The Laughing Woman (1969) ****

Piero Schivazappa's The Laughing Woman (aka Femina Ridens) (1969) is the type of bizarro, subversive psychosexual thriller that could only have been made in the 1960s. Featuring committed performances by Philippe Leroy and Dagmar Lassander, hip mod fashion by Enrico Sabbatini, eye-popping production design by Francesco Cuppini, and a sizzling, swinging soundtrack Stelvio Cipriani, this cat and mouse battle of the sexes expertly blends gender politics, humor, exploitation, and eroticism in an extremely entertaining cinematic experience.