40 TOP WOMEN FILMS. Films based on female characters.
by eressos81 | created - 8 months ago | updated - 6 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Persona (1966)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, Thriller
A nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook, Gunnar Björnstrand
Votes: 130,885
2. Belle de Jour (1967)
R | 100 min | Drama, Romance
A frigid young housewife decides to spend her midweek afternoons as a prostitute.
Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli, Geneviève Page
Votes: 49,043 | Gross: $0.03M
3. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
PG | 122 min | Drama
Disturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law while her reality crumbles around her.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden
Votes: 114,318 | Gross: $8.00M
4. La Femme Nikita (1990)
R | 117 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Convicted felon Nikita isn't going to jail; she's given a new identity and trained, stylishly, as a top secret spy/assassin.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Anne Parillaud, Marc Duret, Patrick Fontana, Alain Lathière
Votes: 76,423 | Gross: $5.02M
5. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Passed | 114 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Stars: Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz
Votes: 60,646 | Gross: $0.02M
6. Repulsion (1965)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A sex-repulsed woman who disapproves of her sister's boyfriend sinks into depression and has horrific visions of rape and violence.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Yvonne Furneaux
Votes: 57,270
7. Possession (1981)
R | 124 min | Drama, Horror
A woman starts exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking her husband for a divorce. Suspicions of infidelity soon give way to something much more sinister.
Director: Andrzej Zulawski | Stars: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent
Votes: 42,824 | Gross: $1.11M
8. Viridiana (1961)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama
Viridiana, a young nun about to take her final vows, pays a visit to her widowed uncle at the request of her Mother Superior.
Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Silvia Pinal, Francisco Rabal, Fernando Rey, José Calvo
Votes: 26,123
9. Gilda (1946)
Approved | 110 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Romance
A small-time gambler hired to work in a Buenos Aires casino discovers his employer's new wife is his former lover.
Director: Charles Vidor | Stars: Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready, Joseph Calleia
Votes: 35,260
10. Cabaret (1972)
PG | 124 min | Drama, Music, Musical
A female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.
Director: Bob Fosse | Stars: Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Joel Grey
Votes: 59,384 | Gross: $42.77M
11. Mamma Roma (1962)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
An ex-prostitute reunites with her son, but an extortion scheme threatens her aspirations for a decent life.
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: Anna Magnani, Ettore Garofolo, Franco Citti, Silvana Corsini
Votes: 10,470
12. Der blaue Engel (1930)
Passed | 104 min | Drama, Music, Romance
An elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer.
Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich, Kurt Gerron, Rosa Valetti
Votes: 16,292 | Gross: $0.08M
13. The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972)
Not Rated | 124 min | Drama, Romance
A troubled fashion designer strikes up a romance with a much younger woman.
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Stars: Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla, Katrin Schaake, Eva Mattes
Votes: 11,038
14. Betty Blue (1986)
Unrated | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A lackadaisical handyman and aspiring novelist tries to support his younger girlfriend as she slowly succumbs to madness.
Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix | Stars: Jean-Hugues Anglade, Béatrice Dalle, Gérard Darmon, Consuelo De Haviland
Votes: 23,342 | Gross: $2.00M
15. Tristana (1970)
PG-13 | 99 min | Drama
Shortly after her mother's death, an innocent and youthful woman will find refuge into the household of her middle-aged aristocratic guardian, who will submit her to his sexual advances.
Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Fernando Rey, Franco Nero, Lola Gaos
Votes: 12,824 | Gross: $0.01M
16. Veronika Voss (1982)
R | 104 min | Drama
Partially based on the life of Sybille Schmitz, who found fame under the Nazi regime, but whose career was destroyed afterward. Veronika Voss is a once prominent UFA actress, kept by her doctor, who raises suspicion in a sports journalist.
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Stars: Rosel Zech, Hilmar Thate, Cornelia Froboess, Annemarie Düringer
Votes: 7,786
17. Queen Margot (1994)
R | 161 min | Biography, Drama, History
Young Queen Margot finds herself trapped in an arranged marriage amidst a religious war between Catholics and Protestants. She hopes to escape with a new lover, but finds herself imprisoned by her powerful and ruthless family.
