{{Short description|1965 erotic film by Mac Ahlberg}} {{Infobox film | name = I, a Woman | image = I A Woman film poster.jpg | alt = | caption = American release film poster | native_name = | director = Mac Ahlberg | writer = | screenplay = Peer Guldbrandsen | story = | based_on = {{based on |''Jeg-en kvinde'' (novel)|Agnethe Thomsen}}<br/>(penname: Siv Holm) | producer = {{ubl|Peer Guldbrandsen|Fritz Ruzicka}} | starring = {{ubl|Essy Persson|Preben Mahrt|Jørgen Reenberg|Tove Maës|Erik Hell}} | narrator = | cinematography = Mac Ahlberg | editing = Edith Nisted Nielsen<br>Radley Metzger | music = Sven Gyldmark | production_companies = {{ubl|Nordisk Film|Europa Film|Novaris Film}} | distributor = Audubon Films | released = {{film date|1965|9|17|Denmark|1965|11|8|Sweden|df=yes}} | runtime = 95 minutes | country = {{ubl|Denmark|Sweden}} | language = Danish | budget = | gross = Swedish krona 2,388,000 (Sweden)<br>$4.5 million (US/Canada) (rental)<ref>"All-time Film Rental Champs", ''Variety'', 7 January 1976 p 48</ref> }}

'''''I, a Woman''''' (original Danish: '''''Jeg – en kvinde''''') is a 1965 black-and-white Danish-Swedish erotic film whose break-through popularity helped initiate a wave of sexploitation films into mainstream American theaters in the late 1960s,<ref name="schaeffer">{{cite journal|last=Schaeffer|first=Eric|date=Spring 2002|title=Gauging a Revolution: 16mm Film and the Rise of the Pornographic Feature|journal=Cinema Journal|volume=41|issue=3|pages=3–26|doi=10.1353/cj.2002.0010|url=https://soma.sbcc.edu/users/davega/FILMST_101/FILMST_101_GENERAL_THEORY/Schaefer_Pornography.pdf|access-date=2014-10-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031190440/https://soma.sbcc.edu/users/davega/FILMST_101/FILMST_101_GENERAL_THEORY/Schaefer_Pornography.pdf|archive-date=2014-10-31|url-status=dead}}</ref> and inspired Andy Warhol to write and direct his feature-length experimental film version ''I, a Man''.<ref name="LAT"/>

==Background== Directed by Mac Ahlberg as his feature film debut,<ref name="NYT 1"/> and written by Peer Guldbrandsen, the movie was based upon the best-selling 1961 novel ''Jeg - en kvinde'' by Agnethe Thomsen written under her pseudonym Siv Holm.<ref>{{cite book|last=Piil|first=Morten|title=Gyldendals Danske Filmguide|year=2008|publisher=Gyldendal Boghandel|location=Denmark|language=Danish|isbn=978-87-02-06669-2|page=267}}</ref> The story starred Essy Persson, in her film debut, as a young nurse who breaks free of a repressed upbringing to explore sexual freedom. It also featured established Danish movie stars including Preben Mahrt, Jørgen Reenberg and Tove Maës.<ref name="TV Guide"/>

The American distribution rights were purchased by Radley Metzger who edited the movie to remove the flashbacks, added English titles and placed it into mainstream movie theaters.<ref name="Gallagher">{{cite journal|last=Gallagher|first=Stephen|date=Summer 1967|title=The Libertine|journal=Filmmaker Magazine|publisher=IFP|url=http://filmmakermagazine.com/archives/issues/summer1997/metzger.php#.VFO3o764n5Y}}</ref> Metzger said it was "probably the first feminist erotic film released in the '60s and it pushed a button with every woman in America".<ref name="Gallagher"/> By earning more than 4 million dollars in the United States, Metzger credited ''I, a Woman'' as the major catalyst for his subsequent success in making pornographic films.<ref name="Gallagher"/> Despite poor reviews by mainstream media, the film's box office success encouraged the development of the sexploitation film industry. According to an article in ''Variety'' magazine, ''I, a Woman'' "freed itself from the exploitation houses, it invaded suburbia and immediately struck paydirt".<ref>"Far Out (Long Island) Sex", ''Variety'', June 14, 1967, 13.</ref>

==Plot== The young nurse Siv is frustrated by the strict restraints of her religious parents and her boring fiancé, Sven. At the hospital where she works, a married antiques dealer named Heinz Gersen flirts with Siv. Although she is warned that Gersen is a philandering playboy, Siv allows him to seduce her and they have an affair. Gersen tells Siv that he loves her and proposes to leave his wife for her. Having only just discovered a new world of sexual liberty, Siv rejects Gersen's proposal. She then breaks off her engagement with Sven, moves away from her parents and finds a nursing position in another city. Siv meets Lars, a sailor, and they begin a relationship. When Lars proposes marriage, Siv breaks up with him. Siv begins dating Doctor Dam at the hospital where she works. Dam also falls in love with Siv, so she stops seeing him and decides that no single man will ever completely fulfill her own desires. Siv has a sexual encounter with a stranger named Eric who Siv realizes perfectly matches her own promiscuity. Eric tells Siv that he won't see her anymore because he is afraid that she will fall in love with him.

==Cast== * Essy Persson as Siv Esmuth * Preben Mahrt as Heinz Gersen, an antique dealer * Jørgen Reenberg as Dr. Dam * Tove Maës as Siv's Mother * Erik Hell as Siv's Father * Preben Kørning as Sven, Siv's fiance * Bengt Brunskog as Lars Thomsen, a sailor * Frankie Steel as Erik, the stranger * Ebba With as Head Nurse * Wandy Tworek as Violinist * Malene Schwartz as Siv's voice (Danish overdubbing) * Carl Ottosen as Lars' voice (Danish overdubbing)

==Reception== ''AllMovie'' wrote that as an "adult-oriented drama" and as "one of the first sexually-themed films from Sweden to find an audience (and wide release) in America", ''I, a Woman'' was "a surprise box office success" which led three years later to a sequel by the same filmmaker.<ref name=AllMovie>{{cite web|last1=Demming|first1=Mark|title=I, A Woman (1965)|url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/i-a-woman-v173193/|publisher=AllMovie|access-date=October 22, 2014}}</ref> When ''The New York Times'' reviewed the 1968 sequel ''Jeg - en kvinde 2'', they found it to be "dull and pointless", specially in comparison to the earlier film which was "sizzling, bad—and a resounding money-maker".<ref name="NYT 1">{{cite news|last1=Thompson|first1=Howard|title=Screen: Amour, Amour:Sequel to 'I, a Woman' Here From Denmark|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0DE7DD153AEE34BC4D52DFB5668382679EDE|access-date=October 22, 2014|work=The New York Times|date=March 15, 1969}}</ref>

Roger Ebert panned the film, offering that if a viewer chose to miss seeing one film in 1967, ''I, a Woman'' would be the one to miss, and by comparison, "all the other crummy movies I've had to sit through in this job weren't so bad".<ref name="Roger Ebert"/> He bemoaned how publicity compared the film favorably to ''Dear John'', ''Virginia Woolf'', ''Casino Royale'' and even ''Citizen Kane'', writing it had "uninteresting camera work, mediocre performances and a mechanical plot", as well as very poor subtitles which destroyed the mood "every 10 minutes by throwing in something utterly vulgar, ill-timed or otherwise inappropriate".<ref name="Roger Ebert"/> Ebert felt the film exhibited "the maturity of a 13-year-old cranking the handle on the penny-peepshow at a county fair".<ref name="Roger Ebert">{{cite news|last1=Roger Ebert|author-link=Roger Ebert|title=Review: I, A Woman|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/i-a-woman-1967|access-date=October 22, 2014|publisher=rogerebert.com|date=July 12, 1967}}</ref> Contrarily, ''TV Guide'' praised Essy Persson in this, her debut role, and wrote that "the film's simple but stylish aesthetics are a real treat, even if they can't ultimately compensate for a disappointingly thin plot", and concluded "the film is most compelling when seen in light of the labored progress of feminist discourse; it's an artifact from a time when the notion of a woman taking charge of her sexual life was both risque and revolutionary".<ref name="TV Guide">{{cite news|last1=Wolgemuth|first1=Elizabeth|title=review, ''I, A Woman''|url=http://movies.tvguide.com/i-a-woman/review/135871|access-date=October 23, 2014|work=TV Guide|archive-date=October 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023094457/http://movies.tvguide.com/i-a-woman/review/135871|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Releases== Release titles include its original ''Jeg - en kvinde'' in Sweden and Denmark,<ref name="Det Danske Filminstitut">{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Jeg - En Kvinde, Mac Ahlberg (DK, 1965)|url=http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/film/da/15759.aspx?id=15759|publisher=Det Danske Filminstitut|access-date=4 December 2014|language=Danish}}</ref> ''Eu, Mulher'' in Brazil,<ref name="Inter Filmes">{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Eu, Mulher (I, a Woman)|url=http://www.interfilmes.com/filme_227690_Eu.Mulher-(I.a.Woman).html|publisher=Inter Filmes|access-date=4 December 2014|language=Portuguese}}</ref> ''Minä - nainen'' and ''Olen nainen'' in Finland,<ref name="Synopsi TV 1">{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Olen nainen (1965)|url=http://www.synopsi.tv/movies/591684/olen-nainen-1965/#!/cast|publisher=Synopsi TV|access-date=4 December 2014|language=Finnish|archive-date=7 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207114918/http://www.synopsi.tv/movies/591684/olen-nainen-1965/#!/cast|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Moi, une femme'' in France,<ref name="Synopsi TV 2">{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Moi, une femme (1965)|url=http://www.synopsi.tv/movies/591684/moi-une-femme-1965/#!/details|publisher=Synopsi TV|access-date=4 December 2014|language=French|archive-date=7 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207115354/http://www.synopsi.tv/movies/591684/moi-une-femme-1965/#!/details|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Erotismos'' in Greece,<ref name="el iedb eu 1">{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Erotismos|url=http://el.iedb.eu/%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%AF%CE%B1/erotismos|publisher=el.iedb.eu|access-date=4 December 2014|language=Greek|archive-date=19 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219163224/http://el.iedb.eu/%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%AF%CE%B1/erotismos|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Io una donna'' in Italy,<ref name=Screenweek>{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Io, una donna (Danimarca, Svezia · 1965) - Jag-en kvinna|date=January 1967 |url=http://www.screenweek.it/film/13390-Io-una-donna|publisher=Screenweek|access-date=4 December 2014|language=Italian}}</ref> ''Soy una mujer'' in Mexico,<ref name="e iedb eu 2">{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Soy una mujers|url=http://es-la.iedb.net/%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%87/soy-una-mujer|publisher=el.iedb.eu|access-date=4 December 2014|language=Spanish|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083509/http://es-la.iedb.net/%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%87/soy-una-mujer|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Ik een Vrouw'' in Netherlands,<ref name=sewsubmovie.com>{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Ik een Vrouw (1965)|url=http://sewsubmovie.com/movies-tt0059324/ik-een-vrouw-1965.html|access-date=4 December 2014|language=Dutch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207085656/http://sewsubmovie.com/movies-tt0059324/ik-een-vrouw-1965.html|archive-date=7 December 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Jeg - en kvinne'' in Norway,<ref name=Filmweb>{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Jeg - en kvinne|url=http://www.filmweb.no/film/article838064.ece|publisher=Filmweb|access-date=4 December 2014|language=Norwegian}}</ref> ''Jag - en kvinna'' in Sweden,<ref name=nyheter24.se>{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Jag - en kvinna|url=http://nyheter24.se/filmtipset/film/jag---en-kvinna.html|publisher=nyheter24.se|access-date=4 December 2014|language=Swedish}}</ref> ''Ja, Zena'' in Yugoslavia,<ref name="el iedb eu 3">{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Ja, Zena|url=http://hr.iedb.eu/film/ja-zena|publisher=el.iedb.eu|access-date=4 December 2014|language=Croatian|archive-date=19 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219163530/http://hr.iedb.eu/film/ja-zena|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Ich eine Frau'' in West Germany,<ref name="Online Film Datenbank">{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Ich, eine Frau|url=http://de.ofdb.de/film/18274,Ich-eine-Frau|publisher=Online Film Datenbank|access-date=4 December 2014|language=German|archive-date=6 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206210313/http://de.ofdb.de/film/18274,Ich-eine-Frau|url-status=dead}}</ref> and as ''I, a Woman'' in the United States.

