What? (Diary of Forbidden Dreams) (1973)
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29% of critics liked it
(7 reviews) -
54% of users liked it
(495 ratings)
One of Roman Polanski's lesser-known films, Diary of Forbidden Dreams (also known as What?) stars Sydne Rome as an attractive young hitchhiker who, as the film opens, accepts a ride from three men in a car, who later attempt to rape her. She escapes their clutches and makes her way to a mansion… More One of Roman Polanski's lesser-known films, Diary of Forbidden Dreams (also known as What?) stars Sydne Rome as an attractive young hitchhiker who, as the film opens, accepts a ride from three men in a car, who later attempt to rape her. She escapes their clutches and makes her way to a mansion owned by millionaire Joseph Noblart (Hugh Griffith), who is overseeing a decadent party. Among the guests at his home are a pair of table-tennis players, a man with a harpoon (played by Polanski himself), and a hedonistic pimp played by Marcello Mastroianni. The woman's sexually charged adventure is an homage to Alice in Wonderland. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Directed By
- Roman Polanski
- Written By
- Roman Polanski, Gérard Brach
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Oct 3, 1973 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
The girl, the villa and the performances are beautiful enough to bridge those sequences when the film, like its heroine, seems searching for explanations that will never be found.
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, Time Out
All suitably throwaway, it's held together by our own curiosity and Polanski's obvious delight in observing such strange goings-on in rich summer villas.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
I wonder how much Carlo Ponti gave Roman Polanski to make Diary of Forbidden Dreams. Ten cents would have been excessive.
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Jamie McLeish, Film4
A terrible self-indulgent piece of misogynist trash from an otherwise great director.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
This haphazard fantasy is of interest chiefly to devotees of Roman Polanski and, even more so, of Gerard Brach, his longtime screenwriting collaborator.
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Cast
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Guido Alberti
as Priest
- Cicely Browne
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Hugh Griffith
as Owner Of Villa
- John Karlsen
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Marcello Mastroianni
as Alex
- Birgit Nilsson
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Sydne Rome
as The Girl
- Henning Schlüter
- Pietro Tordi
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Romolo Valli
as Administrator
- Alvaro Vitali
- Richard McNamara
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Roman Polanski
as Mosquito
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Carlo Delle Piane
as The Boy
- Nerina Montagnani
- Dieter Hallervorden
- Gianfranco Piacentini