Tess (1979)

A strong-willed young peasant girl attracts 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 13 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:

rape | based on novel | woman murders a man | murderess | character name as title | 

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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. She was a poor man's daughter, an aristocrat's mistress and a gentleman's wife. She was Tess, a victim of her own provocative beauty.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK France

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)

Gross USA:

$20,093,330

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,101,247

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

The surname of the noble family that the "Durbeyfields" were descendants from was the "d'Urbervilles".

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

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

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Alternate Versions

The film was first released to German cinemas uncut with a running time of 184 minutes. As the audience reaction was far from overwhelming the distributor decided to re-cut and re-release the film in a more "accessible" 134 minutes version. But at least one of the original prints had survived and was shown here at the local art house years later.

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Connections

Referenced in Iron & Silk (1990)

User Reviews

Perfect homage to Hardy's novel

This film was an almost exact replication of Thomas Hardy's novel "Tess of the d'Urbervilles". It's so rare to watch a film after reading the novel and not be disappointed by it, but this film didn't disappoint in any way.

Details, such as the whiteness of the maids' dresses, the sound of milk squirting into a bucket, the sloshing mud of a wet English turnip field, and the glint of adoration in the eyes of the young lovers -- all came gloriously to life as if fresh off the pages of the book.

I highly recommend this film for anyone who enjoys a good old fashioned Victorian love story.