A film directed by the great Vittorio de Sica with Shirley MacLaine! How exciting I thought. Then, every episode has Shirley with a different leading man, Peter Sellers, Alan Arkin, Michael Caine, Vittorio Gassman, Rossano Brazzi, etc, etc. Well, it was too good to be true. The stories are slight and I kept waiting for a bit of ooph. Okay, no. No oomph really but it has moments. Michael Caine and Shirley in a moving comedy of errors for instance and it has her, Shirley MacLaine and that in itself makes it a must because she'll be there for us , seven times, one hundred per cent.
24 Reviews
Some real gems here
wetcircuit5 June 2014
Woman Times Seven is a collection of vignettes about seven random women (not adultery, as the synopsis claims) all played by Shirley MacLaine, and all the women are different. That's the whole point, they are different - one is shy, one is a prude, one is a bitch, one is even boring! They end up in different situations, some ridiculous, some poignant. There is no over-arching thread or moral to bind them together. They are character studies more than plots, something American audiences may not appreciate. Some vignettes are left unresolved, some are broad comedies, some are bittersweet. If you are waiting for the punchline it isn't always here, but sometimes it is, leaving the overall flow bumpy and uneven.
I'm not a fan of vignette films, but it's so difficult to find interesting female characters in today's films. How refreshing to see many different "types" here - even if all played by the same actress. MacLaine is good. She's thoughtful about each character and steps out of her usual pixie/harlot role, but taken together it feels like a gimmick - the sum is not greater than the parts. The characters suit the style of each story, so some have gravity and others are comic caricatures that serve the situation - another aspect that makes the film seem uneven. Within each vignette MacLaine does a fine job, using her considerable talents as a dancer to physically embody each woman differently, but we're not with these women long enough to see any metamorphosis.
The first is a grieving widow opposite Peter Sellers whose words of comfort keep turning to inappropriate propositions. The scene belongs completely to Sellers, and it's the weakest of the stories.
The second character is a prudish wife who after discovering her husband and her best friend in bed, runs out of the house vowing to have sex with the first random man she meets. Instead she finds sympathy in a group of prostitutes who exchange war stories about love and men. For all their sexual experience they don't seem to have a better grasp on relationships, and an instant sisterhood bridges their social divide.
The third is a modern sex farce about a beautiful UN translator who has become so jaded about men that she has idolized her platonic relationship with a gay roommate. Meanwhile she reads poetry in the nude and invites two playboy dignitaries to her bed while she shows them slides of modernist paintings. the handsome men humor her bizarre quirks while trying to get the other to leave, a testament to men putting up with any amount of femcrazy to get laid.
The fourth character is the dull housewife who feels she must compete with the unrealistic fantasy woman of her husband's novels. She begins to embody the outlandish descriptions, wearing wigs and costumes, laughing and singing and being so impetuous that everyone begins to think she is having a mental breakdown. This is the first episode that feels like a real story arc, moving from awkward comedy to a heartbreaking moment as she realizes she has gone too far, crying out "I'm not crazy , I'm just in love!"
The fifth vignette is my favorite. MacLaine plays a society bitch who is mortified to discover a rival will be wearing the same gown to the opera. The stakes escalate as their powerful husbands get involved, then their husbands' corporations as the two Dames flex their power, neither willing to budge. MacLaine is spectacular shifting gears between barking orders at her husband's employees, giving condescending lectures to the maid, looking absolutely fabulous, while plotting violent sabotage. It's lavish and campy and evil. So much fun!
The next episode clunks. MacLaine and Alan Arkin are lovers trying to negotiate a suicide pact but keep coming up with excuses to not go through with it. The dialog feels improv, and it all takes place in realtime in one room, like a one-act play or a TV skit. It's a case where the vignette before it is so lavish and fun this scene drags in comparison.
In the final piece, a shy housewife and a glamorous model friend meet for lunch and they are followed by a young man. As they separate the shy woman is thrilled the man follows her instead of her friend. She wanders home slowly hoping to make the moment last. The tone is innocent and bittersweet (but also a little creepy by today's standards of harassment and stalking - there is a twist at the end that lets us know he will not come back later, break into her house, and murder them all).
What's remarkable with Woman Times Seven is individual moments that stick with you long after the movie has gone. It never gels together as a whole, but I feel that's a problem with all vignette films. There are some interesting situations and characters who probably are not compelling enough for a whole movie, and maybe that's the idea. Most of these women are having small personal moments that define them. It's individual portraits done in a charming way, with a big talent Hollywood actress but with European flavor. We get to follow some pre-feminist characters we would not normally be allowed to see. They are fallible, self-contradictory, and immature.
While there are observations about the different sexual expectations of men and women, it's dismissive to say this is a movie about "adultery" or sexual romps, as if it is another slice of '60s Euro-erotica. Instead of cheesecake, many of the women are portrayed unflatteringly or for laughs. The viewer sees through the illusion they do not see themselves, and there-in lies the opportunity to say dozens of small truths through comedy: it *is* crazy to try to become someone's fantasy. The shyest person could crave dangerous attention. Love is NOT worth dying over, but also death is not the end of love....
I'm not a fan of vignette films, but it's so difficult to find interesting female characters in today's films. How refreshing to see many different "types" here - even if all played by the same actress. MacLaine is good. She's thoughtful about each character and steps out of her usual pixie/harlot role, but taken together it feels like a gimmick - the sum is not greater than the parts. The characters suit the style of each story, so some have gravity and others are comic caricatures that serve the situation - another aspect that makes the film seem uneven. Within each vignette MacLaine does a fine job, using her considerable talents as a dancer to physically embody each woman differently, but we're not with these women long enough to see any metamorphosis.
The first is a grieving widow opposite Peter Sellers whose words of comfort keep turning to inappropriate propositions. The scene belongs completely to Sellers, and it's the weakest of the stories.
