8 femmes (2002)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

François Ozon

Writers:

François Ozon (writer)
Robert Thomas (play)
(more)

Release Date:

20 September 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Comedy | Crime | Mystery

Tagline:

Living in a house full of women can be murder.

Plot:

One murdered man, eight women, each seeming to be more eager than the others to know the truth. Gimme, gimme, gimme some clues to make up my mind. And eventually enter the truth. Oh, thou cruel woman!

Plot Keywords:

Maid | Murder | Seduction | Pregnancy | Digit In Title

Awards:

8 wins & 25 nominations

Cast

Danielle Darrieux	...	Mamy
Catherine Deneuve	...	Gaby
Isabelle Huppert	...	Augustine
Emmanuelle Béart	...	Louise
Fanny Ardant	...	Pierrette
Virginie Ledoyen	...	Suzon
Ludivine Sagnier	...	Catherine
Firmine Richard	...	Madame Chanel
Dominique Lamure	...	Marcel, the husband

Directed by
François Ozon

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Marina de Van		writer
François Ozon		writer
Robert Thomas		play

Produced by
Stéphane Célérier	....	associate producer
Olivier Delbosc	....	producer
Marc Missonnier	....	producer

Original Music by
Krishna Levy

Cinematography by
Jeanne Lapoirie

Film Editing by
Laurence Bawedin

Casting by
Antoinette Boulat

Production Design by
Arnaud de Moleron

Set Decoration by
Marie-Claire Quin

Costume Design by
Pascaline Chavanne

Makeup Department
Jean-Charles Bachelier	....	key hair stylist
Fabienne Bressan	....	key hair stylist
Agathe Dupuis	....	key hair stylist
Cédric Gérard	....	key makeup artist
Thi Thanh Tu Nguyen	....	key makeup artist
John Nollet	....	key hair stylist
Gill Robillard	....	key makeup artist
Myriam Roger	....	key hair stylist
Hervé Soulié	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Christine De Jekel	....	production manager
Marie-Eve Graviou-Dural	....	unit manager
Mélanie Karlin	....	post-production supervisor
Gilles Monnier	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hubert Barbin	....	first assistant director
Cyril Duval	....	second assistant director
Guillaume Huin	....	trainee assistant director
Nicolas Ronchi	....	third assistant director

Art Department
François Aïssa	....	carpenter
Céline Barray	....	set dresser
Philippe Boutillier	....	sculptor
Bernard Chenevier	....	carpenter
Henri Demonio	....	carpenter
Christophe Doubliez	....	carpenter
Nicolas Doyon	....	construction coordinator
Pierre Duboisberranger	....	first assistant art director
Jean-Baptiste Gallou	....	head painter
François Hennequin	....	painter
Christophe Hervé	....	painter
Antoine Hoog	....	painter
Emmanuel Jaffre	....	carpenter
Jean-Louis Lalet	....	property master
Mick Lanaro	....	music art director
Loïc Le Moigne	....	painter
Norbert Luchessi	....	head carpenter
Christelle Maisonneuve	....	set dresser
Elodie Martin	....	assistant art director
Franck Miniconi	....	painter
Laurent Moizo	....	painter
Louis Morand	....	carpenter
Bruno Peschard	....	props
Santiago Isidro Pin	....	painter
Marie-Claire Quin	....	set dresser
Carole Récamier	....	upholsterer
Serge Royo	....	carpenter
Marjorie Thomas	....	painter

Sound Department
Charles Autrand	....	assistant sound editor
Christophe Bourreau	....	foley artist
Vincent Breau	....	sound assistant
Frédéric Cattoni	....	stereo sound consultant: DTS
Bernard Chaumeil	....	sound assistant
Samuel Dequidt	....	assistant sound editor
Philippe Dongé	....	sound recordist
Pierre Gamet	....	sound
Benoît Hillebrant	....	sound editor
Jean-Pierre Laforce	....	sound mixer
Lionel Le Bras	....	boom operator
Stéphan Lucas	....	sound recordist
Pedro Marques	....	synchronization sound engineer
Michel Monier	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Julien Perez	....	sound recordist
Pascal Vonhatten	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Christophe Messaoudi	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Nicolas Kermel	....	digital artist
Christopher Grandel	....	trailer digital effects, Howard Anderson Company (uncredited)

Stunts
Pascaline Girardot	....	stunts
Pascal Guégan	....	stunt coordinator
Pascal Guégan	....	stunts
Crystal Samani	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Nicolas Dixmier	....	gaffer
Mickael Georgeault	....	electrician
Alexandre Gotkovski	....	electrician
Yorick Le Saux	....	camera operator
Jean-Claude Moireau	....	still photographer
Carlos Ribeiro	....	grip
Benoît Rizzoti	....	assistant camera
Didier Rollot	....	electrician
Hervé Rousset	....	key grip
Ludovic Simeon	....	second assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Hélène Cassard	....	costumer
Isabelle Guérin	....	costumer
Emma Lebail	....	costumer (as Emma le Bail)
Hélène Robin	....	costumer
Monique Tourret	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Christian Dutac	....	color timer
Delphine Illouz	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Daniel Fauré	....	composer: song "Pour ne pas vivre seul"
Bruno Fontaine	....	musician: piano
Bruno Fontaine	....	orchestrator
Jil	....	composer: song "Papa t'es plus dans l'coup"
Gene Kelly	....	composer: song "Pour ne pas vivre seule"
Didier Lizé	....	score mixer
Edouard Dubois	....	music consultant (uncredited)

Other crew
Thierry Chapat	....	administrator
Sébastien Charles	....	choreographer
Marylène Dastugue	....	production secretary
Marina de Van	....	collaborator
Agathe Grau	....	script supervisor
Amélia Guyader	....	production assistant

Thanks
Dominique Besnehard	....	thanks

Production Companies

• BIM
• Canal+
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• Fidélité Productions
• France 2 Cinéma
• Gimages 5
• Local Films
• Mars Distribution

Distributors

• Celluloid Dreams (2002) (worldwide) (all media) (sales)
• BIM Distribuzione (2002) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Cinemien (2002) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Constantin Film (2002) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2002) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Mars Distribution (2002) (France) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• CinemaFilm (Argentina)
• Focus Features (USA) (subtitled)
• GAGA
• Homescreen (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Homescreen (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Imagem Filmes (Brazil) (DVD)
• Imagem Filmes (Brazil) (VHS)
• Impuls Home Entertainment (2002) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Shoval Communications (Israel)
• UGC Films
• USA Films (USA)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2003) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Iris Camera  camera equipment
• Locaflash  lighting equipment
• SIF309 Film & Music Productions  film score recording
• Telegrip  grip equipment

Also Known As:

8 Women (International: English title)
8 donne e un mistero (Italy)
Huit femmes (France) (alternative spelling)
8 mujeres (Argentina) (Chile) (Spain) [es]
8 Frauen (Austria) (Germany) [de]
8 Mulheres (Brazil) [pt]
8 femei (Romania) [ro]
8 kadin (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
8 kobiet (Poland) [pl]
8 kvinder (Denmark) [da]
8 kvinner (Norway) [no]
8 kvinnor (Sweden) [sv]
8 nö (Hungary) [hu]
8 naist (Estonia) [et]
8 naista (Finland) [fi]
Hachinin no onna-tachi (Japan) [ja]

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexual content.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:18PL | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

BIM

Trivia:

Director François Ozon wanted to make a remake of George Cukor's The Women (1939) but he changed his mind and later found the play written by Robert Thomas.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): On two occasions the ladies refer to the gun as a revolver but it is clearly a semi-automatic pistol.

Quotes:

Pierrette: As you ladies want the whole truth, I'd like to add a tidbit of information you lack.
Gaby: What is it this time?
Pierrette: Marcel and your new maid, Louise, have known each other for five years.
Gaby: What?
Pierrette: Five years of rented rooms and secret weekends. This winter you needed a maid, so Louise got hired.
[leaning in towards Gaby]
Pierrette: It's called "in-home service."

Movie Connections:

References Laura (1944)

Soundtrack:

Pour ne pas vivre seul

These ladies kick ass!

'8 Women' is a rather unique film. On the surface it is the probably only entry in the genre of the grotesque whodunit-musical. But actually, it's a huge playground - for the actresses who get the chance to play with the stereotypes attached to them, and for director François Ozon to toy with the clichés of the whodunit.

Here's the setup: 1950s. A beautiful mansion. A man is found lying in his bed with a knife in his back. The possible suspects: His wife, his two daughters, his sister, his mother-in-law, his sister-in-law, the chambermaid and the cook. As these eight women can't leave the estate or call the police, they try to find the murderer themselves. We know this situation from countless Agatha Christie-stories.

But what Ozon makes of this situation is just incredible. It already begins with the casting: Who else could play the gentrified Gaby if not Catherine Deneuve? Is there any actress who would fit more perfectly for the role of the spinsterish sister than Isabelle Huppert? Who else would you want to walk around in that dress of a chambermaid than the most desirable Emmanuelle Béart? The actresses are eagerly playing with the stereotypes that surround them because of both, the roles they played and their private lives.

Then there's the story: All whodunits have those obligatory scenes where the motives of all characters are revealed. '8 Women' takes that formula and deliberately goes over the top with it, it's characters are unfaithful, pregnant, lesbian, poisoners and many things more. And as a final twist, the film stops eight times to give each of its protagonists a chance to reveal her true character in a scene entirely devoted to them - singing and dancing. There is also another scene worth mentioning that is entirely dedicated to the actresses: A scene with a lot of dialog that entirely consists of nothing but a series of closeups - and that for about three minutes.

Cinephiles can enjoy this film on even another level: The film is filled with references to beloved classics. Consider Fanny Ardant's musical number, which pays homage to Rita Hayworth's glove-strip in 'Gilda', and another Rita Hayworth-moment so wonderful I won't reveal it here. Consider Emmanuelle Béarts hairstyle that echoes Kim Novak in 'Vertigo'. Consider the fact that the late husband of the Dannielle Darrieux character was a general, reminding us of 'Madame de...'. Or consider the painting of the young Catherine Deneuve hanging in one room - a replica of a 'Belle de jour'-poster. All this is supported by the rich, colorful cinematography, the art direction and the costumes, that give the entire film a 1950s look.

But attention: If you give this film a chance, don't expect it to be logically consistent. It isn't. But that doesn't matter at all. The murder mystery story is replaceable. The film is entirely devoted to its brilliant actresses and the wonderful, bitchy dialog they exchange. It's great fun and it is getting better with every viewing.