The Stepford Wives
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Movie Reviews of The Stepford Wives
Movie Review: Masterpiece
Summary: 4 Stars
The Stepford Wives (1975) is a creepy and terrifying thriller. It is based on a novel by Ira Levin, author of Rosemary's Baby. Is there anyone out there who does not yet know the premise of this film? If so, I will not spoil it for you. The story is about young, beautiful Joanna Eberhart (Katherine Ross) who leaves New York City with her husband Walter (Peter Masterson) and their two children for a quiet life in the suburban (fictional) town of Stepford, Connecticut. The town is lovely, but the women of Stepford are downright strange. They always look glamourous. They are softspoken, and seem to dote on cleaning, cooking, and grocery shopping.
Walter joins the Stepford Men's Association. Joanna and her lively friend Bobbi (Paula Prentiss) set out to try and set up a Stepford Women's Club. But the passive women only want to talk about spray starch. Bobbi and Joanna try to solve the mystery of the domestic Stepford wives and the role of the men.
The movie, directed by British director Bryan Forbes, builds at a slow, steady pace, building mood and setting the scene. On the downside, for a picture that won an award for sci-fi, there are few special effects. Still, the psychological grip of the film is inescapable, as are its disturbing implications of the baseness of men in their expectations of perfect wives.
Many cultures such as Japan feature feminine, docile women who pride themselves in domestic arts and are proud to keep a tranquil home for their husbands and families. Western culture, especially America during the Women's Lib movement, tends to downplay such women as backwards. The United States really is the perfect setting for this film, which provides a unique and jarring look at gender roles in American society.
The DVD, released in 1997, has a few extras, such as the original movie trailer, and interviews with the director, producer, Katherine Ross, Paula Prentiss, and another actress. It is interesting to see these women when they are older. You can still see the film's impact remains with them, as it will with all who see it.
Movie Review: Classically Creepy
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm a huge fan of classic movies so I was thrilled when my mom bought this home. I'm also extremely glad to watch this before I watch the new version with Nicole Kidman & Matthew Broderick. Upon watching it I was very pleasantly surprised. The cast is truly amazing and very well casted. I was even more surprised how much I enjoyed Tina Louise among many other noticeable actors today. The movie may start out slow, but ends up in an amazing eye opener plot line in the end. It is a bit predictable if you've read the book or know what the movie is already about, but it is still very entertaining from start to finish. I was also amazed about how creepy it made me feel and made me think for some reason of all new types of conspiracy theories. It's a really nice mix of sci-fi, thriller, and a little bit of horror. I know some people where highly disappointed or did not like the new version. I can't give my opinion on the new film version since I haven't seen it, but I will say always count on the original as being the best. This is no exception. The story is very well written and it's light unlike other thriller or horror movies. Plus the cast is amazing. It's a definite must see.
The DVD is very fun to and I was also surprised to see that it has extra's. A lot of classic films do not unless it was a big blockbuster. It has a behind the scene's (kind of) 18 minute clip of the actor's and director discussing the movie. Not to mention other enjoyable basic extra's.
So over all it's a must have for any fan of this genre or a lover of the classics.
Movie Review: Old school horror
Summary: 4 Stars
It's hard to believe that a movie like The Stepford Wives has been with us for over 30 years now, creating a new catch phrase of "Stepford Wife". While the remake with Nicole Kidman was panned by critics and audiences, it's best to go back and see the original. Chances are they are based on each other, but not the same movie in the slightest. This was certainly the case with the original and the remake.
Katherine Ross plays Joanna, a city woman who has just moved with her husband to a small, picturesque suburban town in the hopes of leaving their hectic life behind and restarting. What she finds instead is a town full of perfect, glassy eyed, Barbie doll women. Her new friend Bobbie shares her distain for the oddities of the town, and over time they see that there is just far more than meets the eye about this town full of Betty Crockers.
While this movie was quite long and could have trimmed the fat in a few places, it had several salient points of old school horror. There are no blood and guts and explosions, there is a constant sense of dread. A creeping, mounting paranoia feeling that they are coming to get her, knowing that when she discovers the truth about what is in store for her it's already too late. A classic in suspense.
Movie Review: "Something strange is happening in the town of Stepford"
Summary: 4 Stars
In this 1975 screen adaptation of Ira Levin's novel, Katherine Ross and Peter Masterson star as the married couple who trade the big-city hustle for the serenity of a small Connecticut suburb; Stepford. This is a town in which perennially chipper wives dutifully tend to their husbands' every need, feverishly clean their houses and swoon over their children. The new women in town (Ross and Paula Prentiss) try to discover what's behind this domestic bliss, and their confrontations with the various townsfolk are what make the movie such a creepy, truly spine-tingling blast.
"The Stepford Wives" provides audiences with some fairly interesting social commentary and cautionary feminist undertones while maintaining a satisfying level of suspense, and if nothing else, makes the pathetic 2004 remake look like precisely what it is; garbage. After the disastrous remake, I really appreciated director Bryan Forbes' distinct story focus and his careful building of suspense. It was wonderful to be able to watch an intelligent thriller that doesn't rely on special effects and blood for thrills and chills!
Movie Review: "I'll just die..."
Summary: 4 Stars
After all these years, the original STEPFORD WIVES still plays as a perfect blend of black satire and bone-chilling horror. Forgot the horrid recent remake with Nicole Kidman, stick with the 1975 version, which scared me to death (and made me laugh at the same time) when I saw it as a young kid in the theaters - those were the days, and this is still a scary, mature little gem of a horror movie that doesn't rely on today's CGI effects to get under your skin. Chock full of priceless dialogue and pitch-perfect performances (especially Paula Prentiss as the coffee-serviing Bobbie!), STEPFORD takes it time to rachet up suspense and deliberately build to a disturbing, ironic conclusion that will stick with you for days. Katherine Ross' climactic confrontation with her black-eyed drone is terrifying, while the final supermarket sequence is all about what becomes a legend most. Def worth a rental or purchase.