One of Italy's most commercially successful films, <I>Bitter Rice</I> packed theaters around the world despite being banned by the Legion of Decency in the United States. Though intended as a scathing indictment of harsh conditions endured by women laboring in Italy's rice fields, the film's enormous popularity was largely attributed to the erotic appeal of young Silvana Mangano. The former Miss Rome became a star overnight for her sultry debut as an impoverished yet voluptuous laborer who turns down the chance to emigrate to a better life in South America in favor of a steamy affair with her best friend's lover. Ironically, Marxist writer and director Giuseppe De Santis, one of the founders of Italy's post-World War II neorealist movement, virtually brought the genre to an end with <I>Bitter Rice</I> by demonstrating that sex was a far greater draw than social criticism.
Viewer Reviews Like the others, I ordered this film months ago. It has not arrived. Every few weeks, Amazon notes that there has been a further delay. If the film is not available, why is Amazon advertising this item?
