Day of the Woman

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Meir Zarchi directs. Nuri Habib behind the camera. Meir Zarchi cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 248 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 3Part of the "I Spit on Your Grave (Original) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
• 4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
• 5Directed by Meir Zarchi, shot by Nuri Habib. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Editor Meir Zarchi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Camille Keaton and Eron Tabor and Richard Pace carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "After it was all over... she waited... then she struck back in a way only a WOMAN can!".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0077713 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 17 themes, including "rape", "castration", "revenge", "gang rape".
• 11Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Nuri Habib

Editing

Meir Zarchi

Makeup / hair

Armine Minassian

Runtime

101 min · 1h 41m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$80,000

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

NC-17

IMDB

Day of the Woman (1978) ↗

Part of

I Spit on Your Grave (Original) Collection

I Spit on Your Grave is a controversial 1978 cult classic film about rape and revenge. The film received a limited release, with a wider release in 1980. Prominent film critics condemned the film for its graphic violence, nudity, obscene language, and lengthy depictions of gang rape, and the motion picture remains controversial to this day; even considered as being among the worst ever made. The film was followed by a direct sequel entitled I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu released in 2019. Both films were directed by Meir Zarchi and star Camille Keaton as Jennifer. The original film was then remade in 2010 by director Steven R. Monroe and starring Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Daniel Franzese, Rodney Eastman, Chad Lindberg, Tracey Walter, and Andrew Howard. This reboot was followed by two sequels, I Spit on Your Grave 2 (2013) and I Spit on Your Grave III: Vengeance Is Mine (2015).

• 
  Day of the Woman

  1978 · this one
• 
  I Spit on Your Grave: Déjà Vu

  2019

Also by

Meir Zarchi

• 
  Don't Mess with My Sister!

  1985 · ★ 3.4
• 
  I Spit on Your Grave: Déjà Vu

  2019 · ★ 3.0

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  OFFICIAL TRAILER I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE 1978 Deja Vu, LLC & Barquel C. Inc. (c) 1978-present

  Trailer
• 

  ▶
  I Spit On Your Grave (1978) - Original Trailer

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• jamitchell15092017-05-29
  ★ 2/10

  The thing about this film that I find most difficult to fathom, other than why it was made in the first place, is why it's seen as such an important work. At the end of the film, I didn't have the slightest notion that I had seen anything that informed me or had done me any good whatsoever. I'm all for films that challenge, that rattle cages, as long as they have a point to make. I can sit through the most abhorrent, violent, perverse,terrifying and disturbing film, as long as when the credits roll, I feel I've learned something, either about a subject and/or myself by doing so. With this, there's no such insight to be gained. It's a nasty film, devoid of any purpose other than to shock and disgust. In these two objectives at least, it succeeds.

  Read full review ↓
• JPV8522021-11-21
  ★ 7/10

  A movie I really didn't care much for upon my first viewing (circa 2011) but kind of appreciate more today. Unnerving to say the least with a brutal sexual assault followed by the revenge portion for the third act that's not entirely satisfying but still well done as a whole. One thing I noticed today that I didn't 10 years ago was the lack of a score or soundtrack which gives the movie a haunting tone. Camille Keaton gives a great performance and the guys do well as absolute psychopaths and creeps. 3.5/5

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• DE

  Deja Vu LLC.

• CI

  Cinemagic Pictures

• TH

  The Jerry Gross Organization

Key crew

• ProducerMeir Zarchi
• EditorMeir Zarchi
• ProducerJoseph Zbeda
• Sound MixerMichel Carton
• Sound Effects EditorAlex Pfau
• Sound RecordistSteven Sklar
• Makeup ArtistArmine Minassian
• Makeup ArtistJoan Puma
• First Assistant DirectorMichael Penland
• Second Assistant DirectorBeriau Picard
• Special EffectsBeriau Picard
• Special EffectsWilliam Tasgal

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• rape
• castration
• revenge
• gang rape
• writer
• cruelty
• brutality
• hanging
• misogyny
• mentally handicapped man
• rape and revenge
• video nasty
• emasculation
• left for dead
• independent film
• banned film
• splatter horror

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1978-11-22NC-17
• Theatrical1980-07-16NC-17· re-release
• Theatrical1983-03-16NC-17· Re-release

Also known as

International titles

• I Spit on Your GraveUS
• The Housatonic RevengeUS
• Blood AngelDE
• Я плюю на ваши могилыRU
• Non violentate Jennifer - I Spit on Your GraveIT
• Θα Φτύσω στον Τάφο σαςGR
• I Spit on Your Grave - koston enkeliFI
• Koston enkeliFI
• Tomar revanchaAR
• A vingança de JenniferBR
• Mulher violadaPT
• Day of the WomanFR
• Escupire Sobre tu TumbaCO
• 発情アニマルJP
• I Spit on your GraveGB