User Reviews

I watched this film a few days back and I have to admit that it is a good comic flick. In the beginning Ignazio's wife passes away. And, after that a new house maid comes to work there. Ignazio has three kids. So, eldest and the middle kid along with their father becomes enamored with the beauty of their maid Angela (Laura Antonelli). After a few days, Ignazio proposes to Angela to marry her, but the middle kid Nino doesn't want Angela to marry his father, so he makes an excuse of his younger brother that he sees his late mother.

Sooner, when Nino comes to know that he can not stop his father from marrying Angela he begins mentally torturing her, and in the end he gets what he wants. This movie is a decent sex comedy, specially considering that it was made in 1973. There is nothing very vulgar in the film, but it remains sensual throughout the film. It can be seen once at least once, for Laura Antonelli.

The sexual tension between Nino and Angela in this flick has been shown very well and specially some scenes between them are really worth watching. I give it a 6/10.

Laura antonelli did a perfect role out there but the last 15 mins of the movie is not that the end we expected. Otherwise its could be a stunning sex comedy.

I saw Malizia in a plain Italian version (no dubs, no subtitles), so I didn't understand any of the dialogue. But wow, this is probably the most erotic film I've ever seen, and will possibly ever see. This accolade is in large part due to Laura Antonelli, an actress I wasn't aware of until now. She is gorgeous and her acting is outstanding.

The action takes place in an upper-class family in Sicily, where the mother has died and is supplanted by a young housekeeper, Angela (Laura Antonelli). Although she becomes engaged to the widower rather quickly, she is no tramp or gold digger. She really enjoys being a housekeeper and mother to the three boys, although she isn't much older than some of them, and seems genuinely attached to the cavaliere. Her role is very complex and subtle -- she is attractive and coy, a girl who has taken on a very mature role. While the benjamin still misses his real mama, the teenage sons and the father are enthralled and spellbound by her.

What could be a beautifully shot erotic fluffpiece then takes a twist towards a much darker side. Realising that he won't win her over romantically, the middle son, Nino, begins to harass, blackmail and eventually dominate Angela, by exploiting her precarious social position as someone who is just a servant and at risk of being socially ostracised. I think that Angela also feels protective of her ward, and is not least not entirely unreceptive to his advances. And at the time, blowing the whistle on sexual harassment just wasn't socially acceptable -- the perpetrator was thus always at an advantage. But eventually, Angela manages to turn the table and break free from Nino.

This is not only the most erotic, it is one of the best movies I have seen, ever. It's perfect. Don't let the fact that Laura Antonelli is drop-dead gorgeous or that this is an erotic movie filmed in 1973 fool you into lumping this masterpiece in with softcore flicks from the same era.

„Malizia" is a unique crossover of comedy, coming-of-age drama and exploitation, and it's not hard to see why it was the most successful Italian film in 1973. It made Laura Antonelli a superstar and every Italian teenager's wet dream. I can really say I've seen my share of Italian movies of that time and more than enough teen/sex dramedies with Fenech, Guida, you name it, but "Malizia" outclasses those on every level.

Spoilers: While I will speak about some stuff that happens throughout the movie, I certainly will not spoil the ending or outcome.

"Malizia" is not out for cheap laughs or in-your-face slapstick. It has a subtle, humorous atmosphere, there are a couple of gags thrown in, sometimes risky, but never too vulgar or even offensive. As soon as Angela, the new housekeeper, starts working, the film quickly gains momentum and the script manages to explain the situation with some lively sequences of the new life of the widower and the three sons. Without any dialogue, those are easily carried by the fantastic score. It cleverly combines the brisky pace and the slowly building romantic aspects. If you do have a soft spot for this distinctive Italian music style, you'll be in for a 90 minutes treat. Waltz, tango, 70ies Synth - it's all in and it is always spot-on.

While at first we see the father and the oldest son courting Angela openly, the story then focuses on 14-year-old Nino, who has a pubescent crush on Angela. But he soon realizes he can't have her like he wants to, and it disgusts him even more to see her becoming engaged to his father. So he tries all he can do to prevent the marriage. And he succeeds by inventing nightmares of his dead mother, which is a big deal for the father and the local priest - mind this movie is set in the deeply catholic Sicily of the 1950ies. Modern audiences might have to think twice here, but it is definitely convincing.

