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She is a meticulous housekeeper, flawless cook, thrifty shopper, adoring mother, perfect wife, always well groomed, always ready to please. But not, of course, a career woman, particularly if her success makes her husband feel belittled. Even today, more than thirty years after Ira Levin's bestseller startled the reading public, we are likely to refer to such a woman as "a Stepford wife"--a creature who seems both perfect and perfectly shallow.

The 1974 film version follows the Levin novel quite closely. Joanna Eberhart is a beautiful young woman of the era in which the women's moment had come of age: intelligent, forthright, and meeting her husband on equal terms. Then she, her husband, and their children move from New York to the small town of Stepford, where she is dismayed to find that most of the neighboring women seem engaged in a competition to have the neatest house, the best-groomed children, the most satisfied husband. Joanna is relieved to find women like herself in newcomers Bobbie and Charmaine, but even so, it seems... odd. So odd that she begins to question her sanity.

The film works on several levels, not the least of which is the macabre sense of humor with which director Byran Forbes endows the film: it is often very funny in a disquieting sort of way, as when Joanna and Bobbie's efforts to start a women's group results in a gathering of perfectly manicured women exchanging recipes and comparing floor polishes, or when Joanna and Bobbie accidentally overhear a Stepford couple making love. But for all the wittiness involved, THE STEPFORD WIVES is rooted in the women's movement of the 1970s, an era in which "a woman's place" was hotly debated on a national level. Just what is "a woman's place?" And to what lengths might men go to keep their women in traditional roles? Unlike many similar films, THE STEPFORD WIVES has tremendous restraint--and moreover a truly exceptional cast. Katherine Ross' talents were never before or after so well used, and Paula Prentiss gives perhaps her single most memorable performance here as Joanna's friend Bobbie. The supporting cast is equally fine, most particularly so with Patrick O'Neal as the unnerving "Diz" and a nice turn by Tina Louise as Charmaine.

Ultimately, THE STEPFORD WIVES is something of a "one trick pony:" it works best on a first viewing, when you don't know what's coming, and on subsequent viewings the film tends to read as unnecessarily slow. Even so, it is an interesting little cultural artifact, an "almost classic" that is sure to give you pause the next time your better half announces he is joining a men's club. Recommended.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

I watched this film without knowing too much about it beforehand, which is the best way to get hit by its surprise revelations - so, as another reviewer suggested, don't read any reviews before seeing it, they'll probably spoil it one way or the other. It is fueled by the same fear that pervaded the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" films - the loss of one's individuality. The director's careful, methodical pacing and his attention to detail may make the film seem slow to impatient viewers, but they pay off in some really chilling moments. Katharine Ross is extremely engaging in the lead....and (not to give anything away but) I'll never forget the image of the woman with no eyes. (***)

It's just that good.... and, it is proof that you don't need a big budget to make a great movie. It is a very original and complete movie, in my mind (in other words, I can't think of a way to improve upon it). OK; so why didn't I give it ten stars? I'm not sure, to be honest, I guess I'm just stingy with my ratings.

I like movies that stick with me, make me think about the story afterwards, and want to watch it again some day, which this clearly does.

The image of beautiful, not necessarily sexy, women parading through the aisles of a grocery story in picturesque, almost Victorian summer dresses and wide white broad brimmed hats is one of the most lasting of this effective thriller based on the work by Ira Levin. Katherine Ross engagingly plays a women being moved with family in tow from the hustle and bustle of New York City to the serene suburbs of old Connetticut. Ross soon discovers that life for the gentle sex is anything but normal. All the women of Stepford seem to be concerned with is housecleaning and pleasing their husbands. This is a good, high energy film that shocks more from looks and what you do not see rather than what you do see. Helping greatly is a solid acting cast working with a pliable script. Though shot with an almost static effect at times, The Stepford Wives packs a few good punches. The scene in the grocery store and the scene with the empty eyes are just two of the highlights for me. Patrick O' Neal, lovely Tina Louise, and the ever loquacious Paula Prentiss costar. At the heart of the film is human identity and the worth it has/should have. There are aspects of social commentary abounding: the relationship of men and women in marriage, the effects of Suburban living, and the dangers of technology.

