The Witches (Le streghe)

Gathering five short stories in the tradition of Italian comedy, Le streghe (The Witches), a 1967 Italian-French anthology film, moves between comedy and drama. Dino De Laurentiis produced it; the production dates from 1965 and it premiered on 22 February 1967. The stories have no plot connection; what they share is the position of women in Italian society and the figure of the witch.

Each segment has a different director: Luchino Visconti made La strega bruciata viva, Mauro Bolognini Senso civico, Pier Paolo Pasolini La Terra vista dalla luna, Franco Rossi La siciliana and Vittorio De Sica Una sera come le altre. Silvana Mangano stars in all five, each time playing the witch in the guise of a different woman. Alberto Sordi, Totò, Annie Girardot, Massimo Girotti, Francisco Rabal, Helmut Berger and Ninetto Davoli are also in the cast, while Clint Eastwood appears only in the last segment, De Sica's story.

The screenwriting credits include Cesare Zavattini, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Fabio Carpi, and the music is by Piero Piccioni and Ennio Morricone. The film is counted among De Laurentiis's eclectic productions and was the last Totò film released in his lifetime.