The second character is a prudish wife who after discovering her husband and her best friend in bed, runs out of the house vowing to have sex with the first random man she meets. Instead she finds sympathy in a group of prostitutes who exchange war stories about love and men. For all their sexual experience they don't seem to have a better grasp on relationships, and an instant sisterhood bridges their social divide.
The third is a modern sex farce about a beautiful UN translator who has become so jaded about men that she has idolized her platonic relationship with a gay roommate. Meanwhile she reads poetry in the nude and invites two playboy dignitaries to her bed while she shows them slides of modernist paintings. the handsome men humor her bizarre quirks while trying to get the other to leave, a testament to men putting up with any amount of femcrazy to get laid.
The fourth character is the dull housewife who feels she must compete with the unrealistic fantasy woman of her husband's novels. She begins to embody the outlandish descriptions, wearing wigs and costumes, laughing and singing and being so impetuous that everyone begins to think she is having a mental breakdown. This is the first episode that feels like a real story arc, moving from awkward comedy to a heartbreaking moment as she realizes she has gone too far, crying out "I'm not crazy , I'm just in love!"
The fifth vignette is my favorite. MacLaine plays a society bitch who is mortified to discover a rival will be wearing the same gown to the opera. The stakes escalate as their powerful husbands get involved, then their husbands' corporations as the two Dames flex their power, neither willing to budge. MacLaine is spectacular shifting gears between barking orders at her husband's employees, giving condescending lectures to the maid, looking absolutely fabulous, while plotting violent sabotage. It's lavish and campy and evil. So much fun!
The next episode clunks. MacLaine and Alan Arkin are lovers trying to negotiate a suicide pact but keep coming up with excuses to not go through with it. The dialog feels improv, and it all takes place in realtime in one room, like a one-act play or a TV skit. It's a case where the vignette before it is so lavish and fun this scene drags in comparison.
In the final piece, a shy housewife and a glamorous model friend meet for lunch and they are followed by a young man. As they separate the shy woman is thrilled the man follows her instead of her friend. She wanders home slowly hoping to make the moment last. The tone is innocent and bittersweet (but also a little creepy by today's standards of harassment and stalking - there is a twist at the end that lets us know he will not come back later, break into her house, and murder them all).
What's remarkable with Woman Times Seven is individual moments that stick with you long after the movie has gone. It never gels together as a whole, but I feel that's a problem with all vignette films. There are some interesting situations and characters who probably are not compelling enough for a whole movie, and maybe that's the idea. Most of these women are having small personal moments that define them. It's individual portraits done in a charming way, with a big talent Hollywood actress but with European flavor. We get to follow some pre-feminist characters we would not normally be allowed to see. They are fallible, self-contradictory, and immature.
While there are observations about the different sexual expectations of men and women, it's dismissive to say this is a movie about "adultery" or sexual romps, as if it is another slice of '60s Euro-erotica. Instead of cheesecake, many of the women are portrayed unflatteringly or for laughs. The viewer sees through the illusion they do not see themselves, and there-in lies the opportunity to say dozens of small truths through comedy: it *is* crazy to try to become someone's fantasy. The shyest person could crave dangerous attention. Love is NOT worth dying over, but also death is not the end of love....
A string of vignettes
HotToastyRag26 June 2017
There are two types of movies that came out of the 1960s: strange, experimental films and lusciously colored films that made later generations ask, "Were the sixties really like that?" Woman Times Seven is a mixture of both, which would be a reason to watch it, if you're interested in different types of classic films. The movie has beautiful costumes, lavish colors, and oddly 60s music; and at the same time, it's strange and experimental. Seven completely unrelated short stories—each about infidelity—are played out, all starring Shirley MacLaine! She really is darling, so if you want to see her in various wigs and furs, and with beautiful expressions from heavily made up eyes, you won't want to miss this one.
The vignettes themselves aren't really all that good. Shirley has several different costars, including Peter Sellars, Alan Arkin, Rossano Brazzi, and Michael Caine. But the plots vary from silly to stalker-y to sad. It's not the best movie out there, but it won't hurt you if you want to see pretty people up on the screen.
The vignettes themselves aren't really all that good. Shirley has several different costars, including Peter Sellars, Alan Arkin, Rossano Brazzi, and Michael Caine. But the plots vary from silly to stalker-y to sad. It's not the best movie out there, but it won't hurt you if you want to see pretty people up on the screen.
Woman MINUS Six
Yokam17 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
It's always a bit sad when you remember a movie for so long, with such joy, and then finally when it comes out on DVD and you rush to view it, well, as Mr. Wolfe likes to say: "You can't go home again". I first saw this movie as a little boy, sneaking into the neighborhood theater. "Woman's Times Seven" was, after all one of those "foreign films" (though not really), and I was told that no self respecting all American boy should see it. So I was there the first day it opened. For a little boy, seeing Shirley Maclaine reading TS Elliot in the nude, or running around with heart-of-gold prostitutes was enough to proclaim this a masterpiece. For some strange reason this was a movie that didn't find its way onto regular TV, or even cable (or perhaps I just missed it), and only recently came out on DVD. So it remained as a great film in my mind all these years.
But then I just saw it again.
The problem is that six of the seven stories, watching them now as an "old man", just don't work. They are, more "shaggy puppy stories", than anything. Simple ideas (grieving widow being seduced in "eye shot" of her dead husband, scorned wife seeking revenge, pampered rich bitch, crazy UN translator, suicidal mistress, plain housewife trying to bring life back into her marriage, etc.) just fall apart after the first scene.
Sure, I remember Lex Barker as the ultimate writer cliché two massive dogs at his side, ever lit pipe, writing sexy novels in his study wearing a smoking jacket, (and from then on wanted nothing more than to write novels myself!) but basically so much of this film is forgettable, and the endings just sort of fizzle out. The first story, with Peter Sellers, the "family friend" escorting the beautiful grieving widow, walking right behind a horse-drawn Hearst along with a party of mourners, trying to seduce her while her dead husband's body is still warm, could have been wonderful especially if they had allowed Sellers to do his own thing. But director De Sica (who plays a cameo in this story as one of the mourners) keeps it cold, and by the numbers. There is no motivation for what Maclaine decides to do at the end of this story. This seems to be a problem with the next five stories, their pay-offs are basically bankrupt.
