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.

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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

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

When Tess and Angel break in to the house when on the run, the mic boom pole is reflected in the door beside the broken glass panel Angel had just forced.

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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 At the Movies: Better Off Dead/The Journey of Natty Gann/Commando (1985)

User Reviews

Why dont they make them like this anymore?

I saw Tess as a teenager and the images and emotions have lingered with me ever since. I remembered Natasia Kinski as Tess being tempted with a strawberry by her cad of a cousin, the subtlety of showing a murder by just having the tiniest spot of blood appear on the ceiling below, the powerful poetry of the final scene at Stonehenge... I have just watched the film again and it was even better than I remembered. I will go to my grave being in love with Kinski in this role! I had forgotten also what a perfect performance Peter Firth gives as Angel Clair, and the apparent authenticity of life in rural Victorian England. Perhaps what is most extraordinary is the leisurely pace at which the story is told. Shots linger on the countryside after characters have said their lines and moved off. many sequences exist entirely to build up to a single glance or gesture. Altogether Tess is a superb lesson in story telling and one of the truly great movies of all