muckydog2 Great ideas are few and far between. This is a great idea. Written at a time when women's liberation was finally emerging from a 1960s where possibly the most blatant (Technicolor) sexism was portrayed in popular culture and men were still of the generation that assumed theirs was really the dominant sex. (Yes , some still do, I think they are called Neanderthals?)The expectation was for women to act accordingly - at home and work. The world was still absolutely patriarchal. Only the hidden power of women - at home and work - was still lingering in the subconscious. Ready to emerge. And in the 1970s I think there was real progress.This film just asks a question, what do you want from a partner? A real person, given power to choose, another human being to share lifes ups and downs, a partner and soul mate, or that which is given pleasing shape and kitchen duties? There is of course only one answer, or should be unless tradition, peer pressure and convention expose the frailty of the male ego to the point of murder? Trust, role play and many other topics are touched upon, the savage final reel shattering the idyllic suburban setting is more Twin Peaks / Blue Velvet - and one wonders how much influence this may have had.This is a truly beautiful film to look at, the camerawork , performances and direction are all first rate and produce a memorable, and finely crafted masterpiece in the art of film making. 10/10 (I rated it 8/10 on the absolute scale - compared to the modern remake for instance which takes the premise to an altogether different place - with its plastic, robotic, modern Hollywood manufacture - even before the story starts - it's a 10 in comparison

Rainey Dawn OH yea this the boring film of robot women - I refreshed my memory now on which film it was. I was getting the title of this film mixed with another 70's horror film "Hungry Wives" aka "Season of the Witch" (1972).This film does have a strong feminist message of "men only want obedient wives". I was true for it's time era... there were women still feeling oppressed by their husbands but not all men of that time era was feeling that way. It was 1975 when the film came out - almost to late for a film like this to show up but, again, there were a few men of the time era still wanting obedient wives over equal partners. There are still men out there wanting a woman to obey there every word - in the older crowds and I know because I'm in that crowd. Dating at my age is a pain because of it. The younger crowds may not have that problem today because they grew up in a different time era.Anyway, the way this film plays out is long and boring. I'm still not a fan of the film.2/10

Red-Barracuda The Stepford Wives is an adaption of an Ira Levin novel. Another of his books had previously been transformed to the screen in a highly successful manner, namely Rosemary's Baby (1968). Both films share pretty clear similarities, they both focus on a woman who has moved to a new place where she finds strange new neighbours who convince her husband to conspire against her in order to work with them to facilitate a scenario where he will also be rewarded. It's a pretty specifically similar set-up but this is ultimately a film which explores quite different areas with this premise. A woman and her family move from New York to a small 'idyllic' town called Stepford because her husband insists. When there, she soon realises something is wrong once she encounters the women of the town who are unnaturally placid, vapid creatures who are unconditionally devoted to their husbands, obsessed with domestic chores and unable to talk about anything other than trivialities. When her best friend from the area suddenly also succumbs to this condition she accelerates her investigations, fearing she must be next.The ideas interwoven into the fabric of this cult movie have seeped into western culture to such an extent that the term 'Stepford Wives' has known meaning to those who haven't even seen the film. I guess this goes some way in showing that this is a movie with a very memorable premise that clearly struck a chord. While it is a sci-fi film and it does have horror elements – albeit with a tone more of uncertainty and dread that full on horror – these genres are more working (very effectively) in the background, with the main focus a satire of suburban life and the sexist expectations put on women. When it was released these ideas were set against the backdrop of the Women's Lib movement which was gathering steam, a situation that seems to have made many men rather uncomfortable. The men of Stepford represent these kinds of males and they are a hugely unappealing collection of individuals who have gone to extremes to curb feminism and maintain the patriarchal system. It's these underlying ideas that have made The Stepford Wives more than simply a creepy sci-fi horror movie. Although it still operates very well as that too, with its story of slowly unfolding dread, sinister individual moments such as the kitchen scene where one of the 'Wives' goes haywire and the decidedly nihilistic conclusion. Katharine Ross is excellent in the main role and very successfully gets us on board, which makes this ending all the more downbeat. If I had to put forward a criticism of the film it would be that it does have some pacing problems, meaning that it feels like it might be a little overlong. This issue aside though, this is a pretty effective example of a genre film with quite a lot of interesting things to say. It's definitely worthy of its iconic reputation.

Wuchak I didn't see this 1975 film until about 20 years after its release. Even though I knew the basic plot I was quite captivated by the events of the story. Well, I've seen it three more times since then and each time I'm taken in by the storyline, not to mention well entertained.THE PLOT: Katharine Ross and her husband move to Stepford, CT, where many of the wives of the village seem to be oblivious to the current women's liberation movement; they seem wholly dedicated to their husbands, home & garden and keeping themselves well-groomed and primed for sex. Meanwhile Katharine's husband joins a mysterious all-male organization which seems to be up to something fishy. When two of Katharine's friends strangely morph into the typical Stepford housewife Katharine suspects something sinister. And guess who's next in line?Paula Prentiss and Tina Louise (Ginger from Giligan's Island) are on hand as Katharine's friends.The story's not campy at all (like the 2004 version). This is serious and creepy sci-fi of the highest order. "The Stepford Wives" powerfully succeeds where the similar-themed "Westworld" only passably gets by.GRADE: A