Director: Patrice Chéreau | Stars: Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Vincent Perez
Votes: 18,992 | Gross: $2.02M
18. Marnie (1964)
PG | 130 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Mark marries Marnie although she is a habitual thief and has serious psychological problems, and tries to help her confront and resolve them.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery, Martin Gabel, Louise Latham
Votes: 53,834 | Gross: $7.00M
19. Sue (1997)
R | 91 min | Drama
An unemployed ex-office worker (Anna Thomson) searching for work floats a fragile line of sanity as she struggles to find friendship and companionship. Her tenuous grasp on reality further ... See full summary »
Director: Amos Kollek | Stars: Anna Thomson, Matthew Powers, Tahnee Welch, Tracee Ellis Ross
Votes: 1,496 | Gross: $0.05M
20. No Sympathy for the Devil (1997)
82 min | Romance, Sci-Fi
A romance of extremes in Athens tomorrow. A cashier finds true love in the face of a young waitress who has just been released from prison. When he looses her, he travels all the way to get her back.
Director: Dimitris Athanitis | Stars: Kostas Kazanas, Lena Kitsopoulou, Giorgos Kotanidis, Panos Thanassoulis
Votes: 119
21. That Most Important Thing: Love (1975)
R | 109 min | Drama, Romance
Servais Mont, a photographer, meets Nadine Chevalier who earns her money starring in cheap soft-core movies. Trying to help her, he borrows the money from the loan sharks to finance the ... See full summary »
Director: Andrzej Zulawski | Stars: Romy Schneider, Fabio Testi, Jacques Dutronc, Claude Dauphin
Votes: 4,648 | Gross: $0.02M
22. Lola Montès (1955)
Not Rated | 116 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
When she is reduced to appearing in a circus, a notorious beauty thinks back on her past loves.
Director: Max Ophüls | Stars: Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook, Henri Guisol
Votes: 6,048 | Gross: $0.11M
23. Europe '51 (1952)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama
A wealthy woman becomes obsessed with humanitarianism when her young son dies after committing suicide.
Director: Roberto Rossellini | Stars: Ingrid Bergman, Alexander Knox, Ettore Giannini, Giulietta Masina
Votes: 4,785
24. Pieta (2012)
Not Rated | 103 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A loan shark is forced to reconsider his violent lifestyle after the arrival of a mysterious woman claiming to be his long-lost mother.
Director: Kim Ki-duk | Stars: Jo Min-soo, Lee Jung-Jin, Woo Ki-hong, Eunjin Kang
Votes: 15,766 | Gross: $0.02M
25. Women in Love (1969)
R | 131 min | Drama, Romance
Two best friends fall in love with a pair of women, but the relationships soon go in very different directions.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson, Jennie Linden
Votes: 8,553 | Gross: $1.03M
26. A Woman Is a Woman (1961)
Not Rated | 84 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An exotic dancer is desperate to become a mother and accepts her reluctant boyfriend's suggestion that she be impregnated by his best friend.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Anna Karina, Jean-Claude Brialy, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Henri Attal
Votes: 19,188 | Gross: $0.10M
27. Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
Not Rated | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Visions, memories, and mysticism all help a 40-something woman to find the strength to leave her cheating husband.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu, Valentina Cortese
Votes: 14,715 | Gross: $0.08M
28. Diva (1981)
R | 117 min | Crime, Music, Thriller
Two tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed all twist their way through an intricate and stylish French-language thriller.
Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix | Stars: Wilhelmenia Fernandez, Frédéric Andréi, Roland Bertin, Richard Bohringer
Votes: 14,312 | Gross: $0.11M
29. Blonde Venus (1932)
Passed | 93 min | Drama
A cabaret singer takes up with a millionaire to pay for her gravely-ill husband's operation.
Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant, Herbert Marshall, Dickie Moore
Votes: 5,621
30. Blanche (1971)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, History
Blanche is the young, pure, beautiful wife of the Master of the castle, in a secluded land. Every man is in love with her, including the King and his servant Bartolomeo, visiting the Master.
Director: Walerian Borowczyk | Stars: Michel Simon, Georges Wilson, Jacques Perrin, Ligia Branice
Votes: 1,008
31. Mideia (2022)
82 min | Drama
Medea, Jason, and their two children live as refugees in the Greek city of Corinth. When Jason abandons her to marry the king's daughter, Medea is forced to leave the country, on penalty of death.
Director: Dimitris Athanitis | Stars: Alexandra Kazazou, Markos Papadokostantakis, Kostas Kazanas, Lefteris Tsatsis
Votes: 26
32. A Woman in Flames (1983)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama
Eva, an upper-class housewife, frustratingly leaves her arrogant husband and decides to enter the call girl business. She lets Yvonne, a prostitute, teach her the basics and both set out ... See full summary »
Director: Robert van Ackeren | Stars: Gudrun Landgrebe, Mathieu Carrière, Hanns Zischler, Gabriele Lafari
Votes: 639
33. Fiona (1998)
85 min | Drama
Despite the fact that Fiona has lived apart from her mother, they lead parallel lives as bi-sexual prostitutes. The meeting of the two women spells tragedy for the mother and hope for the daughter.
Director: Amos Kollek | Stars: Anna Thomson, Felicia Maguire, Alyssa Mulhern, Anna Grace
Votes: 647
34. Immoral Women (1979)
114 min | Drama
Three erotic tales: 1) Raphael's muse poses as his lover, witnessing his final moments. 2) A young girl's disturbing obsession with a stuffed rabbit. 3) A wealthy woman is kidnapped, and her dog attempts a rescue mission.
Director: Walerian Borowczyk | Stars: Marina Pierro, Gaëlle Legrand, Pascale Christophe, François Guétary
Votes: 870
35. Three Days Happiness (2012)
80 min | Drama, Thriller
In Athens, a city that decays, three young women are struggling to find their way out. As their paths cross in an unexpected way, they are driven to a violent adulthood.
Director: Dimitris Athanitis | Stars: Alexandra Aidini, Katerina Fotiadi, Nikol Drizi, Dimitris Agartzidis
Votes: 51
36. The Story of Sin (1975)
R | 130 min | Drama
A beautiful Polish girl traveling around Europe in search of her lover suffers a variety of tragic adventures as the men around her try to fit her into their own selfish schemes.
Director: Walerian Borowczyk | Stars: Grazyna Dlugolecka, Jerzy Zelnik, Olgierd Lukaszewicz, Roman Wilhelmi
Votes: 881
37. City of Women (1980)
R | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A businessman finds himself trapped at a hotel and threatened by women en masse.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Prucnal, Bernice Stegers, Jole Silvani
Votes: 8,106 | Gross: $0.01M
38. The Public Woman (1984)
113 min | Drama
An inexperienced young actress is invited to play a role in a film based on Dostoyevsky's 'The Possessed'. The film director, a Czech immigrant in Paris, takes over her life, and in a short... See full summary »
Director: Andrzej Zulawski | Stars: Francis Huster, Valérie Kaprisky, Lambert Wilson, Patrick Bauchau
Votes: 1,772
39. Les Biches (1968)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama
Architect Paul Thomas insinuates himself into the relationship of two bisexual women living in a St. Tropez villa with tragic consequences.
Director: Claude Chabrol | Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacqueline Sassard, Stéphane Audran, Nane Germon
Votes: 3,559
40. The Venus Trap (1988)
107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
30-year-old Max works as an emergency doctor in a Berlin hospital. He has been in love with the attractive Coco for a long time, with whom he shares a well-kept apartment. Coco jealously ... See full summary »
Director: Robert van Ackeren | Stars: Myriem Roussel, Horst Günter Marx, Sonja Kirchberger, Hanns Zischler
Votes: 484
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