Seven Beauties (1975)

The defense of honor, a strong value in Neapolitan society, and his effects on the life of everyman Pasquale Frafuso.

Director:

Lina Wertmüller

Writer:

Lina Wertmüller

Stars:

Giancarlo Giannini, Fernando Rey, Shirley Stoler

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Pasqualino Frafuso aka Settebellezze
Fernando Rey	...	Pedro the Anarchist Prisoner
Shirley Stoler	...	The Prison Camp Commandant
Elena Fiore	...	Concettina, a Sister
Piero Di Iorio	...	Francesco - Pasqualino's comrade
Enzo Vitale	...	Don Raffaele
Roberto Herlitzka	...	Socialist
Lucio Amelio	...	Lawyer
Ermelinda De Felice	...	Pasqualino's Mother
Bianca D'Origlia	...	The Psychiatrist
Francesca Marciano	...	Carolina (as Francesca Marciani)
Mario Conti	...	Totonno '18 Carati' - Concettina's pimp
Barbara Valmorin	...	The Prison Camp Commandant's Secretary
Emilio Salvatore
Aristide Caporale	...	Madman (as Aristide Caporali)

Storyline

Pasqualino, an Italian everyman, deserts the army during World War II. Germans capture him and send him to a prison camp, where he does just about anything to survive. In lengthy flashbacks, we see him and his family of seven unattractive sisters (the seven beauties), his accidental murder of one sister's lover, his confession and imprisonment, his calculated switch to an asylum, his rape of a patient, and his volunteering to be a soldier to escape confinement. To the chagrin of his obese German captor, his weak and cowardly character enables him to survive the war and return to Naples where he has a plan to survive the next world catastrophe.

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Plot Keywords:

starvation | title directed by female | kapo | murder trial | insane asylum | 

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Taglines:

...that's what they call him.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian German Neapolitan Spanish

Release Date:

21 January 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Seven Beauties

Filming Locations:

Naples, Campania, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,536, 14 April 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$11,962, 9 June 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Medusa Distribuzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The ratio of film shot to film actually used in the final cut was 50 to 1.

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Quotes

Pasqualino Frafuso: You'll never take Pasqualino Seven-Beauties! Never will you be able to take him alive!
Policeman: [seizing him] Stop bragging.
Pasqualino Frafuso: So I'm wrong.

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Alternate Versions

In the United States the film was shown in both a subtitled and English-dubbed versions.

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Connections

Referenced in The Fifth Element (1997)

User Reviews

A very influential movie in my life

I saw this film in the late 70's and ran the entire gambit of emotions while viewing it. I never thought I could laugh at such violence and at the hideous Nazi acts of the concentration camps and at the same time feel like heaving my guts on the theatre floor. I am going to have to track down a DVD of this movie to watch it again.

As good as Shindlers list was, I found it pale by comparison to "The seven Beauties". It is a wild ride and I can not recommend this film highly enough.

What disturbs me is that I have yet to talk to another person who has seen this movie.

And a side note: Madona should be crucified for remaking Swept Away.

Charlie