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The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
August 1981 (UK)
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Tagline:
She was lost from the moment she saw him.
Plot:
A film is being made of a story, set in 19th century England, about Charles, a biologist who's engaged to be married...
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Awards:
Nominated for 5 Oscars.
Another 9 wins
&
12 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(15 articles)
Their Best Role: Meryl Streep
(From Cinematical. 18 November 2009, 9:02 AM, PST)
Director Kenny Ortega Bails on 'Footloose' Remake
(From Cinematical. 26 October 2009, 8:32 AM, PDT)
(From Cinematical. 18 November 2009, 9:02 AM, PST)
Director Kenny Ortega Bails on 'Footloose' Remake
(From Cinematical. 26 October 2009, 8:32 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
A multi-chambered Nautilus shell fossilized in stone.
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Meryl Streep | ... | Sarah / Anna |
 | Jeremy Irons | ... | Charles Henry Smithson / Mike |
 | Hilton McRae | ... | Sam |
| Emily Morgan | ... | Mary |
| Charlotte Mitchell | ... | Mrs. Tranter |
| Lynsey Baxter | ... | Ernestina |
| Jean Faulds | ... | Cook |
| Peter Vaughan | ... | Mr. Freeman |
| Colin Jeavons | ... | Vicar |
| Liz Smith | ... | Mrs. Fairley |
| Patience Collier | ... | Mrs. Poulteney |
| John Barrett | ... | Dairyman |
| Leo McKern | ... | Dr. Grogan |
| Arabella Weir | ... | Girl on undercliff |
| Ben Forster | ... | Boy on undercliff |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
124 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:12 |
Canada:PG (Ontario) |
Singapore:M18 |
Australia:M |
Argentina:16 |
Finland:S |
Norway:16 |
Sweden:11 |
UK:12 (video re-rating) (2001) |
UK:15 (video rating) (1986) |
UK:AA (original rating) |
USA:R (certificate #26244) |
West Germany:12
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
An attempt to adapt the novel was made in the 1970's, to star Vanessa Redgrave, but a satisfactory script couldn't be written, and funding was a problem.
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Goofs:
Continuity: Early in the film, as Charles is going on to the jetty to warn Sarah, his cape changes in how it is buttoned from shot to shot.
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Quotes:
[describing how she became the French Lieutenant's mistress]
Sarah: Soon he no longer bothered to hide the nature of his intensions towards me. Nor could I pretend surprise. My innocence was false from the moment I chose to stay. I could tell you that he overpowered me, he drugged me. But it was not so... I gave myself to him.
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Sarah: Soon he no longer bothered to hide the nature of his intensions towards me. Nor could I pretend surprise. My innocence was false from the moment I chose to stay. I could tell you that he overpowered me, he drugged me. But it was not so... I gave myself to him.
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Movie Connections:
FAQ
See Jeremy Irons discuss this filmmore
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This movie opens with a scene of an archaeologist chipping at a multi-chambered Nautilus shell fossilized in stone. The image is apropos, as the story itself opens from chamber to ever larger chamber as it weaves two seemingly disparate stories with a clever ending.
Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep are impressive as the leads in two different time lines. In one, Streep is a woman of poor reputation who ensnares a gentleman (Irons) in the black hole of her own guilt and loss. In the other, they are the romantically involved actors making a movie about a woman of poor reputation who ensnares a gentleman. And if that sounds a little too clever, it nonetheless has more creativity and insight than typical plot-twist moving, including the most contrived and overrated movie of all time, Memento (not good enough to be called bad).
There is a scene, in which Streep and Irons are rehearsing a scene from the movie, and, according to the story, it just isn't working. Then, all at once, Streep gets a look on her face, and we are transported into the past time line with a single glance from the greatest working actress and second only to Katherine Hepburn as the greatest actress of all time.
The cinematography, costumes and set designs are legendary, and come from the same team that gave us The Count of Monte Christo, which featured Guy Pearce, who was in the above-mentioned Memento (it still stinks, but how's that for six degrees?). And speaking of legends, the screenplay was written by none other than Nobel laureate Harold Pinter, and it shows.
It is a sublime movie experience to watch the delicately chambered story open up, and there are scenes that are so memorable, like Streep on the misty pier, that you would swear this movie comes from the Golden Age of cinema, not the go-go eighties. The movies is emotionally draining, and Streep gives a typically high concept performance. Irons lacks something, but it's not clear what, but in the end it helps support the story by making him appear flawed enough to have been trapped in the intricate web of The French Lieutenant's Woman.