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{{Short description|1960 film by Vittorio De Sica}}
{{About|the 1960 Italian film||Two Women (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Two Women
| image = TwoWomenPoster.jpg
| caption = Italian theatrical release poster
| native_name = {{Infobox name module|it|La ciociara}}
| director = [[Vittorio De Sica]]
| producer = [[Carlo Ponti]]
| writer =
| screenplay = {{Plainlist|
* [[Cesare Zavattini]]
* Vittorio De Sica (uncredited)
}}
| based_on = {{based on|''[[Two Women (novel)|Two Women]]''<br>1957 novel|[[Alberto Moravia]]}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Sophia Loren]]
* [[Jean-Paul Belmondo]]
* [[Eleonora Brown]]
* [[Raf Vallone]]
}}
| music = [[Armando Trovajoli]]
| cinematography = [[Gábor Pogány]]
| editing = Adriana Novelli
| production_companies = {{Plainlist|
* Compagnia Cinematografica Champion
* Les Films Marceau
* [[Cocinor]]
* Société Générale de Cinématographie
}}
| distributor = {{Plainlist|
* [[Titanus]] (Italy)
* Cocinor-Marceau (France)
}}
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1960|12|22|Milan premiere|1960|12|23|Italy|1961|5|17|France}}
| runtime = 100 minutes
| country = {{Plainlist|
* Italy
* France
}}
| language = {{Plainlist|
* Italian
* German
}}
| budget = $850,000
| gross = {{Plainlist|
* $7.2 million (US and Canada)<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6-EXBGEdjMIC|title=The Foreign Film Renaissance on American Screens, 1946–1973|isbn=9780299247935|last1=Balio|first1=Tino|date=5 November 2022}}</ref>
* 2,024,049 admissions (France)<ref name="BOS"/>
* 9,662,000 admissions (Italy)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficestory.com/box-office-sophia-loren-c22726523|title=Sofia Loren Box Office}}</ref>
}}
}}
'''''Two Women''''' ({{lang-it|'''La ciociara'''}} {{IPA-it|la tʃoˈtʃaːra|}}, rough literal translation "The Woman from [[Ciociaria]]") is a 1960 [[War film|war]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama]] film directed by [[Vittorio De Sica]] from a screenplay by [[Cesare Zavattini]] and De Sica, based on the [[Two Women (novel)|novel of the same name]] by [[Alberto Moravia]]. The film stars [[Sophia Loren]], [[Jean-Paul Belmondo]], [[Eleonora Brown]] and [[Raf Vallone]]. It tells the story of a woman trying to protect her young daughter from the horrors of war. The story is fictional, but based on actual events of 1944 in Rome and rural [[Lazio]], during the ''[[Marocchinate]]''.<ref>[http://www.cassino2000.com/cdsc/studi/archivio/n07/n07p09.html "1952: Il caso delle 'marocchinate' al Parlamento"]. Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref>

Loren's performance received critical acclaim, earning her an [[Academy Award for Best Actress]], among other accolades.

==Plot==
Cesira (Loren) is a widowed shopkeeper, raising her devoutly religious twelve-year-old daughter, Rosetta (Brown), in Rome during [[World War II]]. Following the bombing of Rome, mother and daughter flee to Cesira's native [[Ciociaria]], a rural, mountainous province of central Italy. The night before they go, Cesira sleeps with Giovanni (Vallone), a coal dealer in her neighbourhood, who agrees to look after her store in her absence.

After they arrive at Ciociaria, Cesira attracts the attention of Michele (Belmondo), a young local intellectual with [[communist]] sympathies. Rosetta sees Michele as a father figure and develops a strong bond with him. Michele is later taken prisoner by [[Wehrmacht|German soldiers]], who force him to act as a guide through the mountainous terrain.

After the Allies capture Rome, in June 1944, Cesira and Rosetta decide to head back to that city. On the way, the two are gang-raped inside a church by a group of ''[[Moroccan Goumier]]s'' – soldiers attached to the invading [[Allied Armies in Italy]]. Rosetta is traumatized, becoming detached and distant from her mother and no longer an innocent child.

When the two manage to find shelter at a neighbouring village, Rosetta disappears during the night, sending Cesira into a panic. She thinks Rosetta has gone to look for Michele, but later finds out that Michele was killed by the Germans. Rosetta returns, having been out with an older boy, who has given her silk stockings, despite her youth. Cesira is outraged and upset, slapping and spanking Rosetta for her behavior, but Rosetta remains unresponsive, emotionally distant. When Cesira informs Rosetta of Michele's death, Rosetta begins to cry like the little girl she had been prior to the rape. The film ends with Cesira comforting the child.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
* [[Sophia Loren]] as Cesira
* [[Jean-Paul Belmondo]] as Michele Di Libero
* [[Eleonora Brown]] as Rosetta
* [[Carlo Ninchi]] as Filippo, Michele's father
* [[Raf Vallone]] as Giovanni
* [[Andrea Checchi]] as A fascist
* [[Pupella Maggio]] as Peasant
* Bruna Cealti as Refugee
* Antonella Della Porta as A crazy mother
* Mario Frera
* [[Franco Balducci]] as German in the haystack
* Luciana Cortellesi
* [[Curt Lowens]]
* Tony Calio
* Remo Galavotti
{{div col end}}

==Production==
The film was based on a 1957 novel by [[Alberto Moravia]], ''La ciociara'' (''The Woman From Ciociaria''). It was inspired by Moravia's experiences during World War II.