Sure, even as a boy I got the joke that the photo of her lover in the story where she was a UN Translator having a "night" with two horny bureaucrats, was actually Marlon Brando, but when that one gag (which, by the way, they play into the ground) becomes the highlight of what should have been a "shocking" celebration of a possible "ménage a trios", then you have problems.
And when have you ever seen Alan Arkin complete wasted before?
So many of the endings have this kind of self-satisfied "shrug" to them. A sort of "oh well" sensibility that seems more cop-out than pseudo existentialism.
However, the reason I call this review "woman minus six", is that the movie is completely redeemed by the seventh and final story, called "Snow". A simple story, the most beautifully photographed in the streets of Paris, shows two best friends, Maclaine and Anita Ekberg on a shopping day, being pursued by what they believe to be a young smitten wannabe lover. In sweet simple scenes you follow the "suitor", (played with elegant grace by Michael Caine and without one word of dialogue!) as he seems to pursue these two women. When they decide to split up after lunch to see which one he truly is after (although Ekberg does say: "Maybe he wants us both, he could be one of those moderns) Maclaine. to her joy, finds that he continues to follower her.
I won't spoil the ending, but this truly was a pure, finely crafted story, which says more about women, their needs, hopes, desires, fears and fantasy's, in fifteen minutes, than most movies do in two hours.
And finally Ortolani's theme which has been repeated through every story, also finally makes sense. Everything comes together in this last story. I'm sure there is no coincidence that it was placed last. They must have know it was the best. If only they had realized that, and thrown the other six out and started over using "Snow" as their bar to try and rise above.
But then I just saw it again.
The problem is that six of the seven stories, watching them now as an "old man", just don't work. They are, more "shaggy puppy stories", than anything. Simple ideas (grieving widow being seduced in "eye shot" of her dead husband, scorned wife seeking revenge, pampered rich bitch, crazy UN translator, suicidal mistress, plain housewife trying to bring life back into her marriage, etc.) just fall apart after the first scene.
Sure, I remember Lex Barker as the ultimate writer cliché two massive dogs at his side, ever lit pipe, writing sexy novels in his study wearing a smoking jacket, (and from then on wanted nothing more than to write novels myself!) but basically so much of this film is forgettable, and the endings just sort of fizzle out. The first story, with Peter Sellers, the "family friend" escorting the beautiful grieving widow, walking right behind a horse-drawn Hearst along with a party of mourners, trying to seduce her while her dead husband's body is still warm, could have been wonderful especially if they had allowed Sellers to do his own thing. But director De Sica (who plays a cameo in this story as one of the mourners) keeps it cold, and by the numbers. There is no motivation for what Maclaine decides to do at the end of this story. This seems to be a problem with the next five stories, their pay-offs are basically bankrupt.
Sure, even as a boy I got the joke that the photo of her lover in the story where she was a UN Translator having a "night" with two horny bureaucrats, was actually Marlon Brando, but when that one gag (which, by the way, they play into the ground) becomes the highlight of what should have been a "shocking" celebration of a possible "ménage a trios", then you have problems.
And when have you ever seen Alan Arkin complete wasted before?
So many of the endings have this kind of self-satisfied "shrug" to them. A sort of "oh well" sensibility that seems more cop-out than pseudo existentialism.
However, the reason I call this review "woman minus six", is that the movie is completely redeemed by the seventh and final story, called "Snow". A simple story, the most beautifully photographed in the streets of Paris, shows two best friends, Maclaine and Anita Ekberg on a shopping day, being pursued by what they believe to be a young smitten wannabe lover. In sweet simple scenes you follow the "suitor", (played with elegant grace by Michael Caine and without one word of dialogue!) as he seems to pursue these two women. When they decide to split up after lunch to see which one he truly is after (although Ekberg does say: "Maybe he wants us both, he could be one of those moderns) Maclaine. to her joy, finds that he continues to follower her.
I won't spoil the ending, but this truly was a pure, finely crafted story, which says more about women, their needs, hopes, desires, fears and fantasy's, in fifteen minutes, than most movies do in two hours.
And finally Ortolani's theme which has been repeated through every story, also finally makes sense. Everything comes together in this last story. I'm sure there is no coincidence that it was placed last. They must have know it was the best. If only they had realized that, and thrown the other six out and started over using "Snow" as their bar to try and rise above.
Fun Vintage Shirley MacLaine Flick from the 1960's
dabigboss302-129 December 2013
Even the old bad films to me are a hundred times better than what I see today. Although it is a silly film, Shirley is fabulous and looks wonderful in each story line. I love foreign films made in Paris, France and Italy so this was a treat with all the fabulous location shots. Peter Sellers of course is genius as he always was!
I never saw this film and I am an old movie buff so I was glad to see some one in particular. Vittorio DeSica made this film in 1967 which appeared to be slightly different than some of his films.
I still think the film is worth seeing if you are a Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine fan.
I never saw this film and I am an old movie buff so I was glad to see some one in particular. Vittorio DeSica made this film in 1967 which appeared to be slightly different than some of his films.
I still think the film is worth seeing if you are a Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine fan.
Swinging Shirley Showcase Gets Better As It Goes
slokes31 December 2012
Boasting swinging '60s ambiance, handsome set design, and a sumptuous score, "Woman Times Seven" is a somewhat underwritten set of sketches with Shirley MacLaine playing seven different roles. Some are more rewarding than others, but stick with it to the end and you will find much to enjoy.
Other than MacLaine, the common elements in the film are the score, the Paris setting, and a common thread of romantic hopes found wanting. The subtitle mentions "7 Stories Of Adultery," which is more than a bit of exaggeration.
