I was sent this Blu-Ray to review. I'd never seen the film before.
WOMAN TIMES SEVEN
WOMAN TIMES SEVEN (1967) is, actually, seven short movies, filmed in France and directed by Vittorio De Sica. Each story features Shirley MacLaine in a different role.
Shirley’s co-stars in the various vignettes include Alan Arkin, Rossano Brazzi, Michael Caine, Vittorio Gassman, Peter Sellers, Anita Ekberg, Lex Barker and others.
Although Shirley is quite good as the diverse collection of characters she plays, most of the individual stories in the screenplay by Cesare Zavattini are rather forgettable. Three, however, are fun.
“Funeral Procession” is the opening story. In it, Shirley and Peter Sellers are among a large procession following her husband’s hearse to the cemetery. During their unhappy walk, Peter declares his love for Shirley, and…
“The Suicides” finds Shirley and Alan Arkin in a cheap hotel room where they are planning a mutual suicide. Both are unhappily married to others. He puts on a tuxedo. She dons a wedding dress, then they lie down on the bed and debate whether they should take poison or shoot themselves. Will they or won’t they?
My personal favorite is “At the Opera”. In it, Shirley is a wealthy woman who buys an expensive dress to wear at the opera, only to learn that another woman is planning to wear the same gown at that gala event. What will Shirley do? Murder is a definite option.
The sharp Blu-Ray release from Kino Lorber includes audio commentary from film historian Kat Ellinger.
