Seven Beauties

The first woman director to receive and Oscar nomination, Lina Wertmuller directed Seven Beauties, with Giancarlo Giannini as a small time gangster whose moral instincts are overcome by his will to survive. With each next departure - from jail, to mental hospital, to concentration camp - he thinks he has left the worst behind. An excellent performance from Giannini in one of Wertmuller's most acclaimed and successful films.