Halfway through the film, the subtle, funny tone disappears and the whole thing turns darker by the minute. This is not really what one would expect in a typical sex comedy. Nino discovers that he can't prevent the marriage forever, but he can make Angela suffer for it. The lower-class girl, trying to put a brave smile on everything, has to follow her master's orders, and those orders humiliate her, take away her pride and dignity. There's not much she can do but to play along. These are the moments when Laura Antonelli's performance shines, as you can really feel for the girl, being in the hands of a sadistic boy full of sexual hatred.

All this tension culminates in a uniquely done climax that you wouldn't expect considering where it all started off some 80 minutes before. The cinematography in these sequences is excellent. This goes for the whole film by the way. It is marvelous to look at and really brings to life the past.

Laura does have a couple of nude scenes, but only short ones and in the dark, so don't expect too much. It's certainly no "Venus in furs". Nevertheless, "Malizia" does have some of the actresses' most memorable shots ever, showing her at the height of her radiant beauty. One striptease scene in particular - sizzling and unforgettable.

"Malizia" starts out harmless, lures you in and then all changes and it won't let you go. A fantastic work and a well-deserved, true classic. The box office success was certainly due to some "obvious" elements (just look at the movie poster), but "Malizia" offers much, much more. Highly recommended.

After watching Sergio Martino's disappointing Giallo film Torso,I decided to take a look at what other titles co-starring actress Tina Aumont had made.With having heard on Kim Newman and Alan Jones commentary for Dario Argento's wonderful Horror Suspiria,that Tina Aumont was offered a lead role in the title,I was delighted to discover that Aumont had worked with The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (Argento's directing debut) cinematography Vittorio Storaro on an enchanting sounding Erotic Comedy Drama,which led to me getting ready to meet Malizia for the first time.

The plot:

Sitting in the back of his dad's (Ignazio La Brocca) car after attending his mums funeral,14 year old Nino La Brocca is caught by surprise,when a strange woman sits by him.Transfixed by the woman's legs,La Brocca puts all memories of the funeral aside,and places a hand in between the woman's legs.

Getting out of the car,Nino and his brothers Enzino and Antonio are given the surprising news by their dad,that the strange woman is called Angela,and that due to the tragic passing of his wife/their mum,that Angela will be the permanent maid of the household.Keeping Nino's earlier voyeuristic interaction with her under wraps ,Angela soon begins to become a part of the family,by taking care of them,and every single other thing around the house.Whilst Angela focuses on keeping the house clean,Nino finds his interest in seeing more of Angela's skin to become a bit of an obsessive lust for Angela.

Feeling in need for their to be a 'woman's touch' in his life, Ignazio proposes to Angela that they both get married.Being whisked off her feet by Ignazio's shocking proposal,Angela happily accepts,and begins to set out plans for her and Ignazio's bright future together.Furious over his dad soon getting a permanent grip on 'his' Angela,Nino decides to take advantage of his past with Angela,as Angela begins to fear that she will have to remain a 'maid' for Nino for the rest of her life.

View on the film:

Whilst IMDb place the title under the 'Comedy' and 'Fantasy' genre listings,the screenplay by co-writer/ (along with Ottavio Jemma and Alessandro Parenzo) director Salvatore Samperi is actually a wonderfully uncomfortable Erotic Drama,with dashes of rustic Comedy and sly social commentary.Placing comedic elements at the start so as to allow the viewer to let their guard down,the writers gradually peel away the light-heart suggestion of Igbazio's wife being a 'ghost' on the family house,by showing the dangerously obsessive lust the Nino has ever since coming into contact with Angela at the drive from the funeral.Slowing turning the tension up between Nino and Angela,the writers take the film in an unexpected Horror direction,as Nino begins to reveal to Angela how (paternally) deadly his obsession has become,and how determined he is for Angela to never rise above her social class.