I'm sure 'The Stepford Wives' spoke more to the audiences of 1975 than it does to the audiences of today, but this holds its own as decent, satisfying thriller. Really little more than a variation on 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers,' 'Stepford' follows that film's structure of slowly unspooling clues and suspicions and saving its bigger 'gotcha!' moments for the end. Katherine Ross was no doubt the star of this film, but Paula Prentiss really stood out for me. Gawky and enjoyable, she oddly predicted Geena Davis by a full generation. At one point in the film, my girlfriend commented of her wardrobe, 'Wow, can you imagine a grown woman today wearing a hot pant jumper?' The '70s… yikes!

I had the misfortune of both seeing the remake of 'The Stepford Wives' before seeing the original and *actually seeing* the remake of 'The Stepford Wives.' If the original serves any purpose, it is to expose the remake for the gutless, toothless, anemic waste of everyone's time that it is. God, what a terrible movie

A normal couple move out of the stressful big city to live in a tranquil upper middle class semi- rural community, seeking peace and quiet. The town holds a sinister secret though- why do the wives of Stepford all seem to mindlessly content ? That is the start of this slow paced , surreal , and in some ways silly horror story. Gradually, clues begin the mount and the viewer becomes aware that soothing is very terribly wrong with these women. The last third of the film is better, more intense than the prior segments; the ending makes it all worth the while. Several themes are explored in this movie- an intensification of the 'war' between the sexes, crude stereotypes about that women think men want, the conflict between being independent , an individual, being free, plus Mans desire to 'create.' Some feminists objected to this movie but it should be obvious that , if anything, the movie is anti men, and not anti women at all.

«The Stepford Wives» enjoyed a revival for a while when Ira Levin's novel was remade. However, it has been a cult movie since its release. As Gregory J. Paris writes, the act of losing one's personality while adjusting to conformity is an important issue in this film. In addition, it deals with man's obsession with "creating", until the day he realizes that the act of procreating is perhaps humanity's greatest gift for creation. It also reminds us of the cult to the mother figure, of the dangers of modern technocracies, of phallocracy...

All these concepts are expressed in a peculiar way in «The Stepford Wives,» a movie that is among the best of Hollywood's second golden era, the 1970's. Director Bryan Forbes, producer Edgar J. Scherick, and, among the performers, actress Paula Prentiss, recognized comedy as an intelligent genre to make social comments, with Stepford as a metaphor. With moving dolls bestowed with graceful movements, dressed in long dresses, wearing pamela hats, and carrying parasols, the tone of the sophisticated American comedy seemed appropriate to tell this horror story.

The connection with dolls is established since the first sequence, when the Eberhart family is moving to Stepford following father Walter's unilateral decision, and the kids call mother Joanna's attention to someone carrying an undressed mannequin across the street in New York City: this similitude is used again, most notably when Joanna hosts the Stepford husbands, dressed in a flesh-colored suit.

Once in Stepford, the suburb is described as a liberal place with good schools, low taxes, pure air, and businesses dedicated to electronics. In Stepford you can sleep with your doors open. Wives are all dressed up, they have no interest in women's rights, and except for Bobbie Markowe and Charmaine Wimpiris, the rest --when not cooking or ironing-- complain of not being able to bake every day or would promote a brand of starch spray for free, just because it is such a good product. The husbands are as boring and robot-like as their wives. They're all successful professionals, who obediently have joined the men's association, which turns into Joanna's nightmare and builds the tension of the film.

There is little suspense in «The Stepford Wives,» as we know it in other movies: from the beginning we know that something is wrong, but the filmmakers make us watch the anomalous situation with music that is far from horror or suspense. What Forbes and company do is to tease us because we know that Joanna will become "Playmate of the Year", according to sketches made by an ex-illustrator from Playboy magazine, and technical specifications of a former Disney executive. When Joanna understands why Carol Van Sant acts like a zombie, why Charmaine hangs her tennis outfit for good, and why Bobbie turns into a painstaking housekeeper, Joanna is confronted with her own replica. Why? Because the men can. As if saying "Me Tarzan, you second person, you stick to the loser position in a game that I always win".

«The Stepford Wives» reminds me of another movie, L. G. Berlanga's «Grandeur nature» (Life-Size), in which Michel Piccoli buys himself a plastic doll to replace his wife. Berlanga and scriptwriters Rafael Azcona and Jean-Claude Carrière emphasized psychological aspects. On «Stepford,» while many of its comments add spice to the story (someone affirms that blackmail is what makes America great, another male has been sent to Panama to arrange a new revolution), they point to social and political reasons instead to explain this state of things, of this dehumanized community that money and know-how can buy. The technological paranoia enters the main bedroom. The male, confronted with the agony of some of his gender's privileges, his false attributes and wrong values, hits against the female. This may seem pessimistic, but it is also quite realistic.

