foot after foot of tape passed through my VCR, but the story unfolded so slowly, it was hard to remain interested........all in all, a must-see because of it's pop-culture influence.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Stepford Wives
Review: Stepford Wives was a really good movie; I had no idea I would like it so much.The plot is really well adapted from the book let alone a great presentation of the standard quality that some expected from a wife or family.The acting really wasn't half bad and neither was the dialogue. Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, & Peter Masterson do great performances with Bryan Forbes doing a fabulous job directing.This scifi/horror flick is an almost perfect film that will certainly give it's share of chills and spooks.This film is deeper than just a spooky story.I want to see the remake, but haven't heard very good reviews to say the least.Anyway if your in the mood for a great movie check out The Stepford Wives.Are You Ready To Get Stepfor-ized!

Katharine Ross stars in this classic horror film as Joanna, a woman who moves to Stepford, Connecticut, along with her husband Walter (Peter Masterson) and her best friend Bobbie (Paula Prentiss). As the two women meet the other housewives who live in Stepford, they begin to notice that all of them are interested only in cooking, cleaning, and pleasing their husbands. Joanna and Bobbie are alarmed further when their husbands join the mysterious Stepford Men's Club, which convenes in a heavily guarded mansion and harbors a nefarious secret agenda. Based on the novel by Ira Levin (ROSEMARY'S BABY) and followed by the made-for-television sequels THE REVENGE OF THE STEPFORD WIVES, THE STEPFORD CHILDREN, and THE STEPFORD HUSBANDS.


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