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I watched this film on video and was going to come back to it later, as it was already late when I started. I ended up watching it to the end, captivated by the actors and the various elements woven into the "action" (the word action only being partly appropriate). You may find yourself wondering, should you watch it, how much was left out of the final cut: For several elements touched on as the film unfolded were left open-ended. For would-be actors (or directors) an example of the power of understatement.

While not everything reaches the technical standards of, say, later James Bond films, this is an incredibly good movie for its time. It probably missed out on mainstream release in cinemas because people thought it was too risqué for Grandma, while not being risqué enough for porn lovers. This is unfortunate, because it just happens to be be an example of American cinema at its best. Some good-looking actors, with Dana Delany standing out like a goddess, whether wearing figure hugging dresses, wrapped in what look like old curtains or simply climbing naked out of the pool. However, as others have observed, Rosie O'Donnell is also a knockout, proving that a beautiful and intelligent woman can also be a little overweight. I was half expecting to be disappointed before I watched the film - but now I'm very glad I did.

I agree with the only other reviewer that this was pleasant enough to watch, although the basic idea is flawed in that nobody would ever stick his neck out as far as the obviously very rich guy does ... It was also obvious from the beginning that Anna Valle would be of romantic interest (why else would the part be for a female lawyer?). But if the film had been edited less radically ("let's keep it short so cinemas will show it!") it would probably have been even better than it is. However, the excellent Claudio Amendola and ex-Miss Italy Anne Valle are well supported by most of the cast, so that the film's 91 minutes fly by far too rapidly.

This story is set in Ivrea, where the "Carnival" is all about rival groups fighting each other with oranges. A former resident who has come to "help out" his friends meets a woman and their mutual attraction draws them into a passionate affair. We begin to wish that their love will last beyond their stay but of course it all depends on what they decide ... Stefania Sandrelli is not the usual Bardot look alike: she is generously proportioned and unafraid to show feelings as well as her body. Her film partner shows his desperation and confusion as he tries to understand what they feel for each other. I don't know if there is an English version of the film, but the dialogue is worth listening to and thinking about: anyone watching it just for some nudity will miss a lot. Altogether a film which deserves a lot more attention than it has received.

You can't watch this film while doing something else at the same time - it demands full concentration, which is probably why some reviewers have panned it - they missed too many clues and perhaps didn't even concentrate when everything (or almost everything) dropped into place at the end. While most of the story seems to revolve around Kit Winter, the unlikely hero, pretty everyone else has a part to play in the structure of the plot. And it isn't just the clever story - there are other gems, for example the Registrar's face when he explains that it's too late. In fact, the film is so packed with clever details that you should only watch it if you can stay wide awake for the full 90 minutes. Not for those who spend half the time eating crisps or fooling about with their mobiles. Highly recommended.

This film has been unfairly slated by people who were perhaps expecting something else. Re-watching it 30(!) years on, I notice above all the beauty of Kim Basinger, above all when she is apparently not trying to be beautiful. The range of expression she can bring to a scene just by looking is amazing; her hair often seems to have been brushed by a dog's claws, but there is something in her eyes which can take your breathe away. Mickey Rourke is above all effective as a guy who is willing to take risks and wants the woman to do the same, and I'm sure if I was a woman I would find him irresistible in this role ...

A much-maligned film which deserves re-evaluation as a masterpiece of its kind. 1 point off because it seems a little too afraid of the censor at times ...

The film is heavily loaded with excellent actors, and includes some quite dramatic scenes; the director's habit of cutting off the action when we have seen enough to get the idea of a scene is a little irritating, but prevents the film from becoming too overpowering. Vanessa Incontrada, who is a well-known actress both in her native Spain and in her adopted home of Italy, manages to capture the confusion felt by her character very well: we feel for her as she is torn between her passionate love for her husband and bafflement at his apparent inability to express his love for her except in sexual frenzy. Giorgio Pasotti plays the husband and shows us his desire to live out his dream of passionate love, even as his pragmatic upbringing makes it impossible for him to do so. Although he betrays the awful dénouement within the first few minutes of the film, the ending nevertheless has the power to surprise us. Those who are hoping for a Woody Allen comedy should be warned, however, that they will not be filled with joy and optimism when the film comes to an end!

This is a witty and intelligent film, which takes a cynical but not unrealistic look at two couples and the people they get involved with. Apart from the main characters, the two couples themselves, we meet people who are also involved in their lives, at work and elsewhere. In addition there is an excellent cameo performance from the eternally delicious Claudia Gerini. The main characters are portrayed as quite distinct individuals, and they more or less win us over with their suffering, although I must admit one of the husbands was such a hypocrite that I almost wished he had suffered even more. A film which can have you rolling about with laughter, unless of course you are shocked by the two-faced morality so well depicted in this finely crafted gem of a movie ( a shame that it would probably not translate well into English and that its all-Italian cast would in any case be unlikely to draw many viewers outside Italy).

