quot;The Witch Burnt Alive"
After a very long, but visually arresting animated opening credits sequence, Luchino Visconti (Death in Venice) directs the first story, which is the longest of the five, taking approximately a third of the film's running length. Mangano plays a superstar actress and model who travels to a mountain resort, only to find the well-to-do inhabitants have prejudices and preconceived notions about her based on her public persona. The women are all jealous and the men all want to sleep with her, but all Mangano wants is to be left alone. It's a mostly somber satirical piece, but story-wise, it languishes in its modest idea a bit long, becoming inconsequential to all but those fascinated by the realities of being famous.
"Community Spirit"
Bolognini's piece isn't really a story. It's more of a visual gag, in a short segment that features Mangano offering to take an injured man to a hospital, driving him at breakneck speed throughout the city, but not stopping at locations where he might find aid. I won't give away the punchline here, but it succeeds in being amusing, even if it's the kind of thing that only is interesting the first time through.
"The Earth Seen from the Moon"
The esteemed writer/director, Pier Paolo Pasolini (Salo), crafts the middle segment, which is the most artistic and memorable of the five. Reminiscent in style to "Don Quixote", a recently widowed father and his son travel around the country in search of a new wife and mother, and after a long period, they discover the literally speechless Mangano. She brings joy into their lives, but they are poor, and in order to find a better life for themselves, they concoct a scheme to try to make some quick cash. The story is contrived, and not completely interesting, but the outlandish performances, artwork, and costumes does evoke great charm and likeability. Although mute, it's probably the most appealing of Mangano's five performances, and Toto is terrific.
"The Sicilian"
Franco Rossi directs the fourth an shortest piece, a straight-forward revenge story that comes and goes before it ever has a chance of becoming interesting. It's violent, but easily the least satisfying of the five stories.
"A Night Like Any Other"
Eastwood's appearance is clearly the biggest attraction here, which was filmed in between the Sergio Leone "Dollars" trilogy. It's an enjoyable departure from his normal roles, playing a comedic romantic lead, and he is affably fun to watch. Famed Italian director, Vittorio de Sica (The Bicycle Thief, Umberto D.) does a masterful job with the story, which perfectly blends the mundane and the fantasy in a visually satisfying way. The story is about a bored housewife (Mangano, of course), who tries in vain to get her husband to realize that he is not as romantic as he used to be. The scene is interspersed with comedic romance sequences revolving around the couple's past romantic interludes, and dreams of how their lives should be.
The spirit of a comatose teenage girl possesses the body of a newcomer to her girls boarding school to enact bloody revenge against the elitist, lingerie-clad coeds responsible for her condition.
Bill Kiowa (Montgomery Ford) is released after a five-year prison term for a crime he did not commit. The bandit El Fego (Tatsuya Nakadai), who did the actual crime, also killed Kiowa's young Native American wife. Once free, Kiowa raises a gang to go after the man who framed him. An Italian western in the A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS mold with a better than average cast, which includes Bud Spencer in the debut of his heavy-handed character (later made famous in the TRINITY series) and the outstanding Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai, famous for his role in Akira Kurosawa's KAGEMUSHA. Written by horror-meister Dario Argento and presented here in the English-language version (which, considering it was filmed MOS with an international cast, is nearly as "original dialogue" as its Italian-language counterpart).
这个男人M(马库·佩尔托拉 Markku Peltola饰)是一个失忆的流浪汉,没有名字,亦没有过去。因为失忆,他无法拥有合理的身份证明,无法找到住处和工作。一个精明的治安员把废弃的集装箱出租给流浪人士作为居所,收取租金,男人也住了进去。在这里,各种同样苦难却心地善良 的人们,为男人的生活投射进来一缕温暖的阳光。男人更是得到了救助站姑娘厄玛(卡蒂·奥廷宁 Kati Outinen饰)的热心帮助,两人的爱情也在苦难的日子中悄然萌芽。
男人似乎可以重新开始生活,却意外牵涉进一桩银行劫案。警察的追查不但让男人陷入了麻烦的境地,还让他得知自己的身世,以及自己曾经拥有的家庭。男人找到自己的妻子,却不知如何在本来已经消逝的过去和眼前的现实之间做出抉择。
20世纪60年代,英国伦敦。供职于伦敦钻石公司的劳拉·奎恩(黛米·摩尔 Demi Moore 饰)美丽端庄,聪明睿智,工作兢兢业业。但在女性地位尚未得到足够尊重的年代,尤其是这家男性占主导地位的钻石公司,劳拉的付出始终得不到应有回报,升职的机会一次次与之擦肩而过。某天,劳拉应邀和公司的清洁工——即将退休的胡布斯(迈克尔·凯恩 Michael Caine 饰)出来看电影,却得知自己将被公司开除的消息,她的事业瞬时陷入绝地。
在钻石公司工作十多年的胡布斯深谙公司内部的管理情况,他瞄上了钻石公司的保险库,策划在退休前大干一笔,而多年来郁郁不得志劳拉正是这次行动的绝佳人选……