Rating: 
Summary: A Powerful Film...An Unacceptable Video Transfer
Review: 'Two Women' is a stark film from the neo-realism school that still packs a solid punch. Sophia Loren plays a beautiful widow who seeks to protect her teenage daughter from the ravages of World War II Rome. She's proud, opinionated, but protective and loving toward her daughter Rosetta. The two women flee to the widow's village, where they meet an idealistic young man to whom they are both attracted. The tragic events occur quite late in the film, but by the time they do, we really know who these characters are, making the film extremely powerful.Loren looks stunning and acts wonderfully, but all the actors in the film are wonderful as well. But Loren had (and still has) that quality that makes her the center of all attention every time she is on-screen. A stunning actress in a stunning role. I cannot finish this review without commenting on the abysmal video transfer to DVD. This is without a doubt the worst looking and sounding DVD I have ever seen since the medium was invented. I wish Sophia Loren would sue this video company for the travesty they have done to this fine film. How in the world with all the technology at our disposal can such a poor product be released on the market? I only hope a proper version can be released soon. This is criminal. 99 minutes
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Film...An Unacceptable Video Transfer
Review: 'Two Women' is a stark film from the neo-realism school that still packs a solid punch. Sophia Loren plays a beautiful widow who seeks to protect her teenage daughter from the ravages of World War II Rome. She's proud, opinionated, but protective and loving toward her daughter Rosetta. The two women flee to the widow's village, where they meet an idealistic young man to whom they are both attracted. The tragic events occur quite late in the film, but by the time they do, we really know who these characters are, making the film extremely powerful. Loren looks stunning and acts wonderfully, but all the actors in the film are wonderful as well. But Loren had (and still has) that quality that makes her the center of all attention every time she is on-screen. A stunning actress in a stunning role. I cannot finish this review without commenting on the abysmal video transfer to DVD. This is without a doubt the worst looking and sounding DVD I have ever seen since the medium was invented. I wish Sophia Loren would sue this video company for the travesty they have done to this fine film. How in the world with all the technology at our disposal can such a poor product be released on the market? I only hope a proper version can be released soon. This is criminal. 99 minutes
Rating:
Summary: "..and just a little bit for Rosetta."
Review: Acting doesn't get any better than if your watching a Sophia Loren film. She's beautiful, smart, witty and one of the greatest actress ever to grace the motion picture screen.This movie is very serious drama with some light moments but you'll see termendious acting by everyone. This is a rare reminder of the terror of World War II, the stuggles, the hardship that people had to endure.My only problem with the DVD is the audio. I don't want to discourage anyone from buying this great motion picture but the sound is TERRIBLE. I don't understand how the studio could let something like this be sold with such a terrible audio track. It's scratchy and tinny in sound. Other than that the picture quality if pretty good but is still worth owning. It's a great Italian movie.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Put; A Masterpiece!
Review: All of the truly great movies deal with people we care about. They're about people we want to spend 90 mins or two hours with. We feel as if we know these people by the time the film ends. Think of "The Godfather", "Wild Strawberries", "A Street Car Named Desire", or "A Rebel Without A Cause". We feel these characters struggles, and go along with them. Vittorio De Sica's "Two Women" follows in this tradition. Like De Sica's other film "The Bicycle Thief", the characters in this movie seem real. There's a deep understanding between the viewer and the characters. The characters in this movie have simplistic needs that we all can understand. I'm kinda shocked to actually come across all these 1 and 2 star reviews. When I first saw this film, I was really taken with it. The movie which is based on a novel by Alberto Moravia and was written by De Sica and Cesare Zavattini is as I put in my title, simply a masterpiece. Sophia Loren stars as Cesira, a lonely mother of a teenage daughter,Rosetta (Eloenora). With a war going on, Cesira (Loren) decides that her daughter and herself should leave Rome, and head to a place they feel they will be more safe. After their store gets bombed. Now, for those who don't know what the movie is about I'll tell you. It's about the brutal rape of a mother and daughter. Now, if you've seen this movie, you see how De Sica is almost teasing us. He sets up so many situations where we feel, oh! OK, now this is where it's going to happen. We see men stare at Loren. They're never seen anything so beautiful before. You could see the pure lust in their eyes. De Sica is trying to "trick" us. He's keeping up our suspense. So that when it finally does happen, we've been watching the characters so long, and have come to care about them, that we find the event to be truly tragic. Before I saw this film, I thought the rape would happen early on in the movie, and the rest of the film is about them dealing with it. As you can tell, De Sica is a heck of a lot smarter than me. He makes us develop a relationship with the characters first. Because think about it. If it happened in the beginning of the movie, would you really care? I mean, yes, probably you would, but it wouldn't be so much because of the characters. It's because your seeing a terrible act being committed. Besides the heartfelt ating by Loren and Brown (Rosetta) there's wonderful music by Armando Trovajoli. And very good cinematography by Gabor Pogany. From what I've seen by De Sica, this is probably his second best film (Behind "The Bicycle Thief, which is my favorite movie of all time). This is a truly outstanding piece of work. And, as many know this is the first movie where a Foreign actor(male or female) won an Oscar for acting. A must for all film lovers! p.s.- As mentioned by other reviewers this movie really needs to be restored. The movie is in terrible condition. I think even worst than "famous" awful dubbing job on Truffaut's "Day For Night".
