What? (1972)

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Gérard Brach (writer)
Roman Polanski (writer)

Release Date:

3 October 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The kinkiest caper of the year!

Plot:

A young American woman (Sydne Rome) traveling through Italy finds herself in a strange Mediterranean villa where nothing seems right...

Plot Keywords:

Upskirt | Diving Gear | Bizarre | American Abroad | Whip

Cast

Marcello Mastroianni	...	Alex
Sydne Rome	...	Nancy
Hugh Griffith	...	Joseph Noblart
Guido Alberti	...	Priest
Gianfranco Piacentini	...	Tony
Carlo Delle Piane	...	Young Oaf #1 in Car
Mario Bussolino	...	Young Oaf #2 in Car
Henning Schlüter	...	Catone
Christiane Barry	...	Dresser
Pietro Tordi	...	Man-Servant
Nerina Montagnani	...	Chambermaid
Mogens von Gadow	...	German
Dieter Hallervorden	...	German
Elisabeth Witte	...	Nurse
John Karlsen	...	Edward

Also Known As:

Che? (Italy)
Diary of Forbidden Dreams (USA) (recut version)
Quoi? (France)
Was? (West Germany)

Runtime:

114 min | Argentina:115 min | USA:112 min

Country:

Italy | France | West Germany

Language:

English | Italian | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:18 | USA:R (re-rating) (1976) | USA:X (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15

Company:

Compagnia Cinematografica Champion

Trivia:

When producer Robert Evans was trying to coax Roman Polanski to direct Chinatown (1974), he found Polanski thoroughly absorbed with this film, to the extent that he had bought a 50% share in it. Evans eventually lured Polanski by saying that whatever "What" made in its opening week, he would pay him as his salary for directing "Chinatown". Polanski readily agreed to this, expecting "What" to do well as he considered it the best thing he had done up to that point. Unluckily for Polanski, "What" only grossed $64 on its first week.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Nancy's hands are well manicured throughout the movie, but quite ordinary during close-ups, when she's supposedly playing the piano.

Movie Connections:

References Citizen Kane (1941)

A dream turned into a movie

This movie never ever has been a financial success and many consider it to be Polanski's worst movie ever. This fact proves that only few persons are able to actually recognize what that movie really is, namely an absolute masterpiece. Never ever before a dream was turned that excellently into a movie. Of course, the mainstream viewer's mind is too small to recognize all the Freudian visions hidden in the different scenes. But somebody with a rest of intellect, whose mind is not totally standardized to American mainstream taste, will realize that it actually is not about a soft porn or a comedy but about the visualisation of a dream. Mr. Sigmund Freud had liked it!