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Seven Beauties

Seven Beauties

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The masterpiece of Lina Wertmuller!
Review: This film revealed the enormous vitality and mercurial force of this incredible italian actor : Gian Carlo Gianini.
In fact this role is powerful and demands an actor of first line . Gianini was in his top , one year after of filming The innocent under the dazzling and arresting visually director: Luchino Visconti.
Since Pasqualino is a miniaturized Casanova in a little village , his growing up process will be reached in the war hell , when he became a POW .
But the acid script set to our Casanova in a terrible dilema with the abominable monster woman guardian of two hundred pounds weight who falls in love with him .
You laugh but such laugh is so poignant in the middle of that campament.
Wertmuller played hard , some scenes are loaded of the highest realism level , hard to comment here , Fernando Rey is towering in this work when he decides to take his final decision .
All the wounds and scares will permeate the soul of this man who once was a trivial guy and will be back transformed after this crude voyage .
One of the greatest italian films ever filmed in the cinema .
A must for you . You will not find just a hole on this splendid script .
A perfect movie in all the sense of the expression!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: brilliant film making and superb acting
Review: This is a comedy-drama about the horrors of war and of self preservation at any cost. From the opening credits to the last scene, this movie is a showcase of excellent movie making. The courtroom scene - done without words and relying solely on the actors' facial expressions - proves that Wertmuller is a genius at movie direction. The soundtrack is also great. Scenes of violence, a rape, murder and the brutalities of war make this movie unsuitable for children, but overall, it is a wonderful movie. Wertmuller's best!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Stunning
Review: This is certainly one of my small handful of favorite films. It's hilarious, profoundly moving, beautifully acted and directed, and utterly unforgettable. Not to be missed.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Swept Away
Review: This is not the original R rated version I saw in New York City in 1977. It is edited into mediocrity! Sincerely, Wm Greenwood

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Swept Away
Review: This is not the original R rated version I saw in New York City in 1977. It is edited into mediocrity! Sincerely, Wm Greenwood

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wetrmuller's masterpiece; a companion to Fellini's "Cabiria"
Review: This is one of those rare films that was startling fresh and revolutionary when it was first released and remains so today. It invites comparisons to the later "Life is Beautiful" (it's a better movie), but I think a more apt comparison is to the earlier "Nights of Cabiria" by Federico Fellini--from whom Lina Wertmuller learned her craft as an apprentice. Both films feature protagonists from the lower rungs of society--a petty thief in "Beauties" and a whore in "Cabiria." Both characters take a journey in their respective films that is life-altering. They are both survivors who make supreme sacrifices; who, by chance, survive--but at what cost? And both films are tremendously tragic--with moments of pathos, slapstick and great humor, as well. There is something peculiarly Italian about this theme--and this mixing of comedy and tragedy--and it is rooted in the post-war neorealism from which both directors sprang. It's the theme of the salt-of-the-earth proletarian who survives at all cost, who can't be snuffed out by the ruling class, the tricksters, or the Church. Both Wertmuller and her lead actor Giancarlo Gianinni became stars with this movie, and it's a shame that they seem to have peaked with it as well. Nevertheless, if this were the only movie they made, they'd have made a great contribution to world cinema.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: giannini at his best!
Review: This is the best of all Giancarlo Giannini's films. This film makes an impact on everyone who see's it! From the beginning to the end, you laugh, cry and everything in between.The concentration camp scenes really showcase the talents of both actor and director.If you are a fan of foreign films this is a must have!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: one of my favorite films.
Review: This is was one of my favorite films. I was a bigger Wertmuller fan before I started to watch Fellini and Antonioni's films. Wertmuller was very heavily influenced by those two. Influenced to the point where you can really see their styles in her films. For me that kinda started to take away from my appreciation of her films. I don't think she ever really did develop her own style. Giancarlo Giannini makes up for all of that. My main reason for taking such interest in Wertmullers films is cause of Giancarlo Giannini. Without Giancarlo I think all of Wertmullers films would be complete crap. Anybody who doubts his talent or acting range should be advised to watch this film and then watch Love And Anarchy. It's like watching two completely different people.

Seven Beauties is a film about one mans struggle to survive while at the same time losing his soul piece by piece. People may debate that statement. People are morons. On my planet that's what this movie is about. Though Giannini's character at some points in the film may seem a bit cartoonish he does definitely deliver his greatest performance. The film is set in Italy and Germany during WWII. His character Pasqualino "Settebelezza" is a lady-killer and a small time crook who finds himself moving from one enormous struggle to another. This almost never ending string of bad luck he's having begins after per suing a personal vendetta with a local pimp (if you will) that end's in murder. Throughout this film Pasqualino finds himself in jail, a mental institution, and a concentration camp.

A lot of people may find this film disturbing. Some scenes are depicted quite graphically and also deal with situations of a morbid nature. Though I do think very highly of this film I can also understand if someone really doesn't like this film. It's not for everyone.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Seven Beauties jolted my reality.
Review: This movie frees your heart through comedy and then rips it out with tragedy. Truly a movie that exposes the soul of man, it should be required viewing for all film students.

Pasqualino Frafuso feels the behaviour of his seven sisters reflects badly on his honor so he kills a neighbor who takes one's innocence. (willingly given)

Prison, a mental hospital, the army then WW2 prison camp take so much more than his reputation.

Hilarious at times, excruciating at others, this movie MUST be seen.


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