[[Carlo Ponti]] bought the film rights along with Marcello Girosi for a reported US$100,000. Sophia Loren was always meant to star and there was some talk that the film might be financed by Paramount, with whom Loren had made a number of movies.<ref>{{cite news|title=JAPANESE MOVIE WILL BE ADAPTED: Alciona, U.S. Concern, to Make 'Magnificent 7' – Moravia Novel Eyed|first=Thomas|last=Pryor|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=13 May 1958|page= 26}}</ref> [[Anna Magnani]] was going to play the lead and Loren was going to be her daughter. [[George Cukor]] was going to direct as part of a two-picture deal with Ponti, the other one being ''[[Heller in Pink Tights]]'' (1960).<ref>{{cite news|title=FILM EVENTS: Cukor to Direct Loren|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=4 June 1958|page= C8}}</ref> The film was going to be shot as part of a six-picture deal between Ponti and Paramount.<ref>{{cite news|title=PRODUCERS PLAN 6 PICTURES BY '61: Ponti and Girosi Will Work With Paramount – Studio Plans Consolidation|first=Thomas|last=Pryor|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 February 1959|page= 21}}</ref>

Cukor and Paramount dropped out. Vittorio De Sica became attached as director. Magnani pulled out, supposedly because she did not want to play Loren's mother, leading to Loren taking Magnani's role, even though the former was only 25 at the time.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4QhnLOpcLfcC&q=two+women+film+sophia+loren&pg=PA77|page=77|title=Sophia Loren: Moulding the Star|first=Pauline|last= Small|publisher=Intellect Books|year=2009|isbn=9781841502342}}</ref> However, De Sica says it was his decision for Loren to play Magnani's role and cast a younger performer as the daughter "for great poignancy. If, in doing this, we moved away from original line of Moravia, we had better opportunity to stress, to underline, the monstrous impact of war on people. The historical truth is that the great majority of those raped were young girls."<ref>{{cite news|title=De Sica Would Dig for 'Deepest Layer': Ace 'Two Women' Director Says Realism Still Dominant|last=Scheuer|first= Philip K.|newspaper= Los Angeles Times|date=27 Nov 1961|page= C15}}</ref> In a 2017 interview, Brown stated that Loren protected her from some of the underlying implications of the rape scene in the film, and also stated that director De Sica brought her to tears for the climactic final scene of hearing that Belmondo's character has died, by saying that a telegram had arrived saying that Brown's parents had died in an accident.<ref name=BrownReturns>{{cite news |url=http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/spettacoli/piccola-ciociara-torna-cinema-1459511.html |title=La piccola "Ciociara" torna al cinema |first=Paolo |last=Scotti |work=[[Il Giornale]] |language=it |date=2017-11-04 |access-date=2018-02-25}}</ref>

Magnani said she was going to do it, "Moravia wanted me, but Ponti got it, and Moravia did not fight. After that, they went through all the roles I'd turned down for Sophia Loren to play."<ref>{{cite news|title=In the Beginning There Was Magnani. Then Came Loren. 'Ecco!'|first=Mark|last=Shivasrome|newspaper=The New York Times |date=29 Sep 1968|page= D17}}</ref> "The book was one of the most beautiful I've ever read", said Loren. "I thought it was worth taking the risk at 25 to play an older woman because the story was so beautiful."<ref name="desire">{{cite news|title=Positively Sophia: Sophia Loren talks about movies, her husband and children, being 40, and the power of positive thinking|first=Karin|last= von Faber|newspaper= [[Chicago Tribune]]|date=27 Oct 1974|page= h56}}</ref>
Loren later said her performance was inspired by her memories of her mother during the war.<ref>{{cite news|title=The actress wins an Oscar—and a name|newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=21 March 1979|page= b1}}</ref> She also said she was greatly helped by her experience acting in ''[[Desire Under the Elms (film)|Desire Under the Elms]]'' (1958).<ref name="desire"/>

Ponti raised money from France and Italy. French investment was conditional upon a French star being used, which lead to the casting of [[Jean-Paul Belmondo]], who had leapt to international fame in ''Breathless'' (1960). Belmondo's voice was dubbed into Italian.