Rating:
Summary: Simply Put; A Masterpiece!
Review: All of the truly great movies deal with people we care about. They're about people we want to spend 90 mins or two hours with. We feel as if we know these people by the time the film ends. Think of "The Godfather", "Wild Strawberries", "A Street Car Named Desire", or "A Rebel Without A Cause". We feel these characters struggles, and go along with them. Vittorio De Sica's "Two Women" follows in this tradition. Like De Sica's other film "The Bicycle Thief", the characters in this movie seem real. There's a deep understanding between the viewer and the characters. The characters in this movie have simplistic needs that we all can understand. I'm kinda shocked to actually come across all these 1 and 2 star reviews. When I first saw this film, I was really taken with it. The movie which is based on a novel by Alberto Moravia and was written by De Sica and Cesare Zavattini is as I put in my title, simply a masterpiece. Sophia Loren stars as Cesira, a lonely mother of a teenage daughter,Rosetta (Eloenora). With a war going on, Cesira (Loren) decides that her daughter and herself should leave Rome, and head to a place they feel they will be more safe. After their store gets bombed. Now, for those who don't know what the movie is about I'll tell you. It's about the brutal rape of a mother and daughter. Now, if you've seen this movie, you see how De Sica is almost teasing us. He sets up so many situations where we feel, oh! OK, now this is where it's going to happen. We see men stare at Loren. They're never seen anything so beautiful before. You could see the pure lust in their eyes. De Sica is trying to "trick" us. He's keeping up our suspense. So that when it finally does happen, we've been watching the characters so long, and have come to care about them, that we find the event to be truly tragic. Before I saw this film, I thought the rape would happen early on in the movie, and the rest of the film is about them dealing with it. As you can tell, De Sica is a heck of a lot smarter than me. He makes us develop a relationship with the characters first. Because think about it. If it happened in the beginning of the movie, would you really care? I mean, yes, probably you would, but it wouldn't be so much because of the characters. It's because your seeing a terrible act being committed. Besides the heartfelt ating by Loren and Brown (Rosetta) there's wonderful music by Armando Trovajoli. And very good cinematography by Gabor Pogany. From what I've seen by De Sica, this is probably his second best film (Behind "The Bicycle Thief, which is my favorite movie of all time). This is a truly outstanding piece of work. And, as many know this is the first movie where a Foreign actor(male or female) won an Oscar for acting. A must for all film lovers! p.s.- As mentioned by other reviewers this movie really needs to be restored. The movie is in terrible condition. I think even worst than "famous" awful dubbing job on Truffaut's "Day For Night".
Rating: 
Summary: A Pallid Disgrace
Review: Charles Baudelaire, commenting on the scabrous obituaries of Edgar Allan Poe in American contemporary press, asked "Is there no by-law in America to prevent dogs from entering cemeteries?" One might well ask the same of the producers of this disgraceful DVD. It does no justice whatever to Vittorio De Sica, Sophia Loren, or anyone who wishes to see this film with its plenitudinous glories intact. This DVD should be banned for its unparalleled stupidity.
Rating:
Summary: Great film....., disappointing picture and sound quality
Review: Excellent movie. Sophia Loren was great. Unfortunately for such a remarkable film, the transfer of this classic was ridiculous!
Rating:
Summary: Great film....., disappointing picture and sound quality
Review: Excellent movie. Sophia Loren was great. Unfortunately for such a remarkable film, the transfer of this classic was ridiculous!
Rating:
Summary: Great Film
Review: Great neo-realist telling of the myth of women which involves hardship in war and bonding. Loren is more than adequate as a sexy woman who cares about her innocent child. Most of the film centers around her interaction with the Italian country people who forge a bond with each other under fascist harassment. The last scene in the film is powerful because it shows a mother and her daughter in close moments which center around forgiveness.
Rating:
Summary: Rasict Stereo Typical Movie
Review: I have never heard of any Moroccan allied soldiers in Italy or anywhere else. I guess it is easy to stereotype Arabs as being Barbaric Villains. If you want to watch brutality watch a documentary about the Italian Invasion of Libya during WW2. I recommend " Lion of the Desert " With Antony Quinn and Omar Sharif. As for the movie, the quality was poor and acting week... The worst Loren Movie I have ever seen. Do not watch... Do not buy it.
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