Rating: 
Summary: An Art Deco Classic
Review: I am writing this review after recently watching a revival of the play on PBS. Not having seen the movie in many years, I ordered it on DVD afterward. First, the DVD transfer is flawless. This film is mostly in black-and-white, save an insert in Technicolor for a fashion show. The range of gray tones in these old movies can be a revelation to those who have only seen recent B/W films. The masters of the studios in lighting these movies are long since gone, and apparently their craft went with them. The DVD has not only the delightful movie trailer that went with "Women", but also the trailer for the musical remake in 1956, "The Opposite Sex". I never liked the musical, but others might. The amazing thing about "The Women" is that, if one doesn't pay attention to the trailer, it's possible to watch it and never realize that there are no men at all in the picture! As the trailer says, 135 women and no men. But of course it's all about men! This is the basic story of Mary, played by Norma Shearer, who discovers her husband is seeing another women. It follows her through her divorce and reunion with her husband. Naturally it's not that cut-and-dried. Her bitchy, back-biting friends go through many of the same travails on a cross-country route to a happy ending. Sounds boring written here, but the movie definitely isn't. Every time Ms. Shearer threatens to get too sugary, a few choice cracks by one of the other characters brings things back into line. I really can't remember another movie I've seen with Norma Shearer, so this movie defines her work for me. She is a very unusual-looking woman, hard to define as pretty, yet definitely with screen presence. Of course, being Mrs. Thalberg didn't hurt her ability to get this part, and she plays it beautifully. All of the others who support her are equally appropriate, particularly Joan Crawford as the 'other woman'. This movie was made in one of the low periods in her career, and once again placed her as an A-level actress. Mary Boland also stands out as the Countess and later Mrs. Buck Winston. In the recent PBS production on television, Rue McClanahan played this part and the resemblance to Boland was uncanny! Wardrobe for the movie was provided by Adrian at his best. Standouts for me are the gowns worn by Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer in the final scene of the movie, at the nightclub. Ms. Shearer's looks almost like something from a sci-fi film! There is no escaping that this movie, and play from which it was derived, were made pre-WW-II. The extravagance shown in this film was never revived after the War, so this gives an insight into the lives of the wealthy. In particular, homes post-War were never staffed with the number of servants shown here. Art Deco never looked better in movies than it does in this one. The beauty salon at the beginning of the movie, and the night club at the end, are creamy and curvaceous like never before, or since. A final note on casting: Marjorie Main leaps from the screen with her screeching voice and uncouth manners. Strangely, she was younger than many of the others in the movie, but as usual she was made to appear frumpy and worn-out. In some ways this appears to be a rehearsal for her part as Ma Kettle in "The Egg and I". Look closely, though, and you'll see her youth, here. This is a fairly long movie, well over two hours, but it is so enjoyable that the time isn't noticed. There truly isn't a 'slow' part to the movie, something or someone is always on the go. Nineteen thirty-nine was an amazing year for movies, seemingly one last pre-War gasp at screen opulence. "The Women" on DVD can be a welcome addition to anyone's film library, waiting for the right evening when light comedy combined with beautiful women and sassy dialogue is called for. It would be a great buy at twice the price.
Rating:
Summary: 1939-Hollywoods greatest year-overlooked classic now on DVD
Review: Hollywood had the greatest year of films in 1939. Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of OZ, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Wuthering Heights and The Hunchback of Notre Dame to name a few. Well "The Women" was a hit Broadway Play (666 performances) converted to a ground breaking Hollywood film in 1939. Because of the banner year of block buster films "The Women" was lost in the big film battle. Now for the first time on DVD, digitally remastered we can enjoy this 133 minute,Standard Format,Black & White all women cast sleeper film classic. The Allstar cast of Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard and Joan Foantaine brings us this classic bantering dialogue movie to the home theatre with outstanding picture quality & sound. Summary: Perfect wife (Shearer) discovers her perfect marriage has reached a major bump told to her by her women friends (newly wed Fontaine, newly divorced Goddard) especially the gossiping pal (Russell). Her husband is having an affair with perfume counter clerk (Crawford). The story is entirely with only women, about women and their views in solving crissis'. Directed by George Cukor who was known as the "womans director" provides the perfect formula in the storytelling of "The Women". Note: a fabulous treat is the Technicolor Fashion Show sequences in the film! This DVD is outstanding and can be enjoyed by all. The amazing amount of dialogue which is used to tell the story is unbelieveable. Memorizing this enormous amount of dialogue truly shows us the true golden age of Hollywood acting talent. This ALLSTAR casts delivers! The Specaial Feature extras are an added bonus to include; Romance on Celluloid Documentaries, Style Centers (Fashion shows), Scoring Session with music cues, and trailers. Come and see another classic 1939 film now on DVD! This is a funny and emotional treat. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: The Women
Review: This is definitely ny favorite movie. Norma Shearer and Rosalind Russell are hilarious as two pampered Park Avenue socialites. Morma Shearer plays Mary Haines, a devoted wife and mother who is greatly upset by marriage troubles about her unfaithful husband. Rosalind Russell plays Sylvia Fowler, a catty gossip who just has to get the dirt on everyone. The best parts are the fight scene in Reno, and the end. This movie is great for anyone who prefers classic movies to the boring and awful recent ones. Rent this movie today
Rating:
Summary: A Very Stylish Hissy Fit
Review: "The Women" is one of the bitchiest movies ever made. The opening scene in a beauty parlor sets the tone as one "friend" tells another, "I hate to tell you deah, but your skin makes the Rocky Mountains look like chiffon velvet." The politics are completely reactionary, even for 1939, as they present divorce as an unmitigated tragedy for a preteen child. But the film still lives because of its firecracker repartee, its comic tension (a cat fight is always about to break out, and frequently does), and its wonderful cast, including Joan Crawford, Roz Russell, Norma Shearer, and Paulette Goddard. No men appear in this film--not even a photo or a voice of one. The plot has to do with sneaky man-trap Crystal (Joan Crawford) setting her sights on Steven Hanes, husband of Mary (Norma Shearer), and eventually getting him, which sends Mary out west to be "Reno-vated" for a Nevada divorce. This is really just a useful excuse to set up the girls in different kinds of conflict. It may be something of a guilty pleasure, but I've seen this movie several times and could see it again.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Entertaining and Engaging
Review: Holds your attention the entire way through at its 2 hr and 13 min running time. Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford steal the show and Rosalind Russell of Auntie Mame fame gives one of her best performances. I appreciated Cukor's brilliant use of color for the fashion show sequence and some of the cinmatography throughout the film is truly thrilling. The ending is the best part of the film with a comical and fast paced cat fight and Crawford getting her come uppance.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous ! Fabulous ! Fabulous !
