Traditional american community, frilly aprons, nicely waxed floors, scarily upbeat housewives. What is the biggest movie plothole you have ever seen. Scherick, and stars katharine ross, paula prentiss, nanette newman and peter masterson. By recreating their wives in their own image or in this case their ideal image, they take away the womans freewill. Viewers who would normally pan the film trashed it mercilessly on this point alone. The stepford wives depends for some of its effect on a plot secret that you already know, if youve been paying attention at any time since the original film version was released in 1975. Interviews about making the 1975 stepford wives with director bryan forbes, producer edgar j. I would imagine that most people will be familiar with the concept of stepford wives, the book is a very well written short read with what i thought was a brilliant introduction by chuck palahniuk. Lets get the elephant out of the room before we begin. We ask for his permission before making purchases, we ask for his permission if were going to spend an afternoon out, we ask his permission before we take a little bite of a delightfully guilty dessert which is seldom, because ladiesremember the. Joanna eberhart, a wildly successful president of a tv network, after a series of shocking events, suffers a nervous breakdown and is moved by her milquetoast of a husband, walter, from manhattan to the chic, upperclass, and very modern planned community of stepford, connecticut. Continuity when mikes wife is trying to put his head back on, the head switches from facedown to faceup between shots.
Jul 23, 2002 buy the stepford wives reprint by levin, ira isbn. The stepford wives book plot holes new questions hole conformity and assimilation arises. Late in levins novel, after most of her other friends have been turned into robots, joanna befriends ruthanne henry, a new resident and the first africanamerican woman in stepford. Love the whole plot about the underappreciated men basically making their wives into stereotypical housewives of the 50s to boost their egos. Find books like the stepford wives from the worlds largest community of readers. Its plot follows a woman who relocates with her husband and children from new york city to the connecticut community of stepford, where she comes to find the women live unwaveringly.
Nov 22, 2016 the 1975 stepford wives also retains the whitewashed quality of secondwave feminism. See more ideas about plot holes, wife movies and katherine ross. What recently prompted me to finally read the book was an article at jstor daily titled sex in the early 80s, i took a college course in feminist theory. The men create robot duplicates of their wives, which have no will and become mens sexual and domestic slaves. With the elimination of a sequence featuring an outofcontrol bette midler robot and other scenes, this created numerous plot holes and. The story concerns joanna eberhart, a photographer and young mother who begins to suspect that the frighteningly submissive housewives in her new idyllic connecticut neighborhood may be robots created by their husbands. The story concerns joanna eberhart, a photographer and young mother who. Goodreads members who liked the stepford wives also liked.
These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the stepford wives by ira levin. Another bad idea from the bad ideas factory and this ones just about as. At the end of the stepford wives, joanna eberhart katharine ross confronts the man responsible for the robotization of stepford villages women. But if you do some research on the production of the movie, it turns out that there were a lot of behind the scenes problems and the director admits to there being plot holes. The plot critical survey of science fiction and fantasy. His plays include no time for sergeants, critics choice, and the longestrunning thriller in broadway history, deathtrap. Joanna and walter eberhart move with their two children to. The stepford wives cert 12a peter bradshaw friday 30 july 2004 the guardian.
The stepford wives, a comic reimagining of the 1975 suspense classic, follows the tale. The stepford wives forbes, 1975 portrays the feminine condition in a bourgeois, patriarchal society boruzkowski, 1987. The men in the stepford wives choose, in a sense, to play god. In a montage clip that mic shows johanna on the night of her transformation, it is revealed that these housewives are created by installing microchips into their brains. The female cast members of the horror film the stepford wives pose for a promotional picture outdoors wearing long, flowing dresses, the film, which deals with the uncovering of a plot by a. I would imagine most people have heard of the stepford wives, whether through the book, films or tv sequels, or perhaps just from the phrase stepford wife which is still used today. What recently prompted me to finally read the book was an article at jstor daily titled sex in the early 80s, i took a. The stepford wives is a 1972 satirical thriller novel by ira levin.
Gregory peck, for the boys from brazil schaffner, 1978 and mia farrow, in rosemarys baby polanski, 1968. One of the men leaves a tape recorder with joanna, and as the first part of the book ends, she is. Its an enticing premise, an opening for wicked feminist satire, but the 1975 movie tilted toward horror. You have to look at the extras section on the dvd for the scene that shows the wives revolting during the stepford ball. Desperately clinging to reason, she demands a rationale for his cult of transmogrification. The stepford wives is a much shorter book than i had anticipated. It was directed by frank oz from a screenplay by paul rudnick and stars nicole kidman, matthew broderick, bette midler, christopher walken, faith hill and glenn close.
