IMDb RATING
7.1/10
5.7K
YOUR RATING
Wanda, a lonely housewife, drifts through mining country until she meets a petty thief who takes her in.Wanda, a lonely housewife, drifts through mining country until she meets a petty thief who takes her in.Wanda, a lonely housewife, drifts through mining country until she meets a petty thief who takes her in.
- Awards
- 2 wins
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWanda (1970) was the first feature-length film to be written, directed and acted in by a woman --- Barbara Loden.
- GoofsAll entries contain spoilers
- Quotes
Norman Dennis: If you don't want anything you won't have anything, and if you don't have anything, you're as good as dead.
- Alternate versionsPROLOGUE TO 2010 RESTORATION: "Wanda has been preserved from the original 16mm color reversal a/b rolls, the original 16mm optical tract, and an original 35mm release print. Digital restoration has been conducted on selected sequences to repair damage to the source elements. In keeping with the film's low budget, certain production artifacts have been left intact." "The 35mm preservation elements restore Wanda's original sound mix and shooting aspect ratio. Restoration completed 2010."
- ConnectionsEdited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Fatale beauté (1994)
Featured review
Frustrating Viewing Experience
"Wanda" has been hailed in the film critic community as a movie that made a huge leap forward for a certain brand of realistic method cinema. That might be true, but despite that, or maybe because of it, it's still a very frustrating viewing experience.
I literally cannot get in the head of a person like Wanda, played by the film's writer, producer, and director Barbara Loden. She's so meek, so directionless, so submissive. I don't understand how people can let themselves be treated so badly by those around them. This is two relentless hours of that, and nothing at the end of the movie is different from the beginning. Many laud Loden for her performance, but she very often came across dead in the eyes to me. But then again, maybe that was an acting choice and hers is actually a brilliant performance, because maybe that's how someone like a real-life Wanda would come across.
After the movie, which I saw on TCM, host Ben Mankiewicz was talking about how Loden based this movie and character largely on herself. She felt like there were a lot of people out there in the world who were like her, just waiting to be abused, and she wanted to make this movie so they would know they're not alone. I believe she's right, and hearing that made me appreciate the film's existence and her motivation for making it. But it didn't make me enjoy it any more or make me want to ever revisit it.
Grade: B+
I literally cannot get in the head of a person like Wanda, played by the film's writer, producer, and director Barbara Loden. She's so meek, so directionless, so submissive. I don't understand how people can let themselves be treated so badly by those around them. This is two relentless hours of that, and nothing at the end of the movie is different from the beginning. Many laud Loden for her performance, but she very often came across dead in the eyes to me. But then again, maybe that was an acting choice and hers is actually a brilliant performance, because maybe that's how someone like a real-life Wanda would come across.
After the movie, which I saw on TCM, host Ben Mankiewicz was talking about how Loden based this movie and character largely on herself. She felt like there were a lot of people out there in the world who were like her, just waiting to be abused, and she wanted to make this movie so they would know they're not alone. I believe she's right, and hearing that made me appreciate the film's existence and her motivation for making it. But it didn't make me enjoy it any more or make me want to ever revisit it.
Grade: B+
helpful•20
- evanston_dad
- Nov 1, 2022
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $115,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $51,713
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $10,679
- Jul 22, 2018
- Gross worldwide
- $108,522
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