In the first sketch, Shirley plays a mourning widow being wooed during her husband's funeral procession by a bearded Peter Sellers. I watched this film just to see Sellers, but his segment is the slightest and second-weakest in the film. Basically, it's a one- joke premise where the viewer is left to wonder whether Paulette (MacLaine's character here) is really grief-stricken or merely holding out for a better deal from her new, rich suitor. It doesn't so much end as fizzle out.
The next two segments are similarly thin plot devices. Maria Theresa (MacLaine) finds her husband with another woman and decides to find a man on the street to be unfaithful with, even if she has to be a prostitute for a night. It's a bit shaky in its exposition but manages a few laughs. Then, as Linda, we see rather a great deal of MacLaine as a brainy nudist who leads two horny men to her apartment to discuss art and poetry. Other than getting naked (in ways that shield her from us if not the guys), Linda doesn't make much with the time given her, and the sequence limps to a wet, predictable conclusion.
But just as one is about to give up on this movie as a slim curio of its time, it finds its legs. In the next sequence, Edith (MacLaine) is the forlorn wife of a writer too caught up in the fantasy of his latest creation, the capricious Simone (MacLaine actually plays eight roles in this film as we see her as Simone in dream sequences). Edith goes all out to win back his interest. It's not that clever, but it is endearing, with MacLaine showing depth as the wistful, dowdy companion of a faithful but distracted man.
Director Vittorio De Sica was a legend for films made well before this one, and may have been coasting here, offering up bon-bons in place of substance. But he finds nice ways to give the film interest even in the slacker parts. In the Paulette sequence, he plays up how differently younger and older people react to the passing cortège, the younger ones carefree and bored, the older ones respectful and oddly intent. In the Edith sequence, there's a moment in a supermarket when we see her talking to a beautiful woman who marvels at her husband's passionate prose. The woman stands in front of a counter full of cookies, while Edith stands in front of a row of dog biscuits.
The last three sequences are the heart of the film's charm and lasting power, each comedic in different ways, each giving MacLaine worthwhile characters to play. Eve is the rich consort of a captain of industry, so bent on making a big splash at the opera in a new gown that she arranges for a bomb to go off in the car of a fashion rival. Her husband is suitably aghast.
"You have never taken a risk for me, ever!" she whines at him. It's a fun, farcical dig at high finance and haute couture that makes its pointed digs with gentle good humor.
As Marie in the penultimate sequence, MacLaine plots her own suicide in a seedy hotel with her squeamish lover (Alan Arkin). Here the humor is of the black variety, but rather effective, especially as they argue over which way to do themselves in. Romeo and Juliet they aren't. This may be her best acted part of the film, as she's quite funny in a role that could be deadly serious.
The last, and by far best sequence, features a woman named Jean (MacLaine) who alternately laughs at and lusts over a man (Michael Caine) who follows her around the City of Light to her husband's apartment. "He's got that little-lost-boy look going for him," purrs Jean's more worldly companion Claudie (Anita Ekberg). The sequence ends memorably and cleverly, but really benefits from a second viewing, once you have learned the Caine character's secret. Our last look of MacLaine staring out a window at footprints in the snow has an affecting beauty all its own.
Add to that Riz Ortolani's music and the visual treat of Paris itself shot during a time it truly was the City of Light, and there's a lot to enjoy. Even if a couple of sequences are not gems in themselves, better material follows, and all is presented with ample, lasting charm.
Other than MacLaine, the common elements in the film are the score, the Paris setting, and a common thread of romantic hopes found wanting. The subtitle mentions "7 Stories Of Adultery," which is more than a bit of exaggeration.
In the first sketch, Shirley plays a mourning widow being wooed during her husband's funeral procession by a bearded Peter Sellers. I watched this film just to see Sellers, but his segment is the slightest and second-weakest in the film. Basically, it's a one- joke premise where the viewer is left to wonder whether Paulette (MacLaine's character here) is really grief-stricken or merely holding out for a better deal from her new, rich suitor. It doesn't so much end as fizzle out.
The next two segments are similarly thin plot devices. Maria Theresa (MacLaine) finds her husband with another woman and decides to find a man on the street to be unfaithful with, even if she has to be a prostitute for a night. It's a bit shaky in its exposition but manages a few laughs. Then, as Linda, we see rather a great deal of MacLaine as a brainy nudist who leads two horny men to her apartment to discuss art and poetry. Other than getting naked (in ways that shield her from us if not the guys), Linda doesn't make much with the time given her, and the sequence limps to a wet, predictable conclusion.
But just as one is about to give up on this movie as a slim curio of its time, it finds its legs. In the next sequence, Edith (MacLaine) is the forlorn wife of a writer too caught up in the fantasy of his latest creation, the capricious Simone (MacLaine actually plays eight roles in this film as we see her as Simone in dream sequences). Edith goes all out to win back his interest. It's not that clever, but it is endearing, with MacLaine showing depth as the wistful, dowdy companion of a faithful but distracted man.
Director Vittorio De Sica was a legend for films made well before this one, and may have been coasting here, offering up bon-bons in place of substance. But he finds nice ways to give the film interest even in the slacker parts. In the Paulette sequence, he plays up how differently younger and older people react to the passing cortège, the younger ones carefree and bored, the older ones respectful and oddly intent. In the Edith sequence, there's a moment in a supermarket when we see her talking to a beautiful woman who marvels at her husband's passionate prose. The woman stands in front of a counter full of cookies, while Edith stands in front of a row of dog biscuits.
The last three sequences are the heart of the film's charm and lasting power, each comedic in different ways, each giving MacLaine worthwhile characters to play. Eve is the rich consort of a captain of industry, so bent on making a big splash at the opera in a new gown that she arranges for a bomb to go off in the car of a fashion rival. Her husband is suitably aghast.
"You have never taken a risk for me, ever!" she whines at him. It's a fun, farcical dig at high finance and haute couture that makes its pointed digs with gentle good humor.