Under its original title ''Jeg - en kvinde'', the film had 1965 theatrical releases in Denmark on September 17, and in Sweden on November 8. In 1966 the film had re-release in Denmark on July 4, followed by August 12 in West Germany, and another re-release in Denmark on September 7. Also in 1966, the film had its American premiere on October 11 in New York City, and November 11 in Netherlands. In 1967, the film premiered on July 7 in Chicago, Illinois and again re-released in Denmark on August 9. In 1968 the film was released on January 11 in Norway, February 21 in France, and June 1 in Japan.

===Sequels=== Two sequels were produced: ''2 - I, A Woman, Part II'' (1968),<ref name="NYT 1"/> and ''The Daughter: I, A Woman Part III'' (1970).<ref name="NYT 2">{{cite news|last1=Greenspun|first1=Roger|title=Film: Continuing Tale of 'I, A Woman': Interracial Sex Theme Also Gets Workout 'The Daughter' Makes It a Family Affair|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C04E5D71E3EE034BC4C51DFB667838B669EDE|access-date=October 23, 2014|work=The New York Times|date=October 24, 1970}}</ref> as well as the Danish-Swedish sex comedy ''I, a Lover''. The film ''I, a Woman'' also inspired Andy Warhol to write and direct his feature-length experimental film version ''I, a Man''.<ref name="LAT">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-aug-09-ca-32162-story.html|title=Sadness and Humor From Warhol|last=Thomas|first=Kevin|date=August 9, 2001|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=30 October 2014}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== * [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059324/ ''I, a Woman''] at the Internet Movie Database * [http://www.sfi.se/en-GB/Swedish-film-database/Item/?type=MOVIE&itemid=4719 ''Jeg - en kvinde''] at the Swedish Film Database * [http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/film/da/15759.aspx?id=15759 ''Jeg - en kvinde''] at the Danish Film Institute (in Danish)

{{DEFAULTSORT:I, A Woman}} Category:1965 films Category:Danish erotic drama films Category:Swedish erotic drama films Category:1960s Danish-language films Category:1965 Danish films Category:Danish black-and-white films Category:Swedish black-and-white films Category:1960s feminist films Category:1960s erotic drama films Category:1965 drama films Category:Films directed by Mac Ahlberg Category:1965 Swedish films