If you watch this film expecting to be entertained in the sense of having a good laugh you will definitely be disappointed. However, if you want to see how a family manages to deal with a tragic loss and come out of it stronger than before, you should be satisfied, even if the basic string of events is rather negative. Nanni Moretti manages to keep his wry sense of humour despite the characters' misfortunes. Altogether a film which confirms the strength which most of us can find even in adversity. I enjoyed it, even though I am not really a fan of films which show sad events. If you can understand Italian I think you will find it an especially rewarding experience to watch it in the original, as many of the actors were already masters of their craft back in 2001, and have gone on to become famous in later years. Thumbs up!

Imagine roast lamb, icing sugar, doughnuts and a tin of peanuts, all served on one plate. Something similar happens here, with the gorgeous Ornela Muti and the classy Hannah Schygulla together with a host of good actors, all guided by a great director - and the result is just a boring mess. The music which dominates the first scene is also a great example of why it is fatal to succumb to the temptation of letting modern sounds dominate the background and even smother the dialogue. Thirty years on the music is cringeworthy at best, on a par with some dreadful acting on the part of pretty well everybody including you-know-who. My advice: should you get the chance to see this film - read a book or go to a café with some friends. Get some photos of Ornel Muti if you must - at least they won't say world-shattering lines like "Where are the car-keys?"

There is a fairly simple story somewhere in this film, which I only took an interest in at first because Loredana Cannata ("la Donna Lupo") was in the cast ... I was somewhat irritated to find that she disappeared from the action after a few minutes, but I was soon appeased by some great acting and a well-told (if perhaps a little far-fetched) story. Greed and corruption are the prime movers at first, while petty criminals are unwittingly manipulated by the big wheelers and dealers. Naive teenagers provide a witty sub-plot, which is at first just very funny, but in the end turns sour when it crashes into the world of organized crime. Near the end you may want to look away during one rather disturbing scene (you'll recognize it in time to close your eyes when it comes up.) Otherwise a great piece of unusual film-making, the kind which Italians seem to be very good at.

At last I have been able to watch the complete version of "Malena". It is a simple story, but one which speaks volumes about people, about love, while telling the story of a Sicilian town caught up in Mussolini's war, of a boy who becomes a young man, of a city ravaged not only by war but also by jealousy, greed and hatred; but above all it is the story of a woman who, at least in our eyes, stays courageous and never loses her dignity. The story unfolds through the eyes of the boy, in his words and through his eyes. Monica Bellucci, who portrays the woman, is not afraid to stop looking drop-dead gorgeous and to look ugly when the story requires it. She plays the part using not only her body (which for many actresses would be enough) but above all her dark eyes, speaking very little. All in all a picture of humanity, at its worst and at its best, told through the story of a city, of Sicilians, of Italians, indeed of all people, and a film which should be watched more than once, if possible in the original language.

Although this film is in colour, I found myself wondering the day after the first viewing whether it was in black and white or in colour - this was probably due to the darkness which dominates most of the film. Another reviewer has written "improves with a second viewing" and he was right. Unfortunately the copy I saw had English sub-titles which could not be turned off, especially irritating because they were sometimes not just different to the French original but also incorrect. Nevertheless I would regard this as one of the best films of its genre and if you can get hold of an uncut version (amazing and irritating how people love to mess around with old films) it's definitely worth watching (twice!)

There does not seem to be an undamaged and complete print of this film. At several points scenes break off (although nudity or violence is not being shown) and the film jumps to a quite unconnected scene. It would seem that the original censored versions have survived more or less unscathed, but that the franker original director's cut has not. Those hoping for pubic hair and full frontal Ornella Muti will not be totally disappointed, but if you were hoping for a properly restored version of the director's original intention, I fear that we will never see it. A scene where the father is out hunting, for example, has obviously been so radically cut that it makes little sense. In a few other places scenes are cut off before they have properly ended. This is unlikely to have been the work of the director... Still worth watching, however.

Like me you may have thought this film was rubbish, having seen a massacred videotape edit some years ago. But as others have remarked, the restored version now available on DVD not only has pretty well all of the film as its director intended, so that the story no longer seems ridiculous, but is also for the most part well-lit and quite high-res for a film which is 43 years old. Some reviews may give the impression that naked ladies abound, but the majority of the cast spend most of their time on screen in a fully-dressed state, even if Edwige Fenech and her colleagues do not fail to give the male viewers some eye-candy. As you may have gathered, I found the film in its restored state to be well worth watching.

