Film Forum

France, 2002
Directed by François Ozon
Written by François Ozon, Marina de Van
Based on the play by Robert Thomas
Starring Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Ledoyen, Danielle Darrieux, Firmine Richard,
Catherine Deneuve, Emmanuelle Béart, Fanny Ardant
Approx. 118 min. 35mm.

“The setting for 8 WOMEN is snowy Americana of the '50s, a Christmas- card world where everything is artifice and women rule the roost. (The men were out of sight making money, or, in this case, murdered in bed.) Francois Ozon has fashioned a comedy out of his nostalgia for the movies, TV shows, styles and songs of his youth. His idea was to cast eight stars in a script that toys with their charisma as cinema legends, creating a remake of THE WOMEN. These women are not any nicer than Clare Boothe's originals, but they are archly flamboyant, playing to type.” – A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Reviews

“8 WOMEN is in no sense serious about murder, its plot, or anything else. It's an elaborate excuse to have fun with its cast, and we realize we've been waiting a long time for Catherine Deneuve to come right out and say of Isabelle Huppert: 'I'm beautiful and rich. She's ugly and poor.' I had also just about given up hope of ever seeing Deneuve and Fanny Ardant rolling around on the floor pulling each other's hair.”
– Roger Ebert