As Marie in the penultimate sequence, MacLaine plots her own suicide in a seedy hotel with her squeamish lover (Alan Arkin). Here the humor is of the black variety, but rather effective, especially as they argue over which way to do themselves in. Romeo and Juliet they aren't. This may be her best acted part of the film, as she's quite funny in a role that could be deadly serious.
The last, and by far best sequence, features a woman named Jean (MacLaine) who alternately laughs at and lusts over a man (Michael Caine) who follows her around the City of Light to her husband's apartment. "He's got that little-lost-boy look going for him," purrs Jean's more worldly companion Claudie (Anita Ekberg). The sequence ends memorably and cleverly, but really benefits from a second viewing, once you have learned the Caine character's secret. Our last look of MacLaine staring out a window at footprints in the snow has an affecting beauty all its own.
Add to that Riz Ortolani's music and the visual treat of Paris itself shot during a time it truly was the City of Light, and there's a lot to enjoy. Even if a couple of sequences are not gems in themselves, better material follows, and all is presented with ample, lasting charm.
It's Shirley times seven!
moonspinner557 September 2005
Shirley MacLaine playing seven different women in seven short stories directed by Vittorio De Sica about male-female relationships. Putting indefatigable Shirley in a variety of wigs and costumes opposite a host of male and female stars in guest cameos probably sounded foolproof, but the movie progressively loses steam after its opening episode at a funeral (and the whole idea reminds one of MacLaine's "What a Way to Go!" besides). Alan Arkin, Rossano Brazzi, Shirley's "Gambit" co-star Michael Caine, Elsa Martinelli, Anita Ekberg, Vittorio Gassman and a pre-"Being There" Peter Sellers offer some cute bits and pieces, but this isn't the comedic tour-de-force MacLaine's fans were hoping for. US-French-Italian co-production doesn't look terribly good, while director De Sica's work is scattershot. ** from ****
Aside from the writing, it's not too bad...
planktonrules23 October 2011
My summary was facetious. Without good writing, a film simply isn't worth seeing--which pretty much sums up my opinion on "Woman Times Seven". It's very poorly written--quite uneven and at times annoying. The director didn't help any, as the film lacks subtlety and simply is a chore to watch. My only reason to watch it is that Peter Sellers was in it--but barely.
Shirley MacLaine stars in seven different vignettes as a woman living in Europe. The shorts are supposedly funny (which they aren't) as well as a bit bawdy. I real felt sorry for the actress, as she was far too talented to be in such a lousy film. In fact, my wife kept asking me "why are you watching that STUPID film"--until finally I realized she was right and turned off this dreadful mess.
Shirley MacLaine stars in seven different vignettes as a woman living in Europe. The shorts are supposedly funny (which they aren't) as well as a bit bawdy. I real felt sorry for the actress, as she was far too talented to be in such a lousy film. In fact, my wife kept asking me "why are you watching that STUPID film"--until finally I realized she was right and turned off this dreadful mess.
A must for Shirley MacLaine fans
jbgeorges26 July 2020
Shirley MacLaine's performance, interpreting 7 women as different as it can be, is quite breathtaking. The quality of the mini-stories is uneven, some have aged rather badly in my opinion: Funeral Possession, Super Simone and Suicides. Others still provide a real entertainment and great fun: At the opera, Amateur night, and especially the last one, Snow, also starring Michael Caine, with a quite magical and fairy atmosphere. This was clearly the best part!
With so many great talents on screen, I expected a little more from Vittorio de Sica, a director I appreciate very much. Besides MacLaine and Caine, we find indeed a rather exceptional cast with Peter Sellers, Elsa Martinelli, Vittorio Gasman, Anita Ekberg, Philippe Noiret. Unfortunately, the format of 7 vignettes and the rather thin scenarios do not allow these great talents to express themselves as they should.
The movie would have been much better with 3 or 4 mini-stories, not more. De Sica took an evident pleasure in lining up the stars like pearls on a necklace, and Shirley MacLaine obviously enjoyed herself in this collection of roles, dresses and wigs. But the end result is still a bit meager.
This film was for me like an appetizer buffet, pretty to watch, sometimes fun to taste, but in the end you still fell hungry about something more substantial...
Not one of Shirley's best but okay
Marie-622 December 2001
Warning: Spoilers
Well, this movie is a little pointless. The endings to each sequel aren't shone and the plots themselves except for Edith and Marie, are a little drastic. Can you imagine a beige haired Shirley MacLaine wondering around her apartment naked reading T.S. Elliot while a Mediterranean man and a gorgeous blonde Scot are sitting on the bed, paying more attention to this pixie like artistic woman than the story that she reads? A little odd...Yes...But Shirley pulled it off. All these stories have a theme "Love can drive you crazy." There's also a story of a rich, spoiled woman (Eve) who wants a stupid dress like no other so she tries to blow up the other owner of her dress! Then there's Edith, who loves her author husband enough to come out of her bland, unexciting shell into the characters that he creates. That 15 minute part right there could've been a movie. The doctor and Vic tell Edith that she's crazy but she cries from the roof top "I'M NOT CRAZY!!! I'M IN LOVE!!" There's Maria Theresa, who comes home a day early and catches her friend sleeping with her husband. In out rage she runs to hookers to sleep with another man to drive her husband wild with jealousy. Marie and Fred are two lovers who are confused about life. They decide to make a suicide pact. I was surprised at how cute Alan Arkin really was when he wasn't in "Wait Until Dark"! Anyhow, they both decide that no love is worth the trouble of shooting each other or whatnot. Of course after they finish boffing each other. There's Jeanne, who is followed with her friend by a "mysterious stranger" who was only hired to follow her to make sure that she wasn't cheating on her suspicious husband. All of these stories are odd and a little loony but seeing Shirley MacLaine change so much for each part is delight. She goes to every color of hair, every style of look, through every outfit you can imagine. She looks great! Apart from that, this movie is a little much for kids and well, I don't highly suggest it to anybody other than dedicated Shirley MacLaine fans. OTHER STARS: Michael Caine appears. He's too cute.