==Release==
Joseph E. Levine ([[Embassy Pictures]]) agreed to buy US release rights after watching only nine minutes of the film.<ref>{{cite news|title=MOVIE PRODUCER SELLS THE PUBLIC: Joseph E. Levine Believes in Extravagant Openings|first=Murray|last=Schumach|newspaper=The New York Times|date=9 Nov 1961|page= 39}}</ref> "I bet Sophia she'd win the Oscar and I nursed that film like a baby", Levine later said.<ref name="joe">{{cite news|title=Self-Made Mogul Hangs On: Joseph E. Levine, 82, Is Still Wheeling and Dealing|last=Rosenthal|first= Donna|newspaper= Los Angeles Times|date=5 July 1987|page= K23}}</ref> He showed the film in every city that a member of the academy jury lived and promoted it assiduously. "That showed foreign films could get big audiences if promoted with flair", said Levine.<ref name="joe"/>

The movie was among the 30 most popular films at the French box office that year.<ref name="BOS">{{cite web|url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boxofficestory.com%2Fbox-office-alain-delon-c22669761%2F39 |title=1961 Box Office|website=Box Office Story}}</ref>

==Accolades==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
|-
| [[34th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Sophia Loren]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Bambi Award]]s
| Best Actress – International
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Blue Ribbon Awards]]
| [[Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Foreign Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]
| [[Vittorio De Sica]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[15th British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role|Best Foreign Actress]]
| Sophia Loren
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[1961 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes Film Festival]]
| [[Palme d'Or]]
| Vittorio De Sica
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| rowspan="2"| Sophia Loren
| {{won}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello|David di Donatello Awards]]
| [[David di Donatello for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[19th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Laurel Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Top Drama
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Nastro d'Argento]]
| [[Nastro d'Argento for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Sophia Loren
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Board of Review Awards 1961|National Board of Review Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Top Foreign Films
| {{draw|3rd Place}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[1961 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| rowspan="2"| Sophia Loren
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Sant Jordi Awards]]
| Best Performance in a Foreign Film
| {{won}}
|}

The film was submitted two days late to be eligible as the [[List of Italian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|1960 Italian entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]].<ref name=ban>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=January 15, 1969|page=41|title=Pic's Oscar Ban Stirs Rome}}</ref>

==Remakes==
''La Ciociara'' was remade for television in 1988. It was adapted by [[Diana Gould (writer)|Diana Gould]], [[Lidia Ravera]], [[Dino Risi]], and [[Bernardino Zapponi]]. It was directed by Risi, and starred Loren, [[Robert Loggia]], Leonardo Ferrantini, Dario Ghirardi, and [[Sydney Penny]]. The opera ''La Ciociara'' written by Luca Rossi, with music composed by [[Marco Tutino]], received its premiere at San Francisco Opera,<ref>[https://www.opera-online.com/en/items/productions/two-women-la-ciociara-san-francisco-opera-2015-2015 Two Women (La Ciociara) - premiered at San Francisco Opera - Composer: Marco Tutino] Retrieved 9 December 2017.</ref> and a European premiere at [[Teatro Lirico di Cagliari|Teatro Lirico, Cagliari]].<ref>[http://www.ansa.it/sardegna/notizie/2017/11/21/cagliari-prima-europea-de-la-ciociara_e18a40da-f97e-4e35-aee9-e644c4aff8d5.html "Cagliari, prima europea de La Ciociara Compositore Tutino, ''una storia di cui si parla poco''" at ansa.it/sardegna]. Retrieved 13 December 2017.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|La Ciociara (film)}}
* {{IMDb title|0054749|Two Women}}
* {{amg movie|51437}}
* [http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/99299%7C0/Two-Women.html ''Two Women''] at [[TCMDB]]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173FE177BC4153DFB366838A679EDE Review of film] at ''[[The New York Times]]''
* [http://www.lefilmguide.com/review/la-ciociara-1960.html Film page] at Le Film Guide
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|two_women}}

{{Vittorio De Sica}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''Two Women''
|list1 =
{{Blue Ribbon Award for Best Foreign Film}}
{{Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1960 drama films]]
[[Category:1960 films]]
[[Category:1960s war drama films]]
[[Category:Films about rape]]
[[Category:Films based on Italian novels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Alberto Moravia]]
[[Category:Films directed by Vittorio De Sica]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award-winning performance]]
[[Category:Films produced by Carlo Ponti]]
[[Category:Films scored by Armando Trovajoli]]
[[Category:Films set in Lazio]]
[[Category:Films set in Rome]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Cesare Zavattini]]
[[Category:French black-and-white films]]
[[Category:French war drama films]]
[[Category:Italian black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Italian Campaign of World War II films]]
[[Category:1960s Italian-language films]]
[[Category:Italian neorealist films]]
[[Category:Italian war drama films]]
[[Category:Wartime sexual violence in World War II]]
[[Category:French World War II films]]
[[Category:Italian World War II films]]
[[Category:1960s Italian films]]
[[Category:1960s French films]]

Two Women - Revision history

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