This contains spoilers.
This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. I did read the book before the movie came out and thoroughly enjoyed both the book and the movie.
Katharine Ross has these haunting eyes which really makes the theme of the movie very realistic. It was a work of art how the Director had the cameras zoom in on her eyes as the focal point throughout the movie. Paula Prentiss was a perfect costar as her friend Bobby. She was ideal for the role.
I also thought Nanette Newman brought timeless class and elegance to the movie as Carol Van Zandt. When there were complaints about her in the interview... I felt they were completely wrong. In the interview (included on the DVD), they claimed they had to change the costumes because Nanette would not have looked good dressed up as a playboy bunny... if that is the case, then she saved this movie. It would have turned into a ridiculous joke if they had dressed up all the women like sex bunnies as they talked about in the interview. The long sun dresses, white gloves and spring hats brought class and elegance to the movie. It made the movie more believable and taken seriously by the audience. It also made the movie memorable. Anytime someone sees this style, they think of Stepford. In fact, Stepford has become a part of our culture.
The movie and the book both kept you on the edge of your seats wondering what was going to happen. The movie did improve upon some things that the book was not clear about. In the book, we were not certain whether they were doing something to the women to change them using technology or drugs... or if they were actually replacing the women with some kind of android or clone. There was no stabbing of Bobby in the book and Joanna never came face to face with her replacement. It was at that point when we saw she was being replaced with a robot automaton. Having the eyes incomplete let us know we were looking at an android and not a clone.
The book had more storyline about the new couple in town, but we could see them arguing in the grocery store at the very end of the movie, just before they showed us the new Joanna.
So with these new scenes added to the movie showing her stabbing Bobby and meeting the android... it actually made the movie better than the book... and that is rare. The book is still great, but the movie didn't leave us confused as to the actual fate of Joanna. But make no mistake; the book was still great.
There is nothing about this movie which is against women. That concept is about as ridiculous as saying every serial killer movie is against men.
This movie is more about how terrible the evil deeds these men are doing against the women. Don't let anyone talk you out of watching this movie. It is wonderful. I would have loved to have seen sequels made by the same cast and crew who did this movie. I did watch the other Stepford movies but they were nowhere close to the quality of this movie and cast. I can't seem to get enough of the Stepford movies and it is a shame they have not made them all into DVD's. But, I would have loved to have seen a followup to where this movie left off.
As for the new movie with Kidman which made a joke out of this movie... I didn't appreciate it one bit. It was insulting, offensive and condescending of a great movie and a story which was a work of art. But since Hollywood can't seem to come up with their own story lines or fresh ideas... these wannabe's in diapers sit around trying to trash great movies made by others... I'm thankful that when they tried to do the same thing to make a new movie to ridicule Dallas, the actors squashed that idea. The public does not appreciate having beloved works of art trashed by low brows who have no class. Instead of trashing the work of others... they should see if they can do a better job... with original ideas.
But this movie is wonderful. A great story, excellent cast, wonderful script with a great director who actually used genuine scenery and locations without having to waste money building a bunch of props or sets. This movie proves it doesn't require a bunch of special effects or CGI or fancy sets to make a movie with a great storyline and fantastic cast.
This movie deserved a lot more credit and recognition than it received. I can't say enough nice things about it. If you have not seen it
you should do so. It is an exciting thriller with a fresh, original storyline at the time and doesn't have a boring moment in it.
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