MovieChat Forums > Giù la testa (1972) Discussion > Is Juan raping an old lady necessary?

Is Juan raping an old lady necessary?

posted 15 years ago by A_Fistful_of_Pennies
20 replies | jump to latest

It's such a weird and unnecessary event in this movie. I mean, yeah they want to establish that Juan is actually a pretty bad guy, but I think it could have been done in a more effective and less stupid way.

I mean, it doesn't really effectively develop character or advance the plot. Leone has lots o' rape scenes in his movies, but the ones in Once Upon a Time in America and For a Few Dollars More at least advance the plot/build character.
This one just didn't feel necessary to me, it just felt weird and out of place.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] TheEnigmaticRonin 15 years ago

if you are talking about the one early in the movie, then I don't think it was unnecessary at all...

" Look, there's two women fuc*ing a polar bear!" - Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas 1998

[–] nu-day 15 years ago

I must've missed something but rapes in OUATITW and FAFDM....what rapes? I didn't see any!

[–] AlbertTheFlasher 14 years ago

Fistful Of Pennies said Once Upon A Time in AMERICA (not West), and that movie had two rape scenes; one in which Noodles rapes Carol, and the other where he rapes Deborah (which is made quite clear in the complete, uncut version on DVD).

As for For A Few Dollars More, there is that flashback scene that shows Indio raping Mortimer's sister.

[–] lastmidnite2 14 years ago

an "old lady"????? What was she, 35??

[–] Hancock_the_Superb 14 years ago

FAFDM - the flashbacks with Indio.

OUATITW - arguably Jill and Frank. I see it as a seduction rather than an outright rape.

"I will treat these paltry interruptions with the attention they deserve."

[–] McTaffity 14 years ago

It wasn't a rape, watch the previous scene in the carriage again and concentrate on how this lady and Juan communicate with eachother - then it's obvious. Although Juan is a a petty criminal, he's not capable of the cruelty of rape.

[–] elmparkstick 14 years ago

Strange to say that Maria Monti who was 35, maybe 36 is an old lady!!!
I'm 48 so she's a young beauty to me in the film.

I just checked, when this film was being shot she was 34 and had her 35th birthday. I don't know the exact days she worked on it though.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Hancock_the_Superb 14 years ago

I don't have any problems with this comment, but how would you classify the Noodles-Max standoff at the end of Once Upon a Time in America?

"I will treat these paltry interruptions with the attention they deserve."

[–] onepotato2 13 years ago

Gimme a break.

A man made this movie and the rape reflects men's goofy ideas that women really want it. Her motives are in the hnads of male writers, and a male director. She changes her mind as a pathetic narrative excuse to let them off the hook. I'm not a big fan of censoring, but the rape scene is really distasteful.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] paudie 13 years ago

mgtblp,

Even if she is giving him signals (and I think you are right that Leone makes it clear that she is) the idea that that woman was "gagging for it" with a bandit strikes me as pure male fantasy rather than a realistic plotline.

I didn't think it added anything to the film and took away from an excellent opening sequence.

You're an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks, to collect a bill

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] dr-kandimba-1 8 years ago

Not only distasteful but incredibly misogynistic. It almost ruined the movie for me, as it made me incapable of sympathizing with Juan, even though I felt like the movie was headed that way. Again, not only is a rape scene in the beggining unnecessary for the story but the whole notion that a woman who is about to get raped suddenly changes her mind and is eager for being forced after seeing a guy's penis is something out of a terrible porn movie.

[–] marcigabrielle 14 years ago

The "rape" is there to make the point that Juan is smarter than all the snobs in that wagon.

They can deceive each other with their hypocrisy, but he's seen right through them.

---
Space For Sale.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] whynotwriteme (7114) 5 years ago

Funny, when I first saw it I was 15 and she was an old lady. Now, I just watched it again in my early 50s and she actually looks pretty hot. He didn't rape her, though. Juan just rapidly removed the social barriers preventing them from getting together.

[–] Foster (876) 9 months ago

Read the whole thread and haven't seen this many lame answers in one spot for a long time

It is APPARANT to me that you did NOT pay attention to anything that happened before the rape