Some of these connect to themes we find in ethical considerations of technological. Roger bart as roger bannister in the remake deleted scene. Ira levins novel, the stepford wives, was published in 1972. The stepford wives essays are academic essays for citation. As with fundamentalist religion, this need to control takes precedence over morality, fairness and love. The stepford wives is a stunning film, one that is a genre classic, and if you enjoy old school horror, then this is a must see film. After test audiences hated this revelation, frank oz decided to do re shoots to make the wives simply humans with microchips in their brains. At first, ira levins novel the stepford wives seems made for the screen. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Mistakes, goofs, trivia, quotes, pictures and more for the stepford wives 2004. The internationally bestselling novel by the author of a kiss before dying, the boys from brazil, and rosemarys baby. Katharine ross stars as joanna eberhart, and without a lot of banner stars the movie wasnt a huge success. The story concerns joanna eberhart, a photographer and young mother who suspects the frighteningly submissive housewives in her new idyllic connecticut neighborhood may be robots created by their husbands. His other most recognized works the boys from brazil and rosemarys baby both became successful films featuring bigname stars of the day.
The secret to a stepford wife lies behind the doors of the mens association. And jaheeseus christ, i may just never lightheartedly refer to a stepford anything ever, ever again. All the beautiful people live in the idyllic village of stepford, connecticut, an affluent suburban eden populated with successful, satisfied hubbys and their beautiful, dutiful wives. There are so many plot holes that trying to list them all would be fruitless, but heres a damning example. Its an enticing premise, an opening for wicked feminist satire, but the 1975 movie tilted toward horror instead of comedy. Its plot follows a woman who relocates with her husband and children from new york city to the connecticut community of stepford, where she comes to find the women.
The stepford wives 2004 mistakes, quotes, trivia, questions and. After the failure of the 2004 remake, no director has attempted to try their hand at making their own adaptation of levins book as of this writing. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by. Jun 28, 2016 interviews about making the 1975 stepford wives with director bryan forbes, producer edgar j. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Movie is so filled with plot holes that mice must have. Unfortunately, bobbie and joanna discover that the villages wives have been replaced with robots, and joannas husband wants in on the action. Originally published nearly forty years ago, levins tale of men creating perfect wives is still as relevant and shocking today, and. The stepford wives centers on joanna nicole kidman, who moves with her husband walter matthew broderick into to the idyllic gated community of stepford, connecticut, where everything seems just a little bit too perfect. Please dont view this board as an endorsement of the stepford mindset.
The stepford wives isnt a perfect movie, but it is a powerful one. Here at the stepford organization, not only do us girls always ask our men for their advice, we always ask for their permission. Joanna eberhart, a wildly successful president of a tv network, after a series of shocking events, suffers a nervous breakdown and is moved by her milquetoast of a. I know many of you have heard the term stepford wife. Screenwriter william goldman marathon man adapted the novel by rosemarys baby author ira levin that imagines nightmarish underpinnings to a suburban dream.
Joanna and walter eberhart move with their two children to the suburbs in the hope of a more comfortable. The stepford wives was stylistically no different than these previous entries, but its contribution to overall pop culture lies more in its basic concept than levins skill as a writer, or the actual story within the book. The stepford wives was first made into a film in 1975, and while it was a middling success, it spun off a series of sequels and the premise entered pop culture on a surprising scale. If you dont know it, stay away from the trailer, which gives it away. In the remake, some deleted scenes and, confusingly, some scenes that remain in the movie show that the wives were supposed to actually be robots like the original and this was changed late in production disowned adaptation. Jun 10, 2004 in 1977, levitt explained the exclusion of blacks from his levittown developments as a business decision. The women are all barbiedolllike and wait on their husbands with adoring smiles. But allow me to address the biggest plot hole of all. Second and thirdwave feminist values and culture in the. The robotic reveal of the original was the films shocking surprise ending. The stepford wives symbols, allegory and motifs gradesaver.
