A strong-willed young peasant girl attracts the affection of two men.A strong-willed young peasant girl attracts the affection of two men.A strong-willed young peasant girl attracts the affection of two men.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
17K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Gérard Brach(screenplay)
- Roman Polanski(screenplay)
- John Brownjohn(screenplay)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Gérard Brach(screenplay)
- Roman Polanski(screenplay)
- John Brownjohn(screenplay)
- Stars
- Won 3 Oscars
- 16 wins & 16 nominations total
Videos1
- Director
- Writers
- Gérard Brach(screenplay)
- Roman Polanski(screenplay)
- John Brownjohn(screenplay)
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
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 anything she wants in return for sexual favors. The second of these men is Angel Clare, the son of a parson and an apprentice farmer. Angel and Tess fall in love with each other. Tess has to decide if she will divulge to Angel her past relationship with Alec, which if she does may jeopardize their own relationship. But if she doesn't, Tess also has to figure out if the secret will haunt her and thus jeopardize their relationship in other ways. —Huggo
- Taglines
- 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.
- Genres
- Certificate
- PG
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaThe film's opening dedication at the start of the film states: "For Sharon". Roman Polanski dedicated this movie to his late wife, Sharon Tate, who was killed in 1969 by the Manson Clan. Before Tate's death, she had read the film's source novel by Thomas Hardy and was convinced that her husband would one day make a great film based on the novel. Movie was released to the theaters exactly 10 years after her untimely death.
- GoofsAt the beginning of the final sequence, set at Stonehenge, someone's head can be seen at bottom-left.
- Quotes
Alec d'Urberville: [pins a pink rose on Tess' dress] What's the matter?
Tess: A thorn.
Alec d'Urberville: Aw, cousin, beauty has its price.
- Alternate versionsThe 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.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 38th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1981)
Top review
Haunting
In this adaptation of the Hardy novel, a peasant girl who may be descended from a noble family encounters romance and tragedy in 19th century England. Meticulously directed by Polanski, this epic drama unfolds quite leisurely but does not drag. The English countryside is beautifully captured, with the cinematography adding a haunting quality to the barren landscape, an effect further enhanced by the evocative score. Perhaps she does not faithfully embody the strong-willed heroine of the novel, but Kinski (resembling a young Ingrid Bergman) looks exquisite and effectively conveys a sense of melancholy in a star-making performance.
helpful•71
- kenjha
- Jul 4, 2010
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Cô Gái Đức Hạnh
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $12,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $20,093,330
- Gross worldwide
- $20,101,247
- Runtime3 hours 6 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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