The points «The Stepford Wives» made, created a controversy when it was released in 1975. Since then, science has advanced. Maybe now they can make better Stepford wives, that cannot be altered by liquor or a stab, but many things related to the human heart remain the same. The problem will persist as long as our egotistic approach to our fellow human beings of any gender remains the same, making the film actual still today.

This movie holds up surprisingly well, nearly twenty five years after its first release. The premise could still intrigue today - there are still men who would like nothing better than to have the women in their lives be less human. I guess now women want the same things and this is known as progress.

Anywho, the movie is great and if it were up to me, Katherine Ross' birthday would be a national holiday. She is terrific and beautiful and is matched by best buddy Paula Prentiss. Tina Louise and Nanette ("I'll die if I don't get this recipe") Newman are also memorable. The final shots of Ross are chilling, and top off a memorable movie.

"The Stepford Wives" certainly isn't the greatest thriller ever made, it isn't one of my all-time favorite movies, yet I've probably seen it 25 times and I'm always willing to return for more of its creepy, seductive ambiance. Director Bryan Forbes has created a funny/sinister atmosphere surrounding a secretive society of men in suburbia who exchange chilling glances and lines when they are alone ("She cooks as good as she looks, Ted."). It does however feature a very moody and unhappy Katharine Ross at the center, and it's easy to see why somebody might want to bump her off: she gripes, she complains, she stalks out of rooms flicking her long, thick hair out of her face. When Patrick O'Neal tells Ross at a social gathering that he used to work at Disneyland, she balks, "You don't look like someone who enjoys making other people happy." This just after meeting the man! Thank goodness then for happily crass and vulgar Paula Prentiss as Katharine's gal-pal Bobbie. Prentiss overdoes it a bit, but she comes into the picture at the right time and gives it an extra lift. The scenario (a squeaky clean Connecticut community) is gleefully turned inside out to reveal sinister underpinnings, and I loved Ross' sequence with the psychiatrist (who seems convinced by Katharine's outlandish story, which is a nice change of pace). No, it isn't art (or even the black comedy screenwriter William Goldman says he intended it to be), but "The Stepford Wives" is smooth, absorbing and enjoyable. It cooks as good as it looks. ***1/2 from ****

Classy adaptation from Ira Levin's best seller with script by prestigious William Goldman and stars beauty Katharina Ross . This very thrilling and suspense story from the author of Rosemary's Baby deals with the charming Joanna (Katharine Ross) along with her hubby Walker (Peter Masterson) and children tired of the rat race move from bustling Manhattan towards the quaint little town of Stepford (Conneticut) , a really modern and upper class location . She doesn't like the bizarre neighborhood with attractive and perfect but unintelligent housewives . She gets suspects and is concerned when many wives spend their lives in domestic slavery , as they seem to delight in moronic conversation and are strangely content and subservient to their hubbies . Joanna early befriends a pair good friends (Paula Prentiss , Tina Louise) . Meanwhile , her husband joins the mysterious Stepford Men's club (run by a powerful Patrick O'Neal and married another too perfect wife ) which takes place in an old Manor house . Joanna soon discovers there lies a dark truth about the strange and servitude behavior in the all female residents and the sinister secrets hidden in the Stepford town . As the truth about the wives is more terrifying and shocking that their lives . ¨Something strange is happening in the town of Stepford. Where the men spend their nights doing something secret . And every woman acts like every man's dream of the "perfect" wife. Where a young woman watches the dream become a nightmare. And sees the nightmare engulf her best friend. And realizes that any moment, any second - her turn is coming¨.

This enjoyable film is a sci-fi/thriller with a twsted plot , intriguing and suspenseful elements and a little bit of drama . Being almost a classic film , faithfully based on an Ira Levin novel , retelling several creepy and eerie events when a newcomer woman arriving in Stepford decides to investigate the rare happenings occurring in the rare , sleepy little town . A nice and original idea given light touch with a neat twist at the final . Although , it's a shame that first hour or so of this film is so slow , resulting to be in some moments briefly dull . The casting is frankly well as the fine trio of protagonists : Katharine Ross , Peter Masterson and Paula Prentiss , all of them giving terrific performances . As well as an excellent support cast , such as : Nanette Newman , Patrick O'Neal , William Prince , Carol Rossen, George Coe , Dee Wallace Stone , Michael Higgins , Josef Sommer and seven-year-old Mary Stuart Masterson, who is daughter of the starring , in her first film role . Special mention for atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Owen Roitzman who photographed The Exorcist . As well as moving and thrilling musical score by Michael Small . This is the classic rendition , this is the old version well directed by expert filmmaker Brian Forbes resulting in a splendid chiller and considered to be very superior to remake ¨The Stepford wives¨ 2004 that was preferably an amiable comedy regularly directed by Frank Oz with Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick , Bette Midler and John Lovitz ; this latter being heavily re-edited and re-written following test screenings , with new scenes shot and others deleted . This¨Stepford wives¨ 1975 was followed three inferior sequels : ¨Revenge Stepford wives ¨, ¨Stepford children¨, ¨Stepford husbands¨ . The picture will appeal to thriller fans . Rating : Notable 7/10 . Better than average.