Based on a book by ira levin, who also wrote the book upon which the film rosemarys baby was based, the stepford wives was filmed in a picturesque area of southwestern connecticut. The stepford wives is a 1975 american satirical horror film directed by bryan forbes, written by william goldman, and starring katharine ross, paula prentiss, and peter masterson. My copy is only 116 pages long, but it achieves a lot in those few pages and bulking out of the story would only have spoiled it. For joanna eberhart, a recent arrival with her husband and two children, it all seems too perfect to be true from the sweet, accommodating welcome wagon lady to all those cheerful, friendly faces in. You see faith hills arm become hoselike when she grabs her husband by the neck in anger. Ira levins website very tactfully describes the various madefortv sequels to the stepford wives as loosely based on levins characters. A dark secret lurks beneath domestic tranquility in the stepford wives, an ohso70s psychological thriller from director bryan forbes. If youre anything like me, you dont really feel like you need to read the stepford wives.
Now, i expected more subtle plot holes, not ridiculously huge like first showing a robot version of nicole kidman, then never using the robot versions of any of the other. The swerve was so ridiculous that its nearly laughable if it werent for the fact that actually paying to see this drek in the theater wasnt so incredibly painful. I certainly had, although i had never read the book. But the version i read had an introduction by chuck palahniuk that i found interesting and i thought showed up a little flaw in the book. The stepford wives is a 2004 american sciencefiction black comedy film. Ira levins novel the stepford wives manages to tackle these points in a new and. The stepford life minidocumentary on 1975 stepford. In 1975, when the movie the stepford wives first came out, it was widely regarded as a chilling parable about mens fears of feminism, a tale of horror that also worked as a social satire on. The first time, the stepford wives was adapted to film in 1975.
The stepford life minidocumentary on 1975 stepford wives. For joanna, her husband, walter, and their children, the move to beautiful stepford seems almost too good to be true. I just enjoy the book, consider the first film a masterpiece, and find the remake perfectly ok just try not to notice the gaping plot holes. Ira levins website very tactfully describes the various madefortv. See more ideas about wife movies, film and katherine. So i was surprised that such a wellknown story is indeed such a short one.
The film is based on the ira levin novel the stepford wives filmed the first time in 1975. Novelist and playwright ira levin 19292007 was a native new yorker whose books include a kiss before dying, rosemarys baby, this perfect day, the stepford wives, the boys from brazil, sliver, and son of rosemary. The original cut of the movie made it clear that the wives had been replaced by robots. Oct 11, 2016 the term stepford wife entered the worlds lexicon shortly after author ira levins book was published back in 1972, and id say more people are familiar with the term and its meaning i. New questions hole conformity and assimilation arises.
New york city housewife joanna katharine ross moves. When joanna eberhart and her family move to stepford, joanna soon wonders why all the wives are submissive, beautiful and obsessed with housework, and before long finds herself on a mission to uncover the truth behind their perfect smiles. In its original selfcontained form, i think it is excellent satire, commentary and science fiction that primarily critiques men. Stepford wives locations norwalk, connecticut atlas.
The goof items below may give away important plot points. Because honestly, we already know what its about, right. The term stepford wife entered the worlds lexicon shortly after author ira levins book was published back in 1972, and id say more people are familiar with the term and its meaning i. Now its the thing everyone knows about the story, and the phrase stepford.
See more ideas about wife movies, film and katherine ross. Now its the thing everyone knows about the story, and the phrase stepford wife had entered the lexicon. Jun 11, 2004 the stepford wives depends for some of its effect on a plot secret that you already know, if youve been paying attention at any time since the original film version was released in 1975. The stepford wives has one of the most enduring premises of 20thcentury american fiction. The films story is well layered and keeps you involved from. If this book doesnt scare the shit out of you then youre really not paying attention.
Stepford wives by ira levin in djvu, doc, txt download e book. At the end of the novel, joanna decides to flee stepford, but when she gets. By the time of the release of the book version of the stepford wives in 1972, ira levin had already written a kiss before dying and rosemarys baby, both now considered classic thrillers. Also, the stepford wives remake was actually an homage to the original movie, the book, as well as the sequels the stepford husbands and the stepford children. Nov 29, 2015 stepford wives by ira levin in djvu, doc, txt download e book.
573 762 1118 792 1463 402 114 1333 625 1462 77 263 441 294 380 731 1348 43 562 1064 1082 1249 577 476 745 1148 1295 1212 615 1438 1095 1333 676 899 643 881 1475 1491 146 1096 214