3 Women (1977)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Robert Altman

Writer:

Robert Altman (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

25 May 1977 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

1 woman became 2/2 women became 3/3 women became 1

Plot:

Shy, reclusive girl Pinky starts work at a sanitarium and becomes emotionally attached to her fellow worker...

Plot Keywords:

Birth | Stillborn Child | Cafeteria | Bar | Memory Loss

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Shelley Duvall	...	Mildred "Millie" Lammoreaux
Sissy Spacek	...	Pinky Rose
Janice Rule	...	Willie Hart
Robert Fortier	...	Edgar Hart
Ruth Nelson	...	Mrs. Rose
John Cromwell	...	Mr. Rose
Sierra Pecheur	...	Ms. Bunweil
Craig Richard Nelson	...	Dr. Maas
Maysie Hoy	...	Doris
Belita Moreno	...	Alcira
Leslie Ann Hudson	...	Polly
Patricia Ann Hudson	...	Peggy
Beverly Ross	...	Deidre
John Davey	...	Dr. Norton
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dennis Christopher	...	Soda delivery boy (uncredited)
Barrie Youngfellow	...	Connie (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Altman

Writing credits
Robert Altman		(written by)
Patricia Resnick		uncredited

Produced by
Robert Altman	....	producer
Scott Bushnell	....	associate producer
Robert Eggenweiler	....	associate producer (as Robert Eggenweiller)

Original Music by
Gerald Busby

Cinematography by
Charles Rosher Jr.		(as Chuck Rosher)

Film Editing by
Dennis M. Hill		(as Dennis Hill)

Art Direction by
James Dowell Vance		(as James D. Vance)

Makeup Department
Kaye Pownall	....	hair stylist
Monty Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
William A. Sawyer	....	post-production supervisor (as Bill Sawyer)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carol Himes	....	second assistant director
Tommy Thompson	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Michael C. Ayers	....	property assistant (as Michael Ayers)
Richard Valesko	....	property master
Bodhi Wind	....	murals

Sound Department
David M. Horton	....	sound editor
Chris McLaughlin	....	sound
Bill Phillips	....	sound editor
Richard Portman	....	sound re-recording mixer
James E. Webb	....	sound (as Jim Webb)

Visual Effects by
J. Allen Highfill	....	visual consultant

Camera and Electrical Department
John Bailey	....	camera operator
Robert Bennett	....	dolly grip (as Robert L. Bennett)
Robert E. Dawes Jr.	....	first assistant camera
Tim Evans	....	gaffer
John Garcia	....	best boy
Harry Rez	....	key grip
Glenn K. Shimada	....	second assistant camera (as Glenn Shimada)
Jacque E. Wallace	....	best boy grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jules Melillo	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Mark Eggenweiler	....	assistant editor
Maysie Hoy	....	assistant editor
Tony Lombardo	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Tom Walls	....	music editor

Other crew
Mike Kaplan	....	publicist
Michael Parloff	....	flute soloists
Dan Perri	....	title designer
Patricia Resnick	....	production assistant
Ann Tait	....	production accountant
Tommy Thompson	....	production executive

Production Companies

• Lions Gate Films

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1977) (USA) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Modern Film Effects

Other Companies

• DeLuxe Laboratories  color (as DeLuxe)
• Westwood Editorial  post-production services

Also Known As:

Robert Altman's 3 Women (USA) (complete title)
Three Women (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

USA:124 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:AA (original rating) (1977) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2006) | Iceland:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | West Germany:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Desert Hot Springs, California, USA

Company:

Lions Gate Films

Trivia:

Prior to its release on DVD in 2006, the film had never been released outside of its initial 1977 cinema run.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Millie and Pinkie prepare for dinner party, the time line is way out of whack. Scene begins in early morning, as Millie wakes Pinkie and tells her she is going grocery shopping for the dinner. Millie returns from store (presumably within an hour or so), Pinkie carries out garbage after spilling shrimp cocktail on herself and, en route to trash cans, meets dinner guests who say they can't come because they're on way to a beer joint instead - a scene that would have occurred no later than mid-morning and means that seven or more hours are unaccounted for.

Quotes:

Dr. Maas: No. I do not think this was a simple mistake. The chances of her making up a Social Security number exactly the same as yours are very slim.
Ms. Bunweil: She maliciously gave me your number when she filled out her W-4.
Millie Lammoreaux: How could she have? I didn't even know her then.
Ms. Bunweil: Don't get smart with me, Lammoreaux. You can't fool me. She told me she couldn't remember her number and was gonna write home for it, and, like a fool, I believed her.
Millie Lammoreaux: So maybe she forgot to do it and just gave you mine instead. She didn't mean anything bad by it. I don't know what makes it such a big deal. She's just a little kid.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)

Psychological Study of Human Stability

We are all on the brink. Many of us have endearing qualities that are lacking in others and vice versa. Do we question ourselves or do we change drastically? Can we become better people or are we doomed with our very own dismal personality traits? These are the questions that the film, 3 Women, examines.

I saw this film as a 14 year old boy with no preconceptions. It made me feel like there were imposter's as well as identity thieves among us all. I even became suspicious of people who I considered to be my allies! A truly, classic piece of cinema paranoia (in the tradition of Polanski's The Tenant). Except in this case, there is no illusion. Just one ,blatant, slap in the face after another. When you watch this film, it will literally shed it's skin and reveal something that is spookily real and very threatening, without all the supernatural riff-raff and far-fetched plot. This is a film about REAL characters and REAL development. The ending can be summed up by the scene which precedes it, in which the three women are brought together by a rather tragic incident, as this breathes new "life" into their bleak, sometimes dusty environments. "One woman became two..Two became three...3 Women became One."