8 ½ Women (1999)

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writer:

Peter Greenaway (writer)

Release Date:

12 August 1999 (Czech Republic)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

If every man thinks of sex once every nine minutes, what does he think of the other eight?

Plot:

Following the death of the mother, a father and son open up a brothel in their Genevan estate after watching Fellini's "8 1/2".

Plot Keywords:

Nun | Death | Pig | Concubine | Brothel

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

John Standing	...	Philip Emmenthal
Matthew Delamere	...	Storey Emmenthal
Vivian Wu	...	Kito
Annie Shizuka Inoh	...	Simato (as Shizuka Inoh)
Barbara Sarafian	...	Clothilde
Kirina Mano	...	Mio
Toni Collette	...	Griselda / Sister Concordia
Amanda Plummer	...	Beryl
Natacha Amal	...	Giaconda the Baby Factory
Manna Fujiwara	...	Giulietta / Half Woman
Polly Walker	...	Palmira
Elizabeth Berrington	...	Celeste, Emmenthal Maid
Myriam Muller	...	Marianne, Emmenthal Maid
Don Warrington	...	Simon
Claire Johnston	...	Amelia, Philip's Wife

Also Known As:

8 1/2 Women (UK) (alternative spelling)
8½ Women (UK) (alternative spelling)
Eight and a Half Women (UK) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content including dialogue and pervasive nudity.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

UK | Netherlands | Luxembourg | Germany

Language:

English | Italian | Japanese | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Certification:

Italy:VM14 | New Zealand:R18 | Singapore:R21 | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) (cut) | Argentina:16 | France:-12 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Ireland:18 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Woodline Productions

Quotes:

Philip Emmenthal: You aren't... gay, are you?
Storey Emmenthal: No... well, I love my own cock well enough, but I've never had enough enthusiasm for anyone else's.
[referring to the house]
Storey Emmenthal: I thought you had this re-decorated?
Philip Emmenthal: It was your mother's idea... but don't change the subject. How come you haven't got plans to marry?
Storey Emmenthal: Perhaps because I'm much in love with my prick to share it permanently. And that's probably your fault.
Philip Emmenthal: My fault?
Storey Emmenthal: Since I was eight years old, you put that big mirror on my wardrobe's door; and I wanted to be double jointed so I could kiss my cock goodnight before I went to sleep.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007)

Soundtrack:

On a Slow Boat to China

Not bad at all.

I went in expecting the worst and left completely turned around. 8 1/2 Women doesn't hold a candle to The Pillow Book, The Cook the Thief..., or his earlier Drowning By Numbers, but I had fun! It was almost like Peter Greenaway does Woody Allen (wanna talk about film makers who purge their sexual fantasies on screen!) With the exception of a couple of scenes, the visual style of this film is stark and simple (much like Drowning...) and relied heavily on smart dialogue, which at times got a bit over the top, intellectually speaking, but kept the film going. I never got bored with it, I never got too disgusted, and even if I can't recommend it to most of the people I know, I still feel it's a strong feature.

Now, even though this is Greenaway Lite, it still isn't for people who didn't like any of his earlier films. But even if you only liked The Cook The Thief, you should give this one a chance. Forget that you have hang ups about sex and sit back and watch the perversion unfold! Pure, sick fun!