Two Women

Starring:Sophia Loren, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Eleonora Brown, Carlo Ninchi, Andrea Checchi, Pupella Maggio, Emma Baron, Bruna Cealti, Antonella Della Porta, Mario Frera, Franco Balducci, Luciana Cortellesi, Curt Lowens, Tony Calio, Remo Galavotti, Elsa Mancini, Giuseppina Ruggeri, Luciano Pigozzi, Luigi Terribile, Antonio Gastaldi
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Studio: Madacy Records
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Sophia Loren won a much-deserved Academy Award for her performance in this 1960 classic by neo-realist filmmaker Vittorio de Sica. A last-minute substitute for Anna Magnani, Loren reached deep within her own memories of wartime experiences for her portrait of a widow struggling to survive in battle-scarred Italy along with a teenage daughter (Eleonora Brown). The film begins with both women sharing romantic feelings toward a young man (Jean-Paul Belmondo), a story line disrupted by the ravages of World War II and the horrifying rape of both mother and daughter in a church by Allied Moroccan soldiers. The aftermath of this atrocity finds both characters dealing with even more, varying shades of grief, as the war seems to sap all that they had treasured and leaves them with only the bare bones of their emotional and physical survival. De Sica's capacity to render tragedy both with the starkest of strokes and the most delicate of emotions has never been more impressive than in this film, and Loren's shatteringly honest portrayal is a watershed in movie history. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Two Women.......2007-07-02

De Sica's collaboration with screenwriter Cesare Zavatinni ("The Bicycle Thief," "Umberto D") on this absorbing, humanistic story of survival and shattered innocence in war-ravaged 1943 Italy takes the peasant-eye's view of international conflict. Taking a role once intended for Anna Magnani, sex kitten Loren won a much-deserved Oscar for her soulful, hand-wringing performance as a mother trying to shield her devout daughter, memorably played by Brown, from the ugliness of a world in chaotic disrepair. Their scene together in a church filled with marauding Allied "liberators" remains one of the most harrowing of De Sica's career. (Note: currently none of the DVD editions has a reproduction standard worthy of the film, yet in this case the film itself is so strong, we've opted to showcase it anyway-JF.)

two women.......2007-06-17

This is a great movie but the quality of the print made it impossible to watch. I have not seen a movie in such horrible condition. Amazon should really try to watch it then discontinue selling it...

Horrible film version.......2007-01-22

although this movie could be considered one of Loren's best, this dvd version made it impossible to view. a horrible version - don't buy it - you can barely see the movie in focus.

Powerful movie, Horrible DVD.......2007-01-11

I wanted to echo the other reviewers who have criticized this particular transfer of the film to DVD. It is abysmally done and definitely distracts from the enjoyment of the movie. Find this film in a different DVD release if at all possible. It is a powerful film that deserves better treatment.

A harrowing epic of wartime travail..........2006-12-23

Rosetta (Eleanora Brown) is in love with Michele, a student known as The Professor (Jean-Paul Belmondo)... but Michele is attracted by Cesira (Sophia Loren) mother of Rosetta...

As the Allies were near, and the bombardment more intense, running and frightened German Soldiers compelled Michelle by the force of arms to show them the road in order to escape through the mountains...

Cesira decides to return to Rome with Rosetta...

On their way, completely tired and distressed, they took shelter in a bombed-out church... There, they looked for some protection... They didn't know what was expecting them inside the walls of the holly church, in the shadow, in the darkness...

From a sex symbol to a talented actress, Sophia gave the tragic performance of her life--a mother in despair... Her solemn, profound, significant face, her tears and hatred, reflected the horror of War... Her formidable dramatic performance won her an Oscar in 1962... She also won her critical Awards in Cannes, England and New York...

"La Ciociara" (Two Women) is a tribute to a great filmmaker... Sica's description of the portrait of the misfortune widow and her daughter in 1943 wartime Italy is certainly effective and powerful...

