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8 1/2 Women
Lions Gate Films, Inc.
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R for strong sexual content including dialogue and pervasive nudity.
Starring
John Standing,
Matthew Delamere,
and
Vivian Wu
Two wealthy businessmen, a father and son, decide to set up their own brothel. . .an erotic fantasy (including father-son incest).
| GENRE(S): |
Comedy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Peter Greenaway
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Peter Greenaway
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: October 10, 2000
Video: October 10, 2000
Theatrical: May 26, 2000
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
120 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
Luxembourg / Netherlands / UK / Germany |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
75
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
This visually intricate fantasia combines his (Greenaway's) extraordinary cinematic imagination with a story and characters less compelling than those in his best works.
75
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
Never dull visually, but it's certainly monomaniacal and heartless thematically.
75
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
One possible approach to 8 1/2 Women, I think, is to view it as a slowed-down, mannered, tongue-in-cheek silent comedy, skewed by Greenaway's anger and desire to manipulate.
75
San Francisco Chronicle
Bob Graham
A surreal comedy about sex that comes as close to charming as Greenaway ever gets.
70
Dallas Observer
Gregory Weinkauf
It may be his (Greenaway's) breeziest and kindest-hearted effort to date.
63
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
Seethes with cruel lust and brainy fancy.
63
Miami Herald
Marta Barber
With its convoluted pretentiousness, heavy use of metaphors and obscure references to art, fails to maintain interest.
63
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
The problem with 8 1/2 Women isn't that what you see is what you get; it's that what you see is all you get.
50
LA Weekly
F. X. Feeney
As powerfully as the film lingers in the mind, one can't help wishing he were led just a bit more by his heart.
50
Salon.com
Andrew O'Hehir
Some viewers may find this movie sexist or misogynist simply based on its premise, but it's a mistake to take Greenaway's symbolic narratives too literally.
50
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Thomas
A nod to Fellini--and that "half" turns out to be a typically dark Greenaway twist. Yet this film, one of Greenaway's most amusing and accessible, actually arrives at moments of tenderness, even love, fleeting though they may be.
42
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
Keeps teasing you with intimations of the libidinous animal within.
40
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
Though his film is breathtakingly art-directed, Greenaway wallows in epater le bourgeois nastiness -- his inner naughty child could use a good paddling.
40
The New York Times
Stephen Holden
Its message is quite simple and all too familiar: when it comes to sex, all men are little boys.
40
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
(Greenaway) is often described as a director whose movies "are not for everyone." The obvious retort is that neither are the Three Stooges, but at least everyone understands them.
38
Baltimore Sun
Chris Kaltenbach
Greenaway's film is about making people's jaws drop.
25
San Francisco Examiner
G. Allen Johnson
It's downright boring.
25
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
8 1/2 Women is a collage-y, self-reflexive sort of film that is designed to shock but more often just annoys.
20
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
Intentionally defies categorization and explication.
20
Chicago Reader
Lisa Alspector
Writer-director Peter Greenaway never uses narrative lightly...references to the act of filmmaking exhaust their impact pretty quickly.
20
Film.com
Henry Cabot Beck
This anti-narrative screwball comedy, a sort of police-drama re-enactment of Fellini's themes in "8 1/2," keeps most of the jokes off-screen.
16
Mr. Showbiz
Michael Atkinson
Greenaway has hit a brick wall, and it's no fun to watch.
12
New York Post
Jonathan Foreman
More prettily photographed pretentious rubbish from the ridiculous Peter Greenaway.
10
Village Voice
Dennis Lim
The deeply ridiculous 8 1/2 Women could have been made only by a cranky dotard.
0
TNT RoughCut
Andy Klein
Inert, unfunny, and not even interesting as a dirty movie, 8 1/2 Women could well rank as one of the worst films of the year.
 The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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