Shirley MacLaine playing seven differtent characters against equally different men
clanciai21 November 2020
Shirley plays the lead in seven different stories in Paris in different love situations. The best one is the sixth, a marvellous travesty of Marcel Carné's "Le jour se lève" with Jean Gabin and Arletty, and almost identically in the same squalid hotel, where Shirley and Alan Arkin intend to do themselves in, but there are arguments about it. This is great fun and Cesare Zavattini and Vittorio de Sica at their best. The other episodes are rather uneven, but the second one, where Shirley comes home to find her husband (Rossano Brazzi) in bed with another woman, whereupon she runs out in the streets in a panic and happen to a bunch of prostitutes in the park, who decide to help her, while her husband comes running out in the streets after her in his pyjamas, is also well written. The tendency of the others is that you will eventually get a bit tired of finding only Shirley MacLaine in all of them - there is a little of Anita Ekberg in the last of them, but not much. All other characters are subordinate.
It is entertaining on the whole, but you don't laugh much, while instead you find some situations rather awkward and painful, like the luxurious opera spectacle with Patrick Wymark in a typical role of his. Peter Sellers is excellent in the very first episode, which is the briefest. In brief, this is not one of de Sica-Zavattini's best works, but it has some excellent highlights.
Shirley Times Seven
richardchatten27 January 2022
With good reason one of the more obscure films of Vittorio de Sica; but you don't often get the chance to see Shirley MacLaine recite Prufrock nude.
Obviously having the time of her life, she's fun to watch cavorting about Paris in a variety of hairstyles and outfits in this reverse Bechdel Test in which she's always the centre of attention. And there's the bonus of a up-and-coming young Alan Arkin followed by Michael Caine sans glasses in the final and best episodes.
Obviously having the time of her life, she's fun to watch cavorting about Paris in a variety of hairstyles and outfits in this reverse Bechdel Test in which she's always the centre of attention. And there's the bonus of a up-and-coming young Alan Arkin followed by Michael Caine sans glasses in the final and best episodes.
The mud puddle in the first story tells you what you're about to see
cekadah8 April 2019
I hope Shirley MacLaine's entry into her professional diary for this flick is 'hopeless flop'.
This effort at a big name movie wasn't much in it's day and seems much less now. Mostly just poor silly acting in seven boring short stories. With great acting names like Peter Sellers, Michael Caine, Vittorio Gassman, etc, etc. The movie can't get off the ground!
Vittorio de Sica tried but this one just keeps sinking.
This effort at a big name movie wasn't much in it's day and seems much less now. Mostly just poor silly acting in seven boring short stories. With great acting names like Peter Sellers, Michael Caine, Vittorio Gassman, etc, etc. The movie can't get off the ground!
Vittorio de Sica tried but this one just keeps sinking.
See? I Told You So!
jtclark0121 July 2004
Woman Times Seven may not be the greatest film IL' Shirl has ever made ("Being There" comes to mind), and it may not be her high water mark for sheer feminine beauty (the scene where she's on the elevating psychiatrist's couch in "What A Way To Go" certainly takes that prize), but just to look at her as the grieving widow, to the surprise revelation of that cute little bow at the back of her apron in such a strategic place, to how she CLEARLY was the most spectacular femme at the opera...ah, what a piece of work is woman!
In this day and age, where women think that they don't need makeup, or stockings, or stiletto pumps, where hair is considered attractive if it looks like one just got out of bed and used fingers alone, and before they wake up and realize that tattoos and piercings are sooo trampy, that quick-cut set of takes where she is at once the house mouse in her little peignoir and just as instantly the SAME WOMAN is the man-eating vixen Simone is CLEAR CUT PROOF that with the right grooming and wardrobe ANY woman can be a goddess. I've been saying THAT for years, but no one but the cinematic cognoscenti would even know what I'm talking about.
Beyond that, the flick has EXACTLY the right taste of Sixties-flick, and that's enough said. Remember: Heaven will be all-Sixties forever.
JTC
In this day and age, where women think that they don't need makeup, or stockings, or stiletto pumps, where hair is considered attractive if it looks like one just got out of bed and used fingers alone, and before they wake up and realize that tattoos and piercings are sooo trampy, that quick-cut set of takes where she is at once the house mouse in her little peignoir and just as instantly the SAME WOMAN is the man-eating vixen Simone is CLEAR CUT PROOF that with the right grooming and wardrobe ANY woman can be a goddess. I've been saying THAT for years, but no one but the cinematic cognoscenti would even know what I'm talking about.
Beyond that, the flick has EXACTLY the right taste of Sixties-flick, and that's enough said. Remember: Heaven will be all-Sixties forever.
JTC
Mildly Amusing Portmanteau Film
l_rawjalaurence9 April 2016
WOMAN TIMES SEVEN is one of those portmanteau films beloved of filmmakers of the Fifties and Sixties linked by an abstract theme or authorial voice. In this case, it is adultery.
Shirley MacLaine gets the chance to show off her acting talent in seven different roles ranging from a mousy homemaker to a translator-turned-vamp, a shrewish society lady, and a middle-aged Parisian pursued by a strange man. Sometimes she is more effective than others; she reveals her talent for dancing as well as nonverbal comedy. The film is quite risqué for the late Sixties, as it has her appearing nude in one of the sequences, although director De Sica ensures that she is most tastefully shot, revealing nothing of her charms for lascivious viewers.
Of the seven playlets, "Funeral Procession" is quite droll, with Peter Sellers reprising his role from the previous year's WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT? as a lecher trying yet failing to persuade a widow (MacLaine) to sleep with him. In "Super Simone" Lex Barker plays a successful novelist so obsessed with his fictional character Simone and her sexual exploits that he remains immune to his wife's (MacLaine's) entreaties - that is, until she initiates some outrageous stunts, including having their evening meal served by an African dressed in tribal clothing. "At the Opera" has MacLaine as a society lady fond of shouting at everyone who is eventually trumped by the sight of one of her deadliest rivals (Adrienne Corri) having the same style of dress designed for her. The anthology rounds off with Michael Caine in a nonspeaking role working for a rich Parisian (Philippe Noiret) jealous of his wife (MacLaine).
