City of Women (1980)
"La città delle donne" (original title)

A businessman finds himself trapped at a hotel and threatened by women en masse.

Director:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

Federico Fellini (story), Bernardino Zapponi (story),

Stars:

Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Prucnal, Bernice Stegers

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marcello Mastroianni	...	Snàporaz
Anna Prucnal	...	Elena
Bernice Stegers	...	Woman on train
Donatella Damiani	...	Donatella (Woman on roller skates)
Jole Silvani	...	Motorcyclist (as Iole Silvani)
Ettore Manni	...	Dr. Xavier Katzone
Fiammetta Baralla	...	Onlio
Hélène Calzarelli	...	Feminist (as Hélène G. Calzarelli)
Isabelle Canto da Maya	...	(as Isabelle Canto de Maya)
Catherine Carrel	...	Commandant
Stéphane Emilfork	...	Feminist
Marcello Di Falco	...	Slave
Silvana Fusacchia	...	Skater
Gabriella Giorgelli	...	Fishwoman of San Leo
Dominique Labourier	...	Feminist

Storyline

Marcello is in the compartment of an Italian train, facing forward when the mineral water of the woman seated across from him starts to fall toward him. He catches the bottle and makes eye contact and follows her when she leaves the compartment. For a few moments she finds him attractive too. Then suddenly she gets off the train and starts walking through a field. Marcello follows her, loses her, finds himself in a large hotel surrounded by women. A feminist conference is taking place and he tries to escape.

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Plot Keywords:

train | businessman | adult humor | childhood | venetian | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

8 April 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

City of Women

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 1,515,579 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont, Opera Film Produzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian censorship visa # 74981 delivered on 27-3-1980.

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Connections

Edited into Fellini: I'm a Born Liar (2002)

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Soundtracks

"The Visitors"
(uncredited)
Composed by Gino Soccio

User Reviews

Of all the Fellini films, this is probably his most erotic…

It is not as much a study of eroticism as it is one man's erotic fantasy about the battle between the sexes…

A rich, horny Italian (Mastroianni) meets a woman on a train… When the train stops, he follows her into a lonely wood, which becomes a futuristic world of forceful women who have almost entirely destroyed completely all men in their society…

Mastroianni's character is left alive as a curiosity piece… His experiences carry him deeper and deeper into this bizarre fantasy city… The film never fully provides passion and erotic lusts, but is tickling and stimulating pleasantly none the less... Fellini's point—that women resent the fact that men are easily excited—is most effectively carried by Donatella Damiani, a buxom and very beautiful young actress who runs nearly naked throughout the movie…

Although the film never tires, it never quite completes its erotic expectations either, giving priority to consider carefully its own bizarre reality… It has elements of science fiction and adventure, but is more exactly a fantasy on the estrangement between men and women...