So I watched both versions of the Stepford Wives back to back. And, of course, the original is better but not for obvious reasons. Basically the newer version is a wannabe Tim Burton movie that fails on all levels.

But whatever, this is a review for the original, which is a well made semi-horror film. But the film doesn't work if you know the ending because the film is more of a mystery than a horror. You know something isn't right with the wives living in Stepford, but you don't know just what and you're trying to figure it out with the lead actress. But woah, this film must have sparked a lot of controversy back in the days. Even by today's standards it seems almost as extreme as "Get Out." And boy how we need "Get Out's" with all the madness going on, must have been the same deal with women back then, or maybe Hollywood was late to the party considering this came out in the late 70s. Whatever. It is an entertaining film if you go into it knowing as little as possible.

It's about Joanna an anxious mom/photographer. Whose husband made her move away from new York to a Mayberry like town if Mayberry was in the twilight zone. She loves her kids and her dogs but her relationship with her husband... Sucks. It slowly unfolds how bad it is and why she is so unhappy.

All of her friends start out normal then they come back from a second honeymoon moon behaving very strangely talking in commercials. Is their something in the water or is something strange going on at the haunted looking mansion?

I love the actress who plays Joanna and adored wacky neighbor ladies. They were both pretty famous back in the day. Also liked the ambiguous ending.

I think they could have went further with it though ? Also wouldn't the kids start to notice something is off or other people interacting with them notice something ain't right?

Joanna Eberhardt (Katharine Ross) and husband Walter (Peter Masterson) move their family from Manhattan to a quiet suburb called Stepford. All of the wives there seem to be completely subservient to their husbands. Before long, Joanna begins to suspect there may be more to the housewives' behavior than meets the eye. She also wonders if the mysterious Men's Association, of which her husband is the newest member, is behind it all.

I liked this movie a lot more than I expected to. I've read before that the film was too slow but I enjoyed the pacing. I went into this knowing, more or less, what the plot was all about so I wasn't surprised by much. Still it was an enjoyable "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" type of thriller with some sci-fi elements and dark humor. The cast is good. Ross isn't a favorite of mine but she's fine here. Paula Prentiss is the standout, however. Her effortless and charismatic performance as the Ethel to Katharine Ross' Lucy helped soften the somewhat icy Ross. Tina Louise is also in it and enjoyable. The only real fault casting-wise is Nanette Newman, wife of the director. She doesn't seem the right fit for her part. But otherwise the movie has a solid cast. It's an entertaining film. It obviously has some subtext to it that many will find interesting to chew on. Whether you're one of them or not, it's got enough going for it to make for an enjoyable straightforward viewing experience.

Katharine Ross gives her best performance in this modern day horror / science fiction masterpiece. For odd, but explainable reasons, the Stepford Wives looks a little like Suspiria and I Spit on Your Grave. Since it was shot in the 1970's, the movie is somewhat of a time machine that allows us to look back at a different time. The ending's climax makes the movie a true horror movie as the hallway's of the Men's Association looks a lot like the Girl's Dance Conservatory in Suspiria. The look of the movie seems low budget at times, but this simple use of direction and story telling adds to the setting of Stepford. Ross is perfect for the role. It is a giant slap in the face when Ross sees her robot-like self with bigger breasts that her. This adds to the idea of Men wanting to control their wives and wanting certain things from them. Even for the 1970's, this is a giant push back to the 1950's with human / women's rights. Scary and utterly horrific by the end, the Stepford Wives is a success as the movie makes its audience think.

