Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

A scheming widow and her manipulative ex-lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman.

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers:

Christopher Hampton (play), Choderlos de Laclos (novel)

Stars:

Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer

Won 3 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Glenn Close	...	Marquise de Merteuil
John Malkovich	...	Vicomte de Valmont
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Madame de Tourvel
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Madame de Volanges
Keanu Reeves	...	Chevalier Danceny
Mildred Natwick	...	Madame de Rosemonde
Uma Thurman	...	Cécile de Volanges
Peter Capaldi	...	Azolan
Joe Sheridan	...	Georges
Valerie Gogan	...	Julie
Laura Benson	...	Emilie
Joanna Pavlis	...	Adèle
Nicholas Hawtrey	...	Major-domo
Paulo Abel Do Nascimento	...	Castrato
François Lalande	...	Curé

Storyline

In 18th century France, the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont play a dangerous game of seduction. Valmont is someone who measures success by the number of his conquests and Merteuil challenges him to seduce the soon to be married Cecile de Volanges and provide proof in writing of his success. His reward for doing so will be to spend the night with Merteuil. He has little difficulty seducing Cecile but what he really wants is to seduce Madame de Tourvel. When Merteuil learns that he has actually fallen in love with her, she refuses to let him claim his reward for seducing Cecile. Death soon follows.

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Plot Keywords:

seduction | emotional abuse | nipples | rape | woman | 

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Taglines:

Lust. Seduction. Revenge. The Game As You've Never Seen It Played Before.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

All of the principal characters are portrayed by American actors.

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Goofs

In Madame de Rosemonde's garden, Valmont sits behind Madame de Tourvel and asks "Why are you so angry with me?" The camera then cuts to a close-up of Tourvel's face, and Valmont is sitting much closer behind her.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Vicomte de Valmont: It's beyond my control.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Femme Fatales in Modern Movies (2014)

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Soundtracks

La Cetra Op. 9, Concerto No. 9
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi

User Reviews

Great fun to be a playa like Malkovich

This movie had an extraordinary cast (the incomprehensibly bad Keanu Reeves definitely excluded) which created a movie that still looks great 15 years later. I watched "Cruel Intentions" before "Dangerous Liaisons" and I like both of them, but in a different way. "Cruel Intentions" is a very cool movie mostly intended for the younger generations, simplifying the plot but still maintaining the very essence while "Dangerous Liaisons" puts more importance to the actors performance. Malkovich is amazing, so is Glenn Close and I especially liked the 17 year old Uma Thurman! 8/10

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 February 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dangerous Liaisons

Filming Locations:

Hôtel de Sully, Paris 4, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$84,451, 26 December 1988

Gross USA:

$34,670,720

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,670,720

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Film Entertainment, NFH Productions, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1