Tess
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tess | |
|---|---|
 Original movie poster for Tess |
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| Directed by | Roman Polański |
| Produced by | Claude Berri |
| Written by | Gerard Brach John Brownjohn Roman Polański Based on the novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy |
| Starring | Nastassja Kinski Peter Firth Leigh Lawson |
| Music by | Philippe Sarde |
| Cinematography | Ghislain Cloquet Geoffrey Unsworth |
| Editing by | Alastair McIntyre Tom Priestly |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  December 12, 1980 1 March 1981 |
| Running time | 190 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom/France |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25,000,000 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Tess is a 1979 English language romantic drama film directed by Roman Polański. It is an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's 1891 novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles. It tells the story of a strong-willed young peasant woman who is seduced by her wealthy aristocratic cousin, whose right to the family title may not be as strong as he claims. The screenplay is by Gérard Brach, John Brownjohn, and Roman Polański.
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[edit] Plot summary
The story takes place in rural Dorsetshire, England, during the Victorian period.
Its events are set in motion innocently enough when a clergyman, Parson Tringham, has a conversation with a simple farmer, John Durbeyfield. Tringham is a local historian; in the course of his research, he has discovered that the "Durbeyfields" are actually descended from the d'Urbervilles, a noble family whose lineage extends to the time of William the Conqueror. It is useless knowledge, really, as the family lost its land and prestige when the male heirs died out. The parson merely thinks Durbeyfield might like to know his origins as a passing historical curiosity.
Unfortunately, Durbeyfield immediately becomes fixated upon the idea of regaining his lost nobility, and using it to somehow better his family's fortunes. To this end, he sends his daughter Tess to seek employment with a family named d'Urberville living in a nearby manor house. Alec d'Urberville is delighted to meet his beautiful "cousin", and he seduces her with strawberries and roses. But Alec is no relation to Tess; he has gotten his illustrious name and coat of arms by purchasing them. Alec falls in love with Tess, eventually seduces/rapes her, and she leaves, pregnant; back at home, the baby is born sickly and dies.
Some time later, Tess goes to a dairy farm and begins work as a milkmaid. There she meets her true love: an aspiring young missionary from a respectable family, named Angel Clare. Angel believes Tess to be an unspoiled country girl, and completely innocent. They fall in love, but Tess does not guiltily confess her previous relationship with Alec until their wedding night. Disillusioned, Angel rejects her and Tess finds herself alone once again.
Deserted by her husband, Tess meets Alec d'Urberville again. At first, she angrily rebuffs his advances. But after her father's death, the Durbeyfield family falls upon desperately hard times, facing starvation, eviction and homelessness. Tess is forced to resume her torrid relationship with Alec, becoming his mistress in order to support her mother and siblings.
Shortly afterward Angel Clare returns from travelling abroad. A disastrous missionary tour in Brazil has ruined his health; humbled, and having had plenty of time to think, he is remorseful at his treatment of Tess. He succeeds in tracking her down -- but leaves heartbroken when he finds her cohabiting with Alec. Tess realizes that a second time, allowing Alec to manipulate and seduce her has ruined her chances at happiness with Angel. She suffers a mental breakdown and murders Alec in a rage.
Running away to find Angel, Tess is able to reconcile with him; for he can finally accept and embrace her as his wife without passing moral judgment on her actions. They consummate their marriage, spending one night of happiness together before Tess is arrested, tried, and executed.
[edit] Production
Polański made the film because the last time he saw his wife Sharon Tate alive (before she was murdered by Charles Manson's gang), she had given him a copy of Tess of the d'Urbervilles and said it would make a great film. The dedication at the opening of the film reads simply: "For Sharon".
Although the film is set in England, it was filmed in Quimper, Brittany, France. This is because Polański was wanted for statutory rape charges in the United States, and he could have been extradited from the United Kingdom.
In October 1978, cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth died of a heart attack during the third week of shooting. Most of the scenes he shot were exteriors in the first half of the film and can be distinguished by their use of fog and slight diffusion.[citation needed] Ghislain Cloquet shot the second half and the remaining of the film with most of the scenes in interiors with no diffusion. Rumor has that among the scenes shot by Geoffrey Unsworth before his death were the foggy day for night seduction in the woods, the tent and the strawberries where Tess is in the d'Uberville mansion, the large cows being milked, the girls seeing Angel at sunrise, and Angel carrying the girls over the stream.[citation needed]
[edit] Music
The original musical score was composed by Philippe Sarde. The melody that Angel Clare, a Victorian period Englishman, plays on the recorder is in fact a popular Polish folk song, "Laura i Filon".
[edit] Main cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Nastassja Kinski | Tