The Witches (1967)

Five short stories loosely dealing with the roles of women in society.

Directors:

Mauro Bolognini, Vittorio De Sica

Writers:

Giuseppe Patroni Griffi (story and screenplay), Cesare Zavattini (collaboration)

Stars:

Silvana Mangano, Annie Girardot, Francisco Rabal

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Silvana Mangano	...	Gloria (segment "Strega Bruciata viva, La") / Lady in a hurry (segment "Senso civico") / Assurdina Caì (segment "Terra vista dalla luna, La") / Nunzia (segment "Siciliana, La") / Giovanna (segment "Sera come le altre, Una")
Annie Girardot	...	Valeria (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Francisco Rabal	...	Paolo (Segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Massimo Girotti	...	Sportsman (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Véronique Vendell	...	Young Girl Friend (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Elsa Albani	...	Gossip (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Clara Calamai	...	Ex-actress (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Marilù Tolo	...	Waitress (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Nora Ricci	...	Gloria's secretary (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Dino Mele	...	Dino, the waiter (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Helmut Berger	...	Hotel Page (segment "La Strega Bruciata Viva") (as Helmut Steinbergher)
Bruno Filippini	...	Singer (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Leslie French	...	Industrialist (segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Alberto Sordi	...	Elio Ferocci (segment "Senso Civico")
Totò	...	Ciancicato Miao (segment "La terra vista dalla luna")

Storyline

Five short stories loosely dealing with the roles of women in society. A superstar actress travels to a mountain resort, only to evoke jealousy from women and lust from men. A woman offers to take an injured man to the hospital. A widowed father and his son seek for a new wife and mother. A man seeks revenge for a woman's honor. A bored housewife tries to explain to her husband that he's not as romantic as he used to be.

---

Plot Keywords:

dream | nightgown | lust | suicide by shooting oneself in the head | jumping on a bed | 

---

Taglines:

Woman as she is...all things to men!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Clint Eastwood incident was humorously referenced in Fellini's segment of the anthology movie Spirits of the Dead (1968). Terence Stamp played an actor arriving in Rome to do a movie, and as they leave the airport to go into the city, he suddenly sits up and asks where his Ferrari is. He was promised a Ferrari.

---

Quotes

Industrialist: I make a perfume. But I can't make it any better or it would destabilise the market.

---

Connections

References A Maiden for the Prince (1965)

---

Soundtracks

Cha Cha Beat
(uncredited)
Written and Performed by E La Sua Orchestra

User Reviews

No streghe in numbers

The best 25 minutes of Clint Eastwood's career lurk inside this uneven grab bag of shorts by five directors, among them greats. So good is he in Vittorio De Sica's brilliant segment (as the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit who unleashes his wife's libidinous Walter Middy) that you wonder what would have happened had Eastwood done more comedy. His gifts were wasted on spaghetti and spurs.

De Sica's imagination is the star here. The rest of the material is mildly charming, middling, dated, watchable only for Silvano Mangano, or, in the case of the Pasolini, dreadful.

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

12 March 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Witches

Filming Locations:

Kitzbuhel, Austria

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica, Les Productions Artistes Associés

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1