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The Laughing Woman

Original title: Femina ridens
  • 1969
  • R
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
Philippe Leroy and Dagmar Lassander in The Laughing Woman (1969)
Witness the ultimate subjugation of a woman to serve the most twisted desires of man in the achingly hip ‘n' horny Femina Ridens, where the kinkiest urges are played to a deadly conclusion… The beautifully sensuous Dagmar Lassander stars as Maria, the living sex toy of Dr Sayer (Philippe Leroy) who delights in killing women at the point of orgasm. Sayer's prolonged campaign of degradation pushes Maria right to the edge of death but the spell she casts on him will lead to the most extraordinary climax of a lifetime! Stylish, imaginative and deliciously twisted, this kitschy 60s pop art erotica-fest boasts gorgeous set design, an even more alluring leading lady and a heady desire to please the viewer with increasingly bizarre and dangerous sex games. Rebuilding The Frightened Woman has been a labour of love but thanks to the work of genre expert Marc Morris the Shameless version of The Frightened Woman runs at 86m 03secs compared to the 83m 25 secs run time supplied by the licensor. In order to create this new Shameless version they have used a wide variety of source materials that widely vary in quality but they believe that the end result shows off the film in the complete form it has long deserved to be celebrated in including the correct colour palette. Shameless have kept director Piero Schivazappa informed throughout the process and asked him to watch through it for them and see if he could give it his seal of approval. He kindly sat through it, with script in hand and felt that, "it is as faithful as it can be to the original script", and was very happy to see the film brought back to life in this Shameless version declaring, "This IS the version of my film to watch." Shameless Screen Entertainment release The Frightened Woman on DVD. The Shameless director approved cut will run at 86m 03secs and is being released uncut by the BBFC for the first time in the UK.
Play trailer1:14
1 Video
99+ Photos
ItalianPsychological ThrillerThriller

A rich man with a penchant for degrading women subjects a female journalist to unpleasant S&M games, but, unbeknownst to him, she's the one who's manipulating him.A rich man with a penchant for degrading women subjects a female journalist to unpleasant S&M games, but, unbeknownst to him, she's the one who's manipulating him.A rich man with a penchant for degrading women subjects a female journalist to unpleasant S&M games, but, unbeknownst to him, she's the one who's manipulating him.

  • Director
    • Piero Schivazappa
  • Writers
    • Piero Schivazappa
    • Paolo Levi
    • Giuseppe Zaccariello
  • Stars
    • Philippe Leroy
    • Dagmar Lassander
    • Lorenza Guerrieri
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    1.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Piero Schivazappa
    • Writers
      • Piero Schivazappa
      • Paolo Levi
      • Giuseppe Zaccariello
    • Stars
      • Philippe Leroy
      • Dagmar Lassander
      • Lorenza Guerrieri
    • 26User reviews
    • 48Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro

    • Videos1

    The Frightened Woman
    Trailer 1:14
    The Frightened Woman

    Photos119

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 115
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    Top Cast13

    Philippe Leroy
    Philippe Leroy
    • Dr. Sayer
    Dagmar Lassander
    Dagmar Lassander
    • Maria
    Lorenza Guerrieri
    Lorenza Guerrieri
    • Gida
    Varo Soleri
    • Administrator
    Maria Cumani Quasimodo
    Maria Cumani Quasimodo
    • Sayer's Secretary
    Mirella Pamphili
    Mirella Pamphili
    • Streetwalker
    Manlio Dalla Pria
    • Politician
    • (uncredited)
    Salvatore Furnari
    Salvatore Furnari
    • Dwarf
    • (uncredited)
    John Karlsen
    John Karlsen
    • Manservant
    • (uncredited)
    Gennarino Pappagalli
    • Passerby
    • (uncredited)
    Osvaldo Peccioli
    • Politician
    • (uncredited)
    Filippo Perego
    Filippo Perego
    • Politician
    • (uncredited)
    Karen Valenti
    Karen Valenti
    • Musician on the Train
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Piero Schivazappa
    • Writers
      • Piero Schivazappa
      • Paolo Levi
      • Giuseppe Zaccariello
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews26

    6.71.8K
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    Summary

    Reviewers say 'The Laughing Woman' Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Curabitur pretium tincidunt lacus.

    Nulla facilisi etiam dignissim diam quis enim lobortis scelerisque
    Lorem ipsum dolorSit amet consecteturAdipiscing elitSed do eiusmodTempor incididuntUt labore et doloreMagna aliquaUt enim ad minimVeniam quisNostrud exercitation
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    Related interests

    Lamberto Maggiorani in Bicycle Thieves (1948)
    Italian
    Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl (2014)
    Psychological Thriller
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Did you know

    • Trivia
      Dagmar Lassander said this was her personal favorite among her movies.
    • Goofs
      When the train passes, full of musicians playing woodwinds, they are all seen blowing their instruments almost 10 seconds before a single saxophone is heard on the soundtrack, and then the musician's fingering doesn't match the sustained notes heard.
    • Quotes
      • Voice over Loudspeaker.: [in typically bright, matter-of-fact announcer's voice] Aries, with Mars on the ascendant, tends to produce a homosexuality. If you were born on one of the last days of the month, these inclinations towards inversion will be confined to the subconscious. Taurus, with Venus on the ascendant, will favor narcissism and masturbation. The tranquilizing influence of the full moon at the moment of birth channels the onanistic instinct toward extroversion. Gemini, with Mercury on the ascendant, will emphasize masochism and sadism. If you were born during the early morning hours, your tendency will be towards masochism, with a sublimation of the sadistic urge. Cancer, with the Moon on the ascendant, highlights necrophilia. However, as the subject will rarely find occasion to indulge in this practice, most Cancerians will be drawn to scopophilism as a satisfying alternative. If the moon was in the first quarter at the time of birth, these tendencies will be manifested in a perfectly straightforward way. You have been listening to "Sexual Aberrations and the Stars."
    • Alternate versions
      The initial 1998 UK Salvation video was cut by 16 secs by the BBFC to remove photographic shots of women being tortured, though the later re-release mistakenly featured the uncut version. The 2008 Shameless DVD was fully uncut and featured an extended version with additional footage.
    • Connections
      Featured in Eurotika!: So Sweet, So Perverse (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      Femina Ridens
      Written by Giulia De Mutiis (as DeMutiis), Piero Schivazappa (as Schivazappa) and Stelvio Cipriani (as Cipriani)
      Sung by Olympia
      With the participation of Alessandro Alessandroni's Cantori Moderni Di Alessandroni (as Alessandro Alessandroni's 'Modern Singers')

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    Details

    • Release date
      • December 4, 1969 (Italy)
    • Country of origin
      • Italy
    • Language
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • The Frightened Woman
    • Filming locations
      • Italy(Exterior)
    • Production company
      • Cemo Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    • Runtime
      • 1h 30m(90 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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