Women of Courage (If Tomorrow Comes/Becky Sharp/Rain /The Green Promise/Nurse Edith Cavell/Two Women/Smash Up/Three Came Home/The Southerner

Average customer rating:

Women of Courage (If Tomorrow Comes/Becky Sharp/Rain /The Green Promise/Nurse Edith Cavell/Two Women/Smash Up/Three Came Home/The Southerner
Starring: Women of Courage , Patty Duke , Joan Crawford , Susan Hayward , and Sophia Loren
Manufacturer: St. Clair Entertainment Group, Inc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BLBZIE
Release Date: 2005-10-11

Average customer rating:

Brillant!
Real and touching
Deeply moving
Post-WWII Northern England lesbian romance
Great movie but the ending could have been much better

Between Two Women
Starring: Andrew Dunn , Barbara Marten , and Andrina Carroll
Director: Steven Woodcock
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Loving Annabelle
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ASIN: B0001BKAB2
Release Date: 2004-03-02

Description

This powerful tale of suppressed sexuality offers poignant and sharply observant social commentary, interlaced with a tender romance. Veteran actress Barbara Marten tugs at the heart as Ellen Hardy, a working-class mother in Northern England struggling with her feelings for another woman -- her 10-year-old son's vivacious teacher, Kathy Thompson (Andrina Carroll).

Customer Reviews:

Brillant!.......2007-06-10

There are not many movies I can truely say that have made me cry a little tear. This movie has done this. Although I am not old enought to remember that far back in time, I have managed to find friends that have told me of days long ago. Through their vision and movies like this I have grown to have a greater appreciation of where we are today. We must look to the future with the knowledge derived from the past.

Real and touching.......2007-02-05

This is a quietly told story of a woman exisitng in a loveless marriage, raising a son she cherishes, and trying to manage the balance in her gloom. She finds love in the companionship of her son's teacher, and we witness the slow simmer of her life opening in the direction of that woman. The dreariness of factory working middle class families in England lends reality. The dialogue is spoken with great economy; some of the movie is spent on scenes that could have been shortened (too many minutes of footage of walking to and from work etc) in favor of more time with the two women together. The confession of the wife to the teacher is SO heart wrenching and tender! No sex scenes, just the story of the discovery of women falling in love with each other told in a subtle and low keyed way.

Deeply moving.......2005-08-02

"Between Two Women" is the most deeply moving movie about the love between two women, indeed about the love between any two humans, that I have ever seen. I cannot ever watch the "coming out" scene (set in a Birmingham park) without crying. I suppose this movie is not for everyone, but it is one that I would not be without. Persons looking for explicit love scenes should avoid this movie. Persons looking for a beautifully human movie will want to own it.

Post-WWII Northern England lesbian romance.......2005-05-12

I hadn't heard anything about this film before watching it and was very pleasantly surprised. Between Two Women is a nice romance set in post-WWII Northern England. Ellen (Barbara Marten) has lived in the same industrial mill town all of her life, surrounded by the constant noise of steam engines and a dire working class existence.

She and her dull husband have grown apart, but when their son Victor's (Edward Woodcock) teacher begins taking a special interest in his artistic abilities, Ellen's life also becomes more interesting. Soon the meetings are about Ellen and the younger Kathy (Andrina Carroll) and their growing friendship and love.

Ellen struggles with issues of duty to her marriage and parents, and working towards her own real happiness for the first time in her life. The journey is not an easy one, but she summons the courage to follow her heart.

Barbara Marten's performance as Ellen is wonderfully compelling, and the film is a lovely romance between two very real characters in the 1950s.

Great movie but the ending could have been much better.......2004-11-03

Overall, this is great movie which takes place in the 1950's in Northern England...The young boy stays after school all the time while his mother gets aquainted with his teacher ( Miss Thompson )...Eventually the teacher resigns and moves away and ends up writing to the boys mother and it isn't until then that she realizes that she is in love with Miss Thompson...The ending of the movie I didn't think was that great because it really left some things unanswered...The mother ended up taking her son and leaving her husband to be with Miss Thompson and the movie ended with just showing the mother and son on the train on their way to begin their new life...If you are looking for something with any deep passionate scenes you won't find it in this movie...I personally thought it was going to have more romance than what it did to it which was why I bought and because I like dramas as well, but the most it ever got to was just holding hands and a hug...I found it kind of disapointing but yet still a good movie...

Average customer rating:

Two Women
two women
Horrible film version
Powerful movie, Horrible DVD
A harrowing epic of wartime travail...

Two Women
Starring: Sophia Loren , Jean-Paul Belmondo , Eleonora Brown , Carlo Ninchi , and Andrea Checchi
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305914923
Release Date: 2000-06-27

Amazon.com essential video

Description

Loren won a Best Actress Oscar — the first to a non-American actress in a foreign language film — for this film. She plays a young widow in 1943 Italy who leaves San Lorenzo, fleeing Allied bombing to return to her native village. But this is only the beginning of a trail marked with tragedy.

Includes an intro by Tony Curtis and the trailer for Sophia Loren's film, "Operation Crossbow."