The film incorporates some of the sexist values characteristic of a pre-feminist era: women mostly exist to serve their husbands, both socially as well as sexually. Yet such archaism is redeemed somewhat by the atmospheric photography (by Christian Matras) that captures Paris's romanticism and enduring attraction.
Shirley MacLaine gets the chance to show off her acting talent in seven different roles ranging from a mousy homemaker to a translator-turned-vamp, a shrewish society lady, and a middle-aged Parisian pursued by a strange man. Sometimes she is more effective than others; she reveals her talent for dancing as well as nonverbal comedy. The film is quite risqué for the late Sixties, as it has her appearing nude in one of the sequences, although director De Sica ensures that she is most tastefully shot, revealing nothing of her charms for lascivious viewers.
Of the seven playlets, "Funeral Procession" is quite droll, with Peter Sellers reprising his role from the previous year's WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT? as a lecher trying yet failing to persuade a widow (MacLaine) to sleep with him. In "Super Simone" Lex Barker plays a successful novelist so obsessed with his fictional character Simone and her sexual exploits that he remains immune to his wife's (MacLaine's) entreaties - that is, until she initiates some outrageous stunts, including having their evening meal served by an African dressed in tribal clothing. "At the Opera" has MacLaine as a society lady fond of shouting at everyone who is eventually trumped by the sight of one of her deadliest rivals (Adrienne Corri) having the same style of dress designed for her. The anthology rounds off with Michael Caine in a nonspeaking role working for a rich Parisian (Philippe Noiret) jealous of his wife (MacLaine).
The film incorporates some of the sexist values characteristic of a pre-feminist era: women mostly exist to serve their husbands, both socially as well as sexually. Yet such archaism is redeemed somewhat by the atmospheric photography (by Christian Matras) that captures Paris's romanticism and enduring attraction.
Shirley, You Can't Be Serious.
mark.waltz11 October 2012
Warning: Spoilers
It's a Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod World, and when there are seven of you, you need a lot of wardrobe, not to mention a ton of wigs. Shirley gets a ton of both, more than she had in "What a Way to Go". What she is lacking is a script of quality, substance and sustained interest. Yes, she has some amazing co-stars (most notably Peter Sellers 12 years before "Being There" and Michael Caine a year after "Gambit"), but with poor material, it becomes a convoluted bore. The segment with Caine as a man stalking the married Shirley from a restaurant to her bus home to outside her door is probably the most interesting, and that isn't saying much. Shirley isn't at all to blame, but the result turns out to be an overlong drag show.
Awful, don't waste your time.
Maverick196222 April 2022
Just a warning not to bother with this rubbish. Cesare Zavattini was the writer and I find it hard to believe he was also responsible for Bicycle Thieves. This movie is so badly written I had no idea what the purpose of any of the short stories were. None of them are funny. None of them are exciting. I was left wondering what it was I had just seen. Maybe that's unfair, it could have been the poor direction by De Sica. Could he have just misinterpreted the writing. Whichever way, I don't blame the actors, a stellar cast, no doubt unwittingly sucked into this by the lure of De Sica and Zavattini's names. I don't know. Avoid, avoid. Even die hard fans, as I am, of Shirley MacLaine will be sorely disappointed.
could have done better
acresda25 November 2004
With all the stars on call and what seems like a decent budget the seven short films often seem to be struggling to find a point and fall flat. The only exception is Michael Cane's outing.
This is a little gem, a perfect musical score and well shot. The story has a little twist and is what I imagine all the other six films aspired to.
SPOILER
Shirley is, in my humble view, looking absolutely stunning, as the faithful wife/sex kitten who never quite strayed from the path, but the first time she is tempted is, ironically enough.. by the private eye following her on the orders of her jealous husband.
Excellent little short, makes the film worth watching.
This is a little gem, a perfect musical score and well shot. The story has a little twist and is what I imagine all the other six films aspired to.
SPOILER
Shirley is, in my humble view, looking absolutely stunning, as the faithful wife/sex kitten who never quite strayed from the path, but the first time she is tempted is, ironically enough.. by the private eye following her on the orders of her jealous husband.
Excellent little short, makes the film worth watching.