If you watch this in Italian you'll get more from it. However, you should make sure you get hold of the full 107 minute version, if possible in Italian (there is a surprisingly high-quality DVD available) as the original voices add to the entertainment value. I first saw a massacred edit which made almost no sense, and should you only get a version of say 75-85 minutes you'll be very disappointed. What you see of Signora Fenech is less than you might perhaps like, but some of her more intimate clothing does come off from time to time, and even dressed she is still a beautiful woman. So just take the film as it comes and enjoy it.

Carlo Verdone is not only prolific, but he also shows a deep understanding of what makes (Italian) people tick. The fact that he usually has a less than flattering role in his own films shows that he includes himself in any criticism of people in Italian society ... Fifteen years after graduating from the "liceo" a bunch of still youngish people get together for a reunion, and one of the film's endearing qualities is the way it scratches away at the surface to reveal what they have become - that is, not always the successful citizens they may seem to be. You should take the time to watch this film at one sitting, in order to be swept along, like the participants, by the developments at this somewhat unlikely and, for some of them, nightmarish party. In my opinion an excellent effort by a writer/director who deserves more recognition, especially outside his native Italy, and a film which was a great way to spend an evening.

I have only seen this film in Italian and, as I am still working on my language skills, had to watch it three times before I could really see how skilfully it is made. While the starring roles are extremely well performed, including that of Violente Placido, it is the attention to detail in all the "minor" characters which really makes it a pleasure to watch the film more than once. And while I would hope that the "black magic", on which the tale's twist depends, does not really exist, it nevertheless makes the story work. All in all "L'Anima Gemella" confirms my high opinion of Sergio Rubini not only as an actor but also as a director. For example, "Il Viaggio della Sposa" is quite different in content but also explores the theme of of how intense experiences can transform people's lives and again has a marvellous performance from the director.

I have seen a shortened cut of "Avere Vent'Anni" but now I've watched the full-length version twice and there's a lot more to this film than some people seem to think. Fun is poked at bourgeois society, at self-important males doing jobs they think are important (store detectives, police inspectors), at a rich lesbian, at transcendental meditation, in short at many facets of seventies' life in Italy. Even the two female leads come in for their share. The ending can be seen as having nothing to do with the story, but I think there's more to it: while the girls just flit through life taking nothing seriously except having a good time, lurking at almost every corner is the reality of corrupt policemen and unscrupulous gangsters - the nasty side of the real world ... and in the end that will be their downfall.

A long time ago I stumbled across a copy of "The One and Only", which I liked enough to watch again at irregular intervals. I recently had a chance to watch the Danish original, "Den eneste ene" and found it very rewarding to watch. There are some situations which are perhaps better exploited in the later, English remake, but there are also subtleties in the Danish version which give it its own polish. Especially the actor who plays the would-be adoptive father (I'll say no more about him so as not to spoil your enjoyment!) knocks spots off everyone else in either film. "Den eneste ene" is quite long, but I was sorry when it was over. OK, now I'm going to watch "The One and Only" again!

Others have already said that "À nos amours" is a great film, even more have said that Sandrine Bonnaire was a knockout in her demanding rôle as Suzanne. There is a sort of timeline, a beginning and an end, but this is really a film about a personal journey through a part of Suzanne's late adolescence. Young people who have watched the film recently are sometimes very annoyed with Suzanne, but this only proves that Miss Bonnaire has made them care about her character even to the point that they perhaps want to shake her, to take her into a corner and tell her what mistakes she is making. There is also a conflict which some pretend had disappeared by the end of the "swinging sixties" - the generation gap between the sexual mores of parents and adolescents, which was of course still real in the early eighties and remains so in many cultures. Unpredictable behaviour (by Suzanne's brother, for example) is also a real part of family life for many young people. Every time I watch the film (and I have seen it very often, as I used it in my French classes more than once) I notice details which had escaped me or which I had forgotten. Pialat made other great films, but "À nos amours" remains my favourite. If possible watch it in French, with subtitles if necessary - but see it before you die!

Léa is not just the "student stripper" suggested by the German title and by some reviews. She is a sensitive girl, intelligent and gracefully beautiful, who has obviously never had it easy. The scenario does not waste time on background details, you can either forget about them or imagine your own - really the film is about how Léa looks for something which has been missing in her life. I watched it in three sittings, as I found I needed to reflect a little on what I had seen and what it meant for the protagonist (I use the singular because it is no coincidence that the original title is just "Léa" - of the other characters, only her grandmother really seems to matter).

A film which I will want to watch again.

Not really for intellectuals, but instead a mixture of detective story, softcore sex and humour (the latter being sparsely dosed but nicely done). A lot of girls, but really mainly a vehicle for Athena Massey, whose beautiful body is shown to around 98% on various occasions, and who also has a way with deadpan humour. Anyone who hasn't yet seen it should catch up on this amusing 93 minute-film, which stops (if only just) short of full frontal nudity but was apparently still considered worthy of the US "R"-rating. My DVD had a crystal clear picture with fine colours, which more than made up for the cost-conscious props and locations.