Closely working with cinematography Vittorio Storaro,director Salvatore Samperi gives the film an dazzling Baroque stylized appearance,with Storaro and Samperi superbly using strong,crimson autumn colour's to display the fiery lust building within Nino.Along with the stylish colours (and being backed by a stirring score from Fred Bongusto) ,Samperi also superbly uses tight,closed in tracking shots to create a strikingly icy atmosphere which perfectly expresses the tight,closed-off relationship with Nino that Angela finds herself unwillingly in.

Taking on a supporting role,the beautiful Tina Aumont gives the movie a much needed dose of flirty charm as Luciana,with Aumont's charismatic performance showing Luciana to be the only person who can get Nino's eyes off Angela.Avoiding the clear risk of simply making the character into an annoying brat,Alessandro Momo, (who sadly died in 1974 from a motorcycle accident,age 17) gives a fantastic performance as Nino,with Momo showing Nino's initial sexual awakening to gradually go in a much more darker,dominating direction,as Nino finds himself being unable to handle the image of anyone else getting to touch Angela,other then himself.

Displaying her never ending legs in her very first scene,Laura Antonelli gives an excellent performances which touches on all sides of Angela's complex personality,with Antonelli matching her sensuality with Angela's charmingly outgoing personality,which is gradually replaced by a fearing isolation,as Nino starts attempting to grab Angela's sensuality all for himself.

I saw on on the Canadian TV as a 15 or 16 year old, and the movie had all the elements of sexual curiosity, excitement of a teenage boy. The object of his desire was a mature woman who knew how to dress in sexy stockings, who herself had sexual desires but social dignity to suppress them. The hand job under the dinner table was the best. I could feel the inner turmoil of the boy as well as the maid woman. The best of its kind.

The father of the boy, on the other hand, seems totally absent-minded, totally unaware of the sexual dynamics going on between his son and his bride-to-be. The woman does not say many things in the movie. But she is mature and patient. She doesn't succumb to the boy's sexual advances but she deals with him on her terms. Women are wiser than men.

Well I watched another f----d up horny movie. This one is called Malicious and it's an Italian movie from 1973.

It starts out at this lady's funeral. Her name sounds like that kind of pizza.... Nevermind. Anyway, she dies and leaves behind a husband and three kids. All sons. They get this lady to become the caretaker. Like, a young lady. First, the Caretaker Lady's job seems to involve a lot of checking to see if the youngest kid has wet the bed in the middle of the night. I figured at this point that I was watching a depressing move, which was funny because I'd found it by googling "best 70s Italian sex comedies". But then it gets horny. And weird.

The bit of this movie is that the widower, the teenage son, and the just-barely-hit-puberty son are all horny for Caretaker Lady. Bawdy, right? No. It's f----d up and weird, and not by accident. That's what this movie is going for.

See, the Widower--who has a big sad picture of his dead wife on the wall of his bedroom, by the way--gets horny for Caretaker Lady. Obviously just like perving out watching her while she does her chores, stuff like that. But when he sees Teenage Son perving out on her, doing the same s--t, he's all mad.

Now folks, Teenage Son is a freaking idiot. And a pushy creep. And he keeps failing miserably at getting horny with Caretaker Lady and making a fool of himself in the process. But not our protagonist, the Barely Pubescent Tween. No, Protagonist Tween is a f----g stone cold psychopath, and a f----d up horny one. He starts playing these sexually charged games with Caretaker lady, pushing the envelope to see what she'll do. Or what she's willing to put up with. I mean, its a differently angled version of what The Widower is doing anyway, getting Caretaker Lady to participate in the male gaze with him, even though he's her employer. She's definitely aware and participating in that, but who knows how she's compartmentalizing that extremely healthy power dynamic in her head.

Of course, this movie's bit is that the Tween Protag is doing his dad's game, but better. He makes his nanny do so much f----d up adolescent sex fantasy s--t, you guys.

How do you think they end it? Think this movie is a bawdy light hearted sex comedy still? Think everyone will go their separate ways after learning an important life lesson? Think you'll walk away from this movie feeling assured that The Caretaker Lady's inner motivation wasn't written by a classic old school male chauvinist?

I watched this movie in the original Italian--I don't speak Italian, by the way--with burned in subtitles of a second language that I can neither speak nor identify. On YouTube.