Tess (1979)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Gérard Brach (screenplay) &
Roman Polanski (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 December 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

As timely today as the day it was written.

Plot:

A young strong-willed peasant girl, becomes the affection of two men, in the end tragically falling into the arms of one.

Plot Keywords:

Love | 19th Century | Peasant | Girl | Tragedy

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

John Collin	...	John Durbeyfield
Tony Church	...	Parson Tringham
Nastassja Kinski	...	Tess (as Nastassia Kinski)
Brigid Erin Bates	...	Girl in meadow
Jeanne Biras	...	Girl in meadow
Peter Firth	...	Angel Clare
John Bett	...	Felix Clare
Tom Chadbon	...	Cuthbert Clare
Rosemary Martin	...	Mrs. Durbeyfield
Geraldine Arzul	...	Child
Stephanie Treille	...	Child
Elodie Warnod	...	Child
Ben Reeks	...	Child
Leigh Lawson	...	Alec d'Urberville
Lesley Dunlop	...	Girl in henhouse

Runtime:

190 min | Argentina:150 min | France:170 min | 172 min (DVD) | West Germany:134 min

Country:

France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

UK:A (1980) | UK:PG (1987) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Australia:PG | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 (w) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Château de Beaumanoir, Le Leslay, Côtes-d'Armor, France

Company:

Renn Productions

Trivia:

Director of Photography Geoffrey Unsworth died of a heart attack during the third week of shooting at the end of October 1978. Most of the film's scenes shot by him were exteriors in the first half of the movie and can be noticed by some fog and slight diffusion. Ghislain Cloquet shot the second half and the remaining of the movie with most of his scenes in interiors with no diffusion. Rumor has that among the scenes shot by Unsworth before his death were: - 1) The foggy day-to-night seduction in the woods - 2) The tent and the strawberries when Tess is in the D'Uberville mansion. - 3) The large barn of cows being milked. - 4) The girls seeing Angel at sunrise. - 5) Angel carries the girls over the stream.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: At the beginning of the final sequence, set at Stonehenge, someone's head can be seen at bottom-left.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 38th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1981) (TV)

Tess (1979)

I just viewed the DVD edition of TESS; I loved the Commentaries. TESS is a stunningly beautiful work of art. Thank God for the talent, vision and perseverance of Roman Polanski, his cast, crew and backers.

Given Polanski's celebrated appetite for young girls, I was not surprised that he portrayed the swinish Alex Stokes/D'Urberville in an almost sympathetic light. 17 Year-old Natassia Kinski is imbued with a luminous, almost unearthly beauty, even in the darkest of scenes. No wonder Polanski couldn't keep his hands off her. This film offers us a glance back in time to a long-gone pastoral life and the parochial intolerance of its people and their leaders. All faced the changes wrought by the juggernaut Industrial Revolution.

Long ago, while still in college, I was influenced against Hardy by W. Somerset Maugham's petulant, whining novel, CAKES AND ALE, with its veiled references to Hardy as a pedestrian writer with little artistic merit. Was I surprised when, in 1962, I got around to reading TESS! I was struck by its narrative and descriptive power and its still relevant social commentary. TESS filled me with outrage over the injustice meted out to a spirited, yet simple farm girl, whose main fault was being too beautiful. Following that enlightenment, I read just about everything Hardy has written.