B&W/110 min.

Customer Reviews:

Two Women.......2007-07-02

two women.......2007-06-17

This is a great movie but the quality of the print made it impossible to watch. I have not seen a movie in such horrible condition. Amazon should really try to watch it then discontinue selling it...

Horrible film version.......2007-01-22

although this movie could be considered one of Loren's best, this dvd version made it impossible to view. a horrible version - don't buy it - you can barely see the movie in focus.

Powerful movie, Horrible DVD.......2007-01-11

A harrowing epic of wartime travail..........2006-12-23

Hollywood Classics Series: Sophia Loren - Two Women

Average customer rating:

Hollywood Classics Series: Sophia Loren - Two Women
Starring: Franco Balducci , Eleanora Brown , Andrea Checchi , Sophia Loren , and Curt Lowens
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000897CT
Release Date: 2002-12-17

Description

Includes an introduction by Tony Curtis and the trailer for Sophia Loren's film Operation Crossbow.

Customer Reviews:

Great Deal ~ Super Fast Shipping.......2006-07-28

This was a great deal. I would definitely buy from this seller again! Thanks.

Great movie, real bad DVD.......2005-09-14

This is one of Sophia Lorens best movies and she's fantastic in it.
Unfortunately the DVD quality is really bad.

The video was grainy and out of focus in many places. Quality reminded me of a bootlegged DVD.
The language is dubbed in english, there is no option for using the original Italian dialog and using english subtitles (there are no subtitle options at all).

Should have known that this DVD quality would be crap...it comes from Alpha Video, well known for selling cheap, low quality DVD's. Wish I had paid closer attention before ordering.

I saw this movie just recently on either AMC or TCM and the picture and sound was fantastic. I hope that some video company uses that print to put out a quality DVD worthy of this great movie.

FYI: The remastered HD DVD of Lorens "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" that is put out by NoShame films is absolutely fantastic. The picture and sound quality is the best. Anyone who has purchased one of the poorer quality DVD's of this movie should get this one and trash their other DVD. Well done NoShame Films, thanks!

a true masterpiece.......2005-08-18

TWO WOMEN features Sophia Loren in the role that launched her into Hollywood superstardom and netted her an Academy Award. It's the story of a mother and daughter living in war-torn Rome who decide to move to the relative safety of the country, only to find more heartbreak.

As Cesira, the courageous and loving mother, Sophia Loren gives one of her greatest performances. Full of raw emotion and intensity. The part of Cesira was originally intended for Anna Magnani (with Loren in the daughter role) but it's hard to imagine Ms Magnani offering a finer performance, consummate actress though she was. Eleanora Brown plays Cesira's daughter Rosetta with all the wrenching pain of innocence lost, a little girl forced to grow up too quickly in the face of the harshest brutality.

Most DVD/VHS prints are of the English-dubbed version.

Bombshells of the Silver Screen: Rum Runner/Two Women

Average customer rating:

Bombshells of the Silver Screen: Rum Runner/Two Women
Starring: Sophia Loren , and Gina Lolla Brigida
Manufacturer: Bci / Eclipse Music
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002DRDX2
Release Date: 2004-07-13

Average customer rating:

Sophia Loren: Get Rita/Two Women
Starring: Sophia Loren
Manufacturer: Brentwood Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000I0QLM8
Release Date: 2006-10-10

Charlie Rose with Sophia Loren (February 1, 1999)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Sophia Loren (February 1, 1999)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

Sophia Loren talks about her new book, Recipes and Memories, her early days as a model and actress, her family, the power of sex appeal, and her decades-long career making movies all over the world.

Average customer rating:

Two Women
two women
Horrible film version
Powerful movie, Horrible DVD
A harrowing epic of wartime travail...

Two Women
Starring: Sophia Loren , Jean-Paul Belmondo , Eleonora Brown , Carlo Ninchi , and Andrea Checchi
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Manufacturer: KOCH VISION
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00005UM2A
Release Date: 2002-01-22

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Two Women.......2007-07-02

two women.......2007-06-17

This is a great movie but the quality of the print made it impossible to watch. I have not seen a movie in such horrible condition. Amazon should really try to watch it then discontinue selling it...

Horrible film version.......2007-01-22

although this movie could be considered one of Loren's best, this dvd version made it impossible to view. a horrible version - don't buy it - you can barely see the movie in focus.

Powerful movie, Horrible DVD.......2007-01-11

A harrowing epic of wartime travail..........2006-12-23

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