A Fascinating Underlying Existential Angst Movie
tabuno17 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
14 June 2013. Shirley MacLaine received a Golden Globes nomination for best actress in a musical or comedy for her seven roles she played in this vignette formatted movie. Depending on how one perceives this movie likely greatly influences the subjective opinion about it. Described by some as movie about a female dreaming of being seven different women or by others as various women experiencing different states of infidelity, I saw this movie from a different description. I experienced a movie about women in France finding themselves in different relational situations and underlying each vignette there seemed to be a superficial emptiness that didn't detract from the movie but actually highlighted a fascinating existential angst. For people looking for extended character development, mystery, thrills, or action, complex plots, or even hilarious laughter, they will be disappointed. Instead this movie preceded a more emotively intriguing movie presented in similar tones and presentation of relational interaction winning the Golden Globes for best musical or comedy, best actor in a musical or comedy, and director - Lost in Translation (2003). Unlike the contemporary popular mainstream romantic vignette movies like New Year=s Eve (2011) or Valentine's Day (2010), Woman Times Seven captured a more serious undertone likely missed by people and likely transforming this movie into a series of simple, vapid scenes. Woman Time Seven is more restrained in its presentation without the mind-blowing, expansive sci fi movie of the ages Cloud Atlas (2012) that spanned 500 years, six different stories with actors playing multiple roles capturing both the eternal bonds of love and individuality, without the loud brassiness of action in Pulp Fiction (1994), assassin themed Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004), or racial stereotyping themed Crash (2005) that intertwined their vignettes in nicely composed plot lines much like the polished presentation of The Air I Breathe (2007) that incorporated four loosely connected but powerful vignettes involving a banker, a mobster, a muscleman, a popstar, and a doctor whose lives partially intersected in both tragedy and hope. This movie also omitted a cultural theme as found in the epic vignette Chinese stories of The Joy Luck Club (1993) or the Western vignette stories of the classic How The West Was Won (1962) spanning four generations. This movie with its "emptiness" relational theme is more aligned with the Japanese vignette movie After Life (1998) using a more surrealistic after death theme or A Man and A Woman (French, 1966) with its a singular in depth examination of love with a more genuine, heartfelt reality of falling in love and addressing past love or with Separate Tables (1983 TV) a made for television stage play starring Julie Christie, Alan Bates, and Claire Bloom that captured a deep chord on the human condition, intimate human relationships, societal humiliation and tolerance in a quaint British setting of a small resort inn. Instead each of the seven independent vignettes and seven roles played by MacLaine had their own unique sense of charm and in some instances bittersweet, haunting afterglows. In many vignettes there seems to be an undertone of lonely, empty melancholy making this movie stand out for its lingering sad message which only served to encourage our own reflection back on our own lives heightening a sense of urgency of looking for meaning in our own lives. SPOILERS. With typical Peter Seller's humor, somehow delightfully subdued yet captivating, the "Funeral Procession" raised doubts as to the ultimate sincerity of MacLaine's widow's relationship to her recently deceased husband; "Amateur Night" appealed with its comedic brushstrokes the bittersweet notion of the ultimate longing of a woman to stay in a relationship, one without sincere intimacy; and what appears to be a stony intellectual academic density of literature and art characterization by MacLaine in "Two Against One" ultimately served notice on the fragility of the mind over body, the inability of developing a substantive and qualitative relationship even with the appearance of lofty sounding poetry and art; MacLaine character's descent into seeming madness in "Super Simone" presented one of the most delicious performances in her eccentricity but ultimately disconnection of husband to wife and the wife's inability to really know her husband, and the lengths of her love to embrace her husband's mental but disassociated flights of fancy ending almost in a surrealistic tragedy; "At the Opera" highlighted the vain, materialistic focus on using relationships and in this case ultimately the craziness of its emptiness as MacLaine's character literally ends up with a manic breakdown of the senselessness of it all; in "Suicides" both MacLaine and Alan Arkin presented older but seemingly immature lovers whose passions and superficial demonstrations of love are exposed in the end; and finally in "Snow" there's an almost one-sided Roman Holiday (1953) romp as MacLaine's character indulges mentally in a fantasy of male attraction as she innocently flirts with a young Michael Caine character. Yet, in is in the culmination of having this movie sustain an interest in this less than extravagant, less than physically explosive, less than mysteriously and intensely bombarding movie that it can present its much more existentialist material in a way that offers up a huge reflection on the human condition. On many levels this movie doesn't portray greatness or excellence perhaps even engendering a notion of inanity. Nevertheless, the audience, if they are able to, may perceive a haunting snow scene at the end where MacLaine's character is embraced from behind as she looks out at the window towards a stranger who has followed her around town, but who in fact wasn't interested in her at all. What can be made of such a disengaged relationship that seems so incongruous with the beauty of the visual setting? Thus at this level of contemplation, this movie becomes a quiet, sometimes, ludicrous but very amazing and meaningful look at the emptiness of our own lives.
Seven tiered black comedy
JasparLamarCrabb14 September 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Vittorio De Sica's seven tiered black comedy stars Shirley MacLaine alongside an international group of leading men. She's a widow wooed by Peter Sellers (during the funeral procession), the mousy, dejected wife of Rosanno Brazzi, an interpreter playing sex games with Vittorio Gassman & Clinton Grey, the unfulfilled wife of nitwit romance novelist Lex Barker, the shrike wife of wealthy Patrick Wymark, a cheating wife in a suicide pact with Alan Arkin, and finally a bored Parisian housewife pursued by Michael Caine. None of this is particularly memorable and only some of it's even funny, but MacLaine looks terrific and the actors are all fine (though Sellers vanishes too quickly & Caine has no on-screen dialog). There's some great Paris locations photographed by Christian Matras and Anita Ekberg and Elsa Martinelli appear in cameos.
I usually love vignettes, but.....
byron-11612 May 2020
Starring Shirley MacLaine's wig collection
MissSimonetta17 July 2023
The scenarios in WOMAN TIMES SEVEN all deal with adultery and the relationships between the sexes. Reading the premises of each, they feel like prime opportunities for dark comedy: a meek housewife tries embodying her husband's silly sexual fantasies in the flesh, two lovers squabble over how they should carry out their suicide pact, a widow is seduced behind her husband's funeral procession, a faithful wife is tempted by the handsome detective her jealous husband hired to trail her, etc. However, they don't play very funny, despite the best efforts of MacLaine and her court of co-stars. I can't quite put my finger on why. Humor is indeed subjective, but I found a lot of the humor fell flat. I either found the characters too annoying or too pathetic to laugh at, and sometimes the comedy was just stupid (the one with the nude translator just felt so juvenile).
The stories are often thin with unsatisfying endings-- and when I say unsatisfying I'm not complaining about morals or happy endings. They just seem to run out of steam and stop, leaving you with the feeling of, "What was the point?" The running theme tends to be adultery, though the theme is treated with inspiration only here and there. The two best shorts were "At the Opera" which was an open comic farce that had nothing to do with the main theme at all and "Snow," which is lowkey and poignant, saying much about the desire to be desired. One wishes more of that sort of wistfulness had been as successful in the other stories.
The stories are often thin with unsatisfying endings-- and when I say unsatisfying I'm not complaining about morals or happy endings. They just seem to run out of steam and stop, leaving you with the feeling of, "What was the point?" The running theme tends to be adultery, though the theme is treated with inspiration only here and there. The two best shorts were "At the Opera" which was an open comic farce that had nothing to do with the main theme at all and "Snow," which is lowkey and poignant, saying much about the desire to be desired. One wishes more of that sort of wistfulness had been as successful in the other stories.
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