The urban aspirant photographer Joanna Eberhart (Katharine Ross) moves from Manhattan to Stepford, Connecticut, Massachussets with her family. Her husband Walter Eberhart (Peter Masterson) decided to live in a calm suburb, but Joanna did not like the neighborhood with beautiful and perfect housewives. She becomes friend of Bobbie Markowe (Paula Prentiss) and Charmaine Wimperis (Tina Louise), and when they change their behaviors and viewpoints, Joanna discloses a dark secret in the place.

On 21 April 2005, I saw the remake of "The Stepford Wives" and I found it a funny entertainment. However, the original adaptation of Ira Levin's book is a suspenseful and very dark sci-fi, and certainly better and better than the 2005's version. When I was a teenager, Katharine Ross was one of my favorite actresses, and she is perfect in the role of an intelligent woman finding the truth hidden behind the complacency of such dedicated wives. The pace of this thriller is adequate, and the direction of Bryan Forbes is very good. I do not know why this great movie has not been released on VHS or DVD in Brazil. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "As Esposas de Stepford" ("The Wives of Stepford")

I found this original Stepford Wives from the 70's to far exceed the recent one. It's also scarier and It's way less formula with much more storyline.

One hopes that director Bryan Forbes and indeed source novelist Ira Levin were being highly satirical with this very chauvinistic tale in which the good ladies of Stepford seem to conform to a very man-centric view about what constitutes the perfect wife. The womenfolk in this small backwood town seem to exist only to cater to the every need of their husbands, uniformly deferring to them in everything, from ensuring their man has a hearty dinner waiting for them when they return to their spotlessly cleaned home after a hard day at work, to indulging their every whim even in the bedroom. These women certainly know their place and appear perfectly happy in their docile domesticity, allowing the men to meet up together and rule the roost even though it's clear that these guys are all self-important, narcissistic bozos who'd struggle to put their trousers on the right way round, if left to themselves.

Into this idyllic Big Boys Town comes Katherine Ross, as Joanna Elkhart, a young photographer married to her city-slicker lawyer husband with their two young kids, the family craving a change of pace as well as place, but she's immediately struck by the bland, obedient ways of all the wives she meets in town as well as the strangely similar outdated clothes they wear, all white lace and plunging neck-lines. She pals up with another newbie, Paula Prentiss's gobby Bobbie, but then when even she suddenly turns into a welcome-mat wife like all the rest, her suspicions are aroused and she determines to ascertain the truth, which she does at dead of night in a roaring thunderstorm, natch, at the big old house in the centre of town presided over by the apparent leader of the men's association, played by the sinister Patrick O'Neal.

Filmed in a dreamy, gauzy, very 70's style by Forbes, rather like a glossy TV advert, it certainly draws you in to its super-indulgent men-only fantasy-world, up until the last half-hour as the truth is uncovered and we move into horror-film territory. Watching it, I was reminded of that other classic male-fantasy movie of the time, Michael Crichton's "Westworld", although here, at least there's no sign that this boys-only nirvana is going to end anytime soon.

Like I said, I'm guessing and hoping that director Forbes is taking a side and striking a blow for woman's lib in the battle-of-the-sexes argument which was raging at the time. I do think he made a mistake however in casting, as he usually does in fact, his English wife Nanette Newman as one of the wives as she's too old and mumsy for her part.

Very much a film of its time, in subject-matter, standpoint and visual style, it does leave the viewer with a sense of disquiet but also one would hope, distaste for the caveman attitudes perpetuated in the movie.

The Stepford Wives was a huge disappointment. I expected something much more riveting. Rosemary's Baby, also based on another Ira Levin book, was far better. This one dragged from start to finish. Even accomplished actors Katharine Ross and Paula Prentiss couldn't rescue this slow motion movie. I'm not saying that this isn't an interesting period piece. Made in the early 1970's it shows the disquiet of young, educated women about marriage and becoming a domestic robot. Many women of the time expressed the need to avoid becoming kitchen queens, keeping a perfect house and being sexually attractive. Some of the dialogue makes this very clear in a humorous and mocking way. Some of the scenes of the women are quite pointed. For example, conversations about domestic cleaning solutions at a serious meeting where Katharine Ross and Paula Prentiss try to encourage some awareness raising about the emptiness of their lives. The supermarket scene of the wives dressed like domestic sex goddesses was like fodder for the college crowd in 1975. It was genuinely funny. There is some over the top drama where Katharine Ross tries take a stand against the town's conspiracy to make all families into robotic commercial style icons of the advertising world. Directed by Bryan Forbes, the movie clearly had points to make but lacked coherence and was marred by an overlong and far fetched story that wouldn't connect with the audience then or now.