Ash Wednesday

R

1973

1h 39m

Drama

List

9%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

23%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

After 30 years of marriage, Barbara Sawyer (Elizabeth Taylor) is afraid she's losing her husband, Mark (Henry Fonda). The ravishing beauty of her youth has given way to middle-aged homeliness, so she secretly checks into a Swiss clinic and undergoes extensive plastic surgery. While waiting to surprise Mark with her restored face and body, Barbara meets Erich (Helmut Berger), a handsome bachelor, at a posh ski lodge and becomes entranced by his seductive charm.

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Sydney C

I just stumbled upon this film and it's heartbreaking. This epitomizes how in this suffocating society, men can grow old, leave their spouse and go get a young hot thang. But women are expected to stay 19 years old forever and if they don't, men relegate them to third class status. The whole thing is shallow and ridiculous. She went through all of this, yet her husband didn't care one bit. You have to love yourself in every stage of your life and if your spouse can't, then that's their problem, not yours. Great film and Elizabeth Taylor is spot-on as Barbara.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/07/23

Full Review

steve d

It is amazing how much it drags.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

WRONG MOVIE POSTER! This is an Edward Burns movie. Pretty good too.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's nice though it seems like a "telenovela" rather than a movie.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

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Larry Peerce

Director

Elizabeth Taylor

Barbara Sawyer

Henry Fonda

Mark Sawyer

Helmut Berger

Erich

Keith Baxter

Davit

Margaret Blye

Kate Sawyer

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Variety Staff

Variety

Taylor, fashionably gowned and bejewelled carries the film almost single-handedly. Fonda is excellent in his climatic appearance, an usually superb casting idea.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Time Out

In what is little more than a homage to Taylor's face, the film spends a good deal of time looking at her reflection in the mirror and endorsing her Martini ad lifestyle up to the hilt.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Vincent Canby

New York Times

This is not a male chauvinist's conception of a woman, but her hairdresser's, full of envy, awe and superficial compassion.

Rated: 2/5

May 9, 2005

Full Review

John Simon

Esquire Magazine

Ash Wednesday is so bad that even Liz Taylor's performance becomes almost inconspicuous in it. Fonda and Keith Baxter do act a bit, but only just, and Helmut Berger doesn't even try, which seems to come naturally to him.

Jul 23, 2020

Full Review

Dick Lochte

Los Angeles Free Press

The problem is that the screenplay is unusually soft.

Dec 31, 2019

Full Review

Tony Mastroianni

Cleveland Press

Mostly the picture is structured along soap opera lines. If there is anything to be said about middle-aged trauma it finds no voice in this film.

Nov 29, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

After 30 years of marriage, Barbara Sawyer (Elizabeth Taylor) is afraid she's losing her husband, Mark (Henry Fonda). The ravishing beauty of her youth has given way to middle-aged homeliness, so she secretly checks into a Swiss clinic and undergoes extensive plastic surgery. While waiting to surprise Mark with her restored face and body, Barbara meets Erich (Helmut Berger), a handsome bachelor, at a posh ski lodge and becomes entranced by his seductive charm.

Director: Larry Peerce
Screenwriter: Jean-Claude Tramont
Production Co: Paramount
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2017
Runtime: 1h 39m