Product Details

• Actors: Giancarlo Giannini, Fernando Rey, Shirley Stoler, Elena Fiore, Piero Di Iorio
• Directors: Lina Wertmüller
• Writers: Lina Wertmüller
• Producers: Lina Wertmüller, Arrigo Colombo
• Format: Color, Dubbed, Original recording reissued, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: German, Italian
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Fox Lorber
• VHS Release Date: September 29, 1998
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1572522844
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,345 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In the 1970s, when you talked about women directors, there was only one name, it seemed, in the whole world: Italy's Lina Wertmüller. She hit her peak with this 1976 effort, starring the basset-eyed Giancarlo Giannini. He plays a small-time hustler in World War II Italy whose fate seems tied to his seven ugly sisters, whom he must support; hence, his nickname, "Seven Beauties." But he learns that he doesn't know the beginning of trouble when he winds up in a German concentration camp. There, he does whatever it takes to stay alive--including making love to the camp's colossal commandant (Shirley Stoler). Wertmüller's outrageous humor goes farther than that, including a wild sequence in which Giannini tries to dispose of a dead body that's been dismembered and packed into suitcases. Harrowingly funny and touching--Wertmüller, the first woman ever nominated for an Oscar as best director for this film, was never able to match it. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great DVD transfer, oh yeah!, October 6, 2000

By 

Miko (Jersey City, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seven Beauties (DVD)

Finally, an excellent job by Fox-Lorber (just about time, isn't it?). The image in widescreen is sharp and the colors are right. A few forgivable scratches and artifacts here and there but excellent throughout. Can't complain about the sound (mono) which is clear anyway and I think that's how it was when it was first released in theatres. The different interactive menus have music from the film which is a delight thinking that Fox-Lorber did it. Chapter searches are few (6) and far in between but that's okay (since Fox-Lorber is known for that). The only thing missing is the booklet which the company never does anyway (I wonder why). Anyway, the film is great and deserves the treatment it got for its transfer. Fascinating treatment by Wertmuller about a war-deserter who reflects on his life before he ended up in a German concentration camp. Very funny and poignant leading to a searing ending. Images show touches of Fellini whom Wertmuller studied under, yet this movie, which resonates greatness and already a classic is entirely her own. Unforgettable!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece !, August 4, 2002

By 

R. J. Marsella (California) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Seven Beauties (DVD)

This film is so perfectly constructed and well acted that it should be required viewing in any film school. The use of flashback allows the action to switch from extremely funny scenes set in Naples to extremely grim depictions of life in a concentration camp. Giannini is absolutely brilliant as he struggles to maintain his exagerated sense of dignity under increasingly difficult circumstances. The concentration camp is potrayed as hell on earth- all darkness and forboding. Contrast this with colorful Naples and the liveliness of the residents. The film develops these contrasts in a way that focuses on the power of human endurance and the survival instinct. Giannini has an incredible ability to communicate the full range of human emotions with his eyes alone. A truly astounding and very funny performance. Possibly the best I've ever seen.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE PERFECTION OF THE ITALIAN COMEDY, May 20, 2003

By 

Boris Zubry "Boris Zubry" (Princeton, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seven Beauties (DVD)

As many other Italian movies, I saw "The Seven Beauties" for a few times. One time is never enough. Every time I saw it, I would discover more and more things (words, scenes, faces, mimics, costumes) that I did not see before or I understood them differently. As a good wine, it gets better and better than more you taste it and the more mature it gets (or you get). This film is perfect. The combination of the script, filming, acting, scenes, ideas, and music make it perfect. But Giancarlo Giannini makes it memorable.