City of Women DVD

City of Women
In this dream-sequence film, renowned Italian director Federico Fellini expounds at length on the nature, complexities, attitudes, and hang-ups of women and how this all relates to men "hunting" sexual conquests. Snaporaz (Marcello Mastroianni) is traveling in a compartment on a train when he lapses into sleep and dreams the ensuing story. He follows a woman off the train and through a field and then loses her. Soon, as a representative of the male sex in general he finds himself in a hotel, among myriad women attending a feminist conference. Surreal episodes take him through a villa with his alter-ego Dr. Katzone (Ettore Manni, who died during filming) and references to his sexual exploits. Reunited with his former wife for a moment, he starts another sequence which reviews his past. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Cast Marcello Mastroianni as Snaporaz Anna Prucnal as Elena Bernice Stegers as Woman on train Donatella Damiani as Feminist on Roller Skates Jole Silvani as Motorcyclist Ettore Manni as Dr. Xavier Zuberkock

Crew Dante Ferretti - Art Director Leonetta Bentivoglio - Choreography Brunello Rondi - Consultant/advisor Gabriella Pescucci - Costume Designer Federico Fellini - Director Ruggero Mastroianni - Editor Luis Enriquez Bacalov - Composer (Music Score) Giuseppe Rotunno - Cinematographer Renzo Rossellini - Producer Bernardino Zapponi - Screenwriter Federico Fellini - Screenwriter Brunello Rondi - Screenwriter Carlo Gervasi - Set Decorator

City of Women
By 1980, the brilliant Italian director Federico Fellini was in a bit of a slump. Although Casanova and Orchestra Rehearsal were good, they were not on the level of such triumphs as 8 1/2, La Strada or Amarcord. The ambitious City of Women deserves points for effort and for the breadth of imagination involved, but it ultimately is a major disappointment, a muddled, overlong and occasionally puerile meditation on women and men's (or at least on one man's) conflicting feelings about women. One of Fellini's more surreal films, the fact that the entire picture is presented as one long dream does not excuse its lack of cohesion and credibility, nor its sometimes simplistic look at relationships. It is missing the artistic magic that takes such personal material and imbues it with a larger meaning, with the result that it comes across as extremely self-indulgent and ultimately uninteresting. This is despite some truly remarkable visual moments that give the film a Wonderland-like quality. Marcello Mastroianni is good, although he is ultimately defeated by the script. Fellini would be in better, though still far from top, form in his next film, And the Ship Sails On. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: Italian Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: Additional Features: Fellini and Mastroianni's profiles, filmographies, and awards "Behind the Scenes" promotional short Photo gallery Scene Selection Featurette: "Traveling With Fellini Through The City of Women" MPAA Rating: DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: Content Length: 138 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 0. Scene Selections 2. Opening Credits [2:04] 3. Train Ride [4:27] 4. The Forest [4:24] 5. Grand Hotel Mira Mare [3:59] 6. Female Anatomy [6:07] 7. Women's Movement [9:25] 8. Roller Skaters [5:56] 9. Back to the Station [9:04] 10. Nymphet's Joyride [10:22] 11. Dr. Züberkock's Harem [8:00] 12. Portraits of Pleasure [6:44] 13. 10,000 Women [9:32] 14. The Neglected Wife [1:08] 15. Female Police Force [4:09] 16. "Let's Face the Music" [5:07] 17. Fantastic Voyage [9:25] 18. Militant Feminists [9:19] 19. The Great Escape [17:10] 20. Back on the Train [3:27] 21. Closing Credits [2:45]