Review: This is a movie about the lives of a group of New York socialites who's loves revolve around gossip, fashion and the art of being just a woman. Very entertaining, funny and it's so amazing that gossip was entertaining then as it is today in the age of cell phones, internet and tv, we still seek that most entertaining of all guilty pleasures !
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly entertaining
Review: This movie surprised me with how good it was played out with only a female cast. The story involves husbands, mostly unfaithful, yet there is not one male in the film. Norma Shearer is excellent, and the other women give memorable performances, as well. It was a unique idea and it worked.
Rating:
Summary: A real classic...
Review: I love this movie I watch it often...about a tramp, Joan Crawford, who breaks up a marriage, Norma Shearer, in the high society group. Norma Shearer shows her grace and classic beauty in her performance in this movie. I watched it a couple of times before realizing there is not one man in the whole picture...I recomend this movie to anyone who likes a real classic....
Rating:
Summary: The claws are out, and they're jungle red!!!
Review: Mary Haines believes she has the perfect life with a wonderful husband and loving daughter. Perfect, that is, until she hears the idle gossip from the woman at the spa about how Mr. Haines has taken up with Crystal Allen, a shopgirl who sells perfume. Listening to her friends Sylvia Fowler, Edith Potter, and Peggy Day, Mary does all she can to win back her husband from the scheming arms of Crystal. This Geroge Cukor film has one of the sharpest scripts written for the screen, and features many of the Golden Era's best actresses: Norma Shearer as Mary Haines; Joan Crawford as the conniving shopgirl Crystal; Joan Fontaine as the innocent Peggy Day; and in one of the best performances, Rosalind Russell as the fast-talking Syliva Folwer. Her rapid-fire delivery of some of the most sarcastic lines is amazing to watch, and she gives the character much comic flair. Marjorie Main pops in for a while as Lucy, who runs a ranch in Reno for women going through divorces. In a short but fantastic scene, Virginia Grey plays Pat, another shopgirl working with Crystal who can't help but try to unnerve Crystal while she's on the phone with Mr. Haines. Even columnist Hedda Hopper makes a brief appearance toward the end of the film. Two other remarkable notes about this film: of the 135-member cast, there is not one man present in the film. And two: the film is black and white, with the exception of a fashion show sequence toward the middle of the film which is shown in glorious technicolor. It's a bit lengthy but marvelous to look at all those fashions designed by Adrian (who has quite a long list of memorable films to his design credits). The DVD is a restored version of the film. (The difference can be seen in the alternate version of the fshion show sequence included as a bonus.) Also, there are two short films: one about the romance of the cinemal the other about using the movies to influence the fashion trends around the world. Wonderful bits of movie history. This is a great film, full of smart dialogue and great acting. A true cinema classic.
Rating:
Summary: Rosalind Russell must be Found and Stopped!!!
Review: This is a wonderfully dated (though still very relevant) and thoroughly entertaining comedy from the genius George Cukor. Perfect Wife Norma Shearer's marriage hits the rocks when her less-than-perfect husband begins an affair with the sluttish shopgirl Joan Crawford. Her friends rally round her as she ignores, complains, divorces, and finally rediscovers her own self-worth. The performances are wonderful. Shearer is winsome and emotional, Crawford is venomous and ambitious (though we don't see enough of her character), and Rosalind Russell steals the show as the scheming, manipulative and two-faced 'Friend' you'd like to hit with a bus. The dialogue is spectacular, comparable in places with Bette Davis in her magnificent opus 'All About Eve', and the ensemble cast of over 150 women hangs together beautifully. The direction, too, is superior, and Cukor exacts almost superhuman expressions and angles from the 'Faces' - Crawford, Russell and, most of all, Shearer. The gowns, hats, gloves, shoes, furs and jewelery in 'The Women' play almost as important a part in the picture as the cast members themselves, and the 'glorious technicolour' fashion show is a gem. Sadly, 'The Women' suffers from the same syndrome as all Stage-to-Screen movies do. In a theatre, with scene and time restrictions, the audience depends on dialogue and character interaction for entertainment. In movies, such restrictions don't exist, and 'The Women', like 'Cabaret', 'The Sound of Music' and 'Funny Girl' after it, suffers from a 30-minute or so period in the centre, where it unfortunately loses its momentum. However, the ending is wonderful, especially Crawford's line about Kennels, and for anybody, 'The Women' stands the test of time as an illustration of the awful and hilarious power of gossip.
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