Tess (1979)

A strong-willed young peasant girl becomes the affection of two men.

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Gérard Brach (screenplay), Roman Polanski (screenplay)

Stars:

Nastassja Kinski, Peter Firth, Leigh Lawson

Won 3 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Jack Stephens	...	Man in Tavern
Leigh Lawson	...	Alec d'Urberville

Storyline

Wessex County, England during the Victorian era. Christian values dominate what are social mores. These mores and her interactions with two men play a large part in what happens in the young life of peasant girl, the shy, innocent, proper yet proud Tess Durbeyfield. The first of these men is Alec d'Urberville. After learning from a local historian that they are really descendants of the aristocratic d'Urberville family which has died out due to lack of male heirs, Tess' parents send her to a nearby mansion where they know some d'Urbervilles actually reside. This move is in order for the family to gain some benefit from their heritage. Upon her arrival at the mansion, Tess quickly learns that the family of Tess' "cousin" Alec are not true d'Urbervilles, but rather an opportunistic lot who bought the family name in order to improve their own standing in life. Tess is pulled between what she was sent to accomplish for her family against her general disdain for Alec, who will give her ...

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Plot Keywords:

farmer | love | peasant | england | victorian era | 

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Taglines:

She was born into a world where they called it seduction, not rape. What she did would shatter that world forever.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

France UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Egy tiszta nő

Filming Locations:

Château Brocéliande, Paimpont, Ille-et-Vilaine, France

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Renn Productions, Timothy Burrill Productions, Société Française de Production (SFP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

186 min 172 min (DVD) 134 min (re-issue) 184 min (original)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This Roman Polanski film won the same amount of Academy Awards as his later movie The Pianist (2002) with both pictures winning three Oscars. Polanski's vision for Tess (1979) was for the film to reflect an ancient peasant culture, which he witnessed during the Second World War in Poland after escaping from the Kraków Ghetto, something which is the subject of The Pianist (2002).

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Goofs

At 4:21, camera shadow on Durbeyfield's back. This shadow extends entirely across the path. At 4:44, as the parson and Durbeyfield talk, the shadow is gone.

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Quotes

[first lines]
John Durbeyfield: Good night, t'ee.
Parson Tringham: Good night, Sir John.

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Connections

Referenced in Parker Lewis Can't Lose: Rent-A-Kube (1990)

User Reviews

A return viewing.

Roman Polanksi's Tess gets better and better with age.

The mists...the sounds of footsteps on the dirt roads... the ambling horse... the elflike man that appears at the Cross in Hands, Tess' walk to her Inlaws church, The dripping water, The taking of the boots, the misplaced letter, the milk run, the puddle in the road, the dripping milk pouches, The strawberry, the blood stain, The burial, Stonehenge...Everything is beautifully shot. It lingers in the mind long after viewing. Geoffrey Unsworth's final cinematographic film. Thank you for all your beautiful work.

It is neither pretentious nor bold.

Mesmerizing! The musical composition is charging.

Nastassja Kinski's plays the title character. She reacts so well. Her beauty in a time of such oppression and depression would be an ill fate. Tess knows this fate and she wishes she was never born. She is the sacrifice of a paradigm. Victorian era was finished. Edwardian Enlightenment would soon come but not for Tess, the sacrificial pure beauty.

Thomas Hardy created a pure woman in Tess. That is why her plight is so tragic. She possesses a strong spirit that is oppressed by the male political and religious world around her.

The opening shot is well directed in the morning sunrise as fair maidens dance with one another. Tess' oversight by Angel begins this tragic tale. "As Flies to wanton boys, are we to the Gods, they kill us for their sport."

Tess, Thomas Hardy

Do not take your eyes off of it. It is beautifully told!

Victor Nunnally, BFA Dramatic and Film Theory and History, AA Performing Experience.