The Stepford Wives (1975)

Ira Levin's bestseller is still very intriguing, thought-provoking and creepy, with a suspenseful story. It was wholly deserving of a film to do it justice, and this 1975 film does so splendidly. The 2004 re-make however is best avoided, not only was there no point to it but it is an incredibly poor film in its own right even with talented actors on board.'The Stepford Wives' (1975) is the real deal and well worth seeing. Maybe it starts a touch too slow, though generally the deliberately leisurely pacing didn't bother me. While it is well done and clever, with a final third that delivers on the quiet thrills, the twist didn't quite have the impact it could have done due to knowing it beforehand (hard not to with it being a famous one). Otherwise, it is a very good film and anybody who saw the 2004 film first will definitely want to check the 1975 "original" out to get the bad campy taste out of their mouths and instead be intrigued and chilled to the bone.While 'The Stepford Wives' may not be the most visually audacious of films, it is still very slick and atmospheric. Really liked the thriller in sunlight bright colours and the stormy night setting later on was a perfect contrast. The music score doesn't enhance but fits very well.Bryan Forbes directs very thoughtfully, while the script is intelligent and delivers on the suspense, the witty and clever satire and the deliciously macabre humour. The story intrigues and has plenty of suspense and thrills before delivering on the later chills and shocks that still hold up now.All the cast excel as the interesting and sometimes offbeat characters. Katharine Ross shines as the lead, and there are very good performances from Tina Louise Patrick O'Neal. Paula Prentiss has the most colourful character and is on dynamite form playing the character like she knows that is the case.Overall, very good with a lot of impact. It may have been only a moderate success at the time but its now reputation as the cult film favourite is deserved and it is not hard to see why the Stepford concept/term is a fairly popular one in science fiction. 8/10 Bethany Cox

OH yea this the boring film of robot women - I refreshed my memory now on which film it was. I was getting the title of this film mixed with another 70's horror film "Hungry Wives" aka "Season of the Witch" (1972).This film does have a strong feminist message of "men only want obedient wives". I was true for it's time era... there were women still feeling oppressed by their husbands but not all men of that time era was feeling that way. It was 1975 when the film came out - almost to late for a film like this to show up but, again, there were a few men of the time era still wanting obedient wives over equal partners. There are still men out there wanting a woman to obey there every word - in the older crowds and I know because I'm in that crowd. Dating at my age is a pain because of it. The younger crowds may not have that problem today because they grew up in a different time era.Anyway, the way this film plays out is long and boring. I'm still not a fan of the film.2/10

The Stepford Wives is an adaption of an Ira Levin novel. Another of his books had previously been transformed to the screen in a highly successful manner, namely Rosemary's Baby (1968). Both films share pretty clear similarities, they both focus on a woman who has moved to a new place where she finds strange new neighbours who convince her husband to conspire against her in order to work with them to facilitate a scenario where he will also be rewarded. It's a pretty specifically similar set-up but this is ultimately a film which explores quite different areas with this premise. A woman and her family move from New York to a small 'idyllic' town called Stepford because her husband insists. When there, she soon realises something is wrong once she encounters the women of the town who are unnaturally placid, vapid creatures who are unconditionally devoted to their husbands, obsessed with domestic chores and unable to talk about anything other than trivialities. When her best friend from the area suddenly also succumbs to this condition she accelerates her investigations, fearing she must be next.The ideas interwoven into the fabric of this cult movie have seeped into western culture to such an extent that the term 'Stepford Wives' has known meaning to those who haven't even seen the film. I guess this goes some way in showing that this is a movie with a very memorable premise that clearly struck a chord. While it is a sci-fi film and it does have horror elements – albeit with a tone more of uncertainty and dread that full on horror – these genres are more working (very effectively) in the background, with the main focus a satire of suburban life and the sexist expectations put on women. When it was released these ideas were set against the backdrop of the Women's Lib movement which was gathering steam, a situation that seems to have made many men rather uncomfortable. The men of Stepford represent these kinds of males and they are a hugely unappealing collection of individuals who have gone to extremes to curb feminism and maintain the patriarchal system. It's these underlying ideas that have made The Stepford Wives more than simply a creepy sci-fi horror movie. Although it still operates very well as that too, with its story of slowly unfolding dread, sinister individual moments such as the kitchen scene where one of the 'Wives' goes haywire and the decidedly nihilistic conclusion. Katharine Ross is excellent in the main role and very successfully gets us on board, which makes this ending all the more downbeat. If I had to put forward a criticism of the film it would be that it does have some pacing problems, meaning that it feels like it might be a little overlong. This issue aside though, this is a pretty effective example of a genre film with quite a lot of interesting things to say. It's definitely worthy of its iconic reputation.

I didn't see this 1975 film until about 20 years after its release. Even though I knew the basic plot I was quite captivated by the events of the story. Well, I've seen it three more times since then and each time I'm taken in by the storyline, not to mention well entertained.THE PLOT: Katharine Ross and her husband move to Stepford, CT, where many of the wives of the village seem to be oblivious to the current women's liberation movement; they seem wholly dedicated to their husbands, home & garden and keeping themselves well-groomed and primed for sex. Meanwhile Katharine's husband joins a mysterious all-male organization which seems to be up to something fishy. When two of Katharine's friends strangely morph into the typical Stepford housewife Katharine suspects something sinister. And guess who's next in line?Paula Prentiss and Tina Louise (Ginger from Giligan's Island) are on hand as Katharine's friends.The story's not campy at all (like the 2004 version). This is serious and creepy sci-fi of the highest order. "The Stepford Wives" powerfully succeeds where the similar-themed "Westworld" only passably gets by.GRADE: A