Complicated Women

May 6, 2003

0h 56m

★ 6.7

Before Hollywood had boundaries, they weren't afraid to push the limits.

Overview

Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered film content. No longer portrayed as virgins or vamps, the liberated female of the pre-code films had dimensions. Good girls had lovers and babies and held down jobs, while the bad girls were cast in a sympathetic light. And they did it all without apology.

Genres

Documentary

TV Movie

Production Companies

Timeline Films

Complicated Women Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Self - Narrator (voice)

Jane Fonda

Self - Interviewee

Frances Dee

Self - Interviewee

Karen Morley

Self - Interviewee

Kitty Carlisle

Self - Interviewee

Mae Madison

Self - Interviewee

Mark Vieira

Self - Interviewee

Mick LaSalle

Self - Interviewee

Molly Haskell

Self (archive footage)

Barbara Stanwyck

Self (archive footage)

Bette Davis

Self (archive footage)

C. Aubrey Smith

Self (archive footage)

Chester Morris

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

6.7

Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory

Mar 22, 1895

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

8.0

Once Upon a Time...: Children of Paradise

May 25, 2009

Television documentary about the making of Marcel Carné's 1945 film "Children of Paradise"

6.0

Once Upon a Time... 'Tess'

Mar 16, 2007

Television documentary about the making of Roman Polanski's 1979 film "Tess."

8.0

Once Upon a Time... The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

May 18, 2008

Television documentary about the making of Jacques Demy's 1964 film "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg".

10.0

Showbiz Goes to War

Dec 31, 1982

While a few Hollywood celebrities such as James Stewart and Clark Gable saw combat during World War II, the majority used their talents to rally the American public through bond sales, morale-boosting USO tours, patriotic war dramas and escapist film fare. Comedian David Steinberg plays host for this star-studded, 90-minute documentary, which looks at the way Tinseltown helped the United States' war effort.

7.0

Mantrap – Straw Dogs: The Final Cut

Mar 8, 2003

Documentary about the making of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 film "Straw Dogs."

0.0

To Paint With Pictures

Jan 1, 2005

Documentary about the making of Swedish film director Jan Troell's "The New Land" (1971) and "The Emigrants" (1972).

7.7

Cinema Through the Eye of Magnum

Sep 2, 2017

The film tells the story of the intimate and unprecedented encounter between the photojournalists of the Magnum Agency and the world of cinema. The confrontation of two seemingly opposite worlds – fiction and reality. For 70 years their paths crossed: a family of photographers, amongst them the biggest names in photography, and a family of actors and filmmakers who helped write the history of cinema, from John Huston to Marilyn Monroe to Orson Welles, Kate Winslet and Sean Penn.

5.5

Robert Altman's Players

Jan 1, 1992

Behind-the-scenes documentary about a fundraiser which was staged for Robert Altman's film "The Player" (1992).

0.0

Cast & Crew: If....

Jun 12, 2004

Episode of the BBC Scotland television series focusing on Lindsay Anderson's 1968 film "If...", featuring interviews with star Malcolm McDowell, cinematographer Miroslav Ondříček, assistant editor Ian Rakoff, director’s assistant Stephen Frears, producer Michael Medwin, and screenwriter David Sherwin

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6.5

Jusqu’au 23 Juillet

May 13, 2018

Documentary about the making of Louis Malle's 1963 film "The Fire Within".

5.9

Attack of the Hollywood Clichés!

Sep 27, 2021

One-man armies, meet-cutes, casual strolls away from huge explosions — stars and industry insiders toast and roast these cinematic chestnuts and more.

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6.0

Salò: Fade to Black

Jan 1, 2001

A short documentary exploring the ongoing relevance and power of 'Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma'.

5.0

Salò: Yesterday and Today

Oct 24, 2002

A thirty-three-minute documentary featuring interviews with director Pier Paolo Pasolini, actor-filmmaker Jean-Claude Biette, and Pasolini friend Ninetto Davoli.

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7.2

Tin Tan

Nov 12, 2010

Germán Cipriano Gómez Valdés Castillo, a young radio announcer from Cuidad Juárez, succeeds in drawing attention to the pachuco movement through his character Tin Tan, laying the groundwork for a new form of binational and mass linguistic expression: Spanglish. He soon became a leading figure in theater and film on the American Continent. Singled out by critics as a destroyer of the language, he quickly won the approval of the public. His ability to improvise revolutionized the film industry. His talent as an actor, singer, dancer and comedian contributed to the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. From El Hijo Desobediente to Capitán Mantarraya, from Cuidad Juárez to Havana, from mambo to rock, the legacy of Tin Tan makes him one of the great icons of Mexico today. This film tells his story as it has never been told before.

6.5

Monsieur Truffaut Meets Mr. Hitchcock

Aug 5, 1999

When Francois Truffaut approached Alfred Hitchcock in 1962 with the idea of having a long conversation with him about his work and publishing this in book form, he didn't imagine that more than four years would pass before Le Cinéma selon Hitchcock finally appeared in 1966. Not only in France but all over the world, Truffaut's Hitchcock interview developed over the years into a standard bible of film literature. In 1983, three years after Hitchcock's death, Truffaut decided to expand his by now legendary book to include a concluding chapter and have it published as the "Edition définitive". This film describes the genesis of the "Hitchbook" and throws light on the strange friendship between two completely different men. The centrepieces are the extracts from the original sound recordings of the interview with the voices of Alfred Hitchcock, Francois Truffaut, and Helen Scott – recordings which have never been heard in public before.

6.0

Vivement Truffaut

Jul 12, 1985

A tribute to the late, great French director Francois Truffaut, this documentary was undoubtedly named after his last movie, Vivement Dimanche!, released in 1983. Included in this overview of Truffaut's contribution to filmmaking are clips from 14 of his movies arranged according to the themes he favored. These include childhood, literature, the cinema itself, romance, marriage, and death.

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0.0

In the Web of Time

Jan 1, 1991

Documentary about the making of the 1967 Czech film "Marketa Lazarova".