8 Women DVD

8 Women
A gaggle of mothers, wives, daughters, maids, and mistresses gather for a holiday homecoming at their country mansion -- and end up having to solve a murder-mystery -- in this musical-comic homage to studio-era "women's pictures" from acclaimed French director François Ozon. Partly inspired by George Cukor's 1939 classic The Women, 8 Femmes stars Catherine Deneuve as Gaby, a high-society matron just returned to her country house to celebrate Christmas with her husband; mother Mamy (Danielle Darrieux); sister Augustine (Isabelle Huppert); and daughters Suzon (Virginie Ledoyen) and Catharine (Ludivine Sagnier). Not long after they all arrive, however, do they find the man of the house with a knife in his back, whereupon everyone becomes a suspect -- including maids Chanel (Firmine Richard) and Louise (Emmanuelle Béart). The mysterious arrival of Augustine's sister-in-law Pierrette (Fanny Ardant) only complicates matters, as the titular eight women find themselves snowed in by a fierce blizzard, forced to confront the matter of the lifeless husband -- and their long-standing secrets and resentments -- without the aid of the police. Following its immensely successful release in France in early 2002, 8 Women enjoyed much acclaim at the Berlin and Toronto Film Festivals. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Cast Catherine Deneuve as Gaby Isabelle Huppert as Augustine Emmanuelle Béart as Louise Fanny Ardant as Pierrette Virginie Ledoyen as Suzon Danielle Darrieux as Mamy Ludivine Sagnier as Catherine Firmine Richard as Mme. Chanel

Crew Antoinette Boulat - Casting Sébastien Charles - Choreography Pascaline Chavanne - Costume Designer Hubert Barbin - First Assistant Director François Ozon - Director Laurence Bawedin - Editor Krishna Levy - Composer (Music Score) Arnaud de Moleron - Production Designer Jeanne Lapoirie - Cinematographer Olivier Delbosc - Producer Marc Missonnier - Producer Jean-Pierre Laforce - Sound/Sound Designer Pierre Gamet - Sound/Sound Designer François Ozon - Screenwriter Marina de Van - Screenwriter Robert Thomas - Play Author

8 Women
After the subdued classicism of the dramatic hriller Under the Sand, director François Ozon lets loose with this star-studded camp extravaganza, and though the results are never less than immensely enjoyable, the director's hyper-ironic, postmodern take on Technicolor '50s women's pictures is in the end more than a little shallow. But depth isn't what Ozon is interested in here: 8 Women is all surface and pastiche, from the garish costumes recalling both Douglas Sirk's All That Heaven Allows and Luis Buñuel's Diary of a Chambermaid, to the curiously static musical numbers marrying François Hardy classics to Lawrence Welk-style choreography. The formula yields some delectable performances, among them a grand, icon-smashing tour de force from Catherine Deneuve; a tweedy, constipated turn from Isabelle Huppert, cast joyously against type; and Emmanuelle Béart's lip-smacking parody of the erotic-maid archetype so endemic to Gallic film history. Even the film's source material seems tailor-made to Ozon's needs: The acidic one-liners, double- and triple-crosses, and ambi-sexual character revelations all work in tandem with 8 Women's meticulously designed and over-lit sets, fake snow, and plastic deer. So while film geeks -- in particular those with an encyclopedic knowledge of French cinema -- may have a ball, those expecting a straight (in every sense of the word) comedic murder-mystery will be forgiven if they stagger out of 8 Women a little dazed and confused. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
 

Arnaud de Moleron: French Academy of Cinema, Best Production Design (nominated) Benoit Hillebrant: French Academy of Cinema, Best Sound (nominated) Danielle Darrieux: French Academy of Cinema, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Fanny Ardant: French Academy of Cinema, Best Actress (nominated) François Ozon: French Academy of Cinema, Best Director (nominated) François Ozon: French Academy of Cinema, Best Screenplay (nominated) Isabelle Huppert: French Academy of Cinema, Best Actress (nominated) Jean-Pierre Laforce: French Academy of Cinema, Best Sound (nominated) Jeanne Lapoirie: French Academy of Cinema, Best Cinematography (nominated) Krishna Levy: French Academy of Cinema, Best Original Score (nominated) Ludivine Sagnier: French Academy of Cinema, Best Young Actress (nominated) Marina de Van: French Academy of Cinema, Best Screenplay (nominated) Pascaline Chavanne: French Academy of Cinema, Best Costumes (nominated) Pierre Gamet: French Academy of Cinema, Best Sound (nominated)

Berlin International Film Festival, Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution (winner) French Academy of Cinema, Best French Film (nominated) National Board of Review, Best Foreign Film (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: French Subtitle Options: Spanish, English Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: none specified DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 111 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Main Titles [2:18] 2. Home for Christmas [5:32] 3. Papa T'es Plus Dans Le Coup (Daddy, You Ain't With It) [2:28] 4. Monsieur Is Dead! [5:17] 5. Secrets & Suspicion [10:27] 6. Message Personnel (Personal Message) [4:35] 7. Pierrette [3:30] 8. A Quoi Sert De Vive Libre (What's the Point of Living Free) [6:58] 9. Alibis [7:44] 10. Mon Amour Mon Ami (My Lover, My Friend) [3:43] 11. Augustine's Attack [5:09] 12. Family Secrets [2:07] 13. Pour Ne Pas Vivre Seul ( So As Not to Live Alone) [2:56] 14. Settling of Accounts [1:39] 15. Pile Ou Face (Head or Tails) [6:51] 16. Mamy's Secret [2:05] 17. Quarrels & Rebellion [5:32] 18. Pierrette Is Guilty [7:32] 19. Toi Jamais (You Never Do) [2:51] 20. Female Complicity [2:08] 21. A Christmas Story [5:32] 22. II N'y A Pas D'amour Heureux (There Is No Happy Love) [6:08] 23. End Titles [3:58]