Jefferson in Paris (1995)

One of the obsessive speculations in American history is whether Thomas Jefferson, in the years before he became president, had an affair with (and fathered a child with) his 15-year-old ... See full summary »

Director:

James Ivory

Writer:

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Stars:

Nick Nolte, Gwyneth Paltrow, Estelle Eonnet

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nick Nolte	...	Thomas Jefferson
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Patsy Jefferson
Estelle Eonnet	...	Polly Jefferson
Thandie Newton	...	Sally Hemings
Seth Gilliam	...	James Hemings
Todd Boyce	...	William Short
Nigel Whitmey	...	John Trumbull
Nicolas Silberg	...	Monsieur Petit
Catherine Samie	...	Cook
Lionel Robert	...	Cook's Helper
Stanislas Carré de Malberg	...	Surgeon
Jean Rupert	...	Surgeon
Yvette Petit	...	Dressmaker
Paolo Mantini	...	Hairdresser
Frédéric van den Driessche	...	Mutilated Officer (as F. van den Driessche)

Storyline

One of the obsessive speculations in American history is whether Thomas Jefferson, in the years before he became president, had an affair with (and fathered a child with) his 15-year-old slave Sally Hemings. JEFFERSON IN PARIS follows Jefferson to France (as the U.S. ambassador to the court of Louis XVI), following the death of his wife his friendships and flirtations with the French, his relationship with his daughters and slaves from home (especially Sally), against the backdrop of the beginning of the French Revolution.

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Plot Keywords:

thomas jefferson | french revolution | friendship | ambassador | father daughter relationship | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature theme, some images of violence and a bawdy puppet show

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

31 March 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jefferson em Paris

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$2,474,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Merchant Ivory Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gwyneth Paltrow's real life mother, Blythe Danner, played Martha Jefferson in 1776 the mother of her character.

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Goofs

Jefferson was in Paris from 1785 to 1789, but is depicted as witnessing the Mongolfier balloon ascent (with sheep, duck, and rooster) which took place in 1783.

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Quotes

Maria Cosway: That's how it is here. People play at love. It's not serious. It is different in Italy. There, we kill for it!

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Connections

Featured in The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

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Soundtracks

"COURANTE IN C. MINOR FOR HARPSICHORD"
Music by Jacques Duphly
Performed by Jory Vinikour

User Reviews

An interesting American history movie

My interest in seeing this movie was to compare it with the recent CBS mini series, "Sally Hemmings," which I recently saw and enjoyed. This movie was slow moving and not nearly as interesting as the mini series but it did provide some supplementary information about Jefferson that was not in the mini series. The movie, of course, was written from Jefferson's perspective while the mini series was written from the perspective of Sally Hemmings. The photography in the movie was wonderful as well as the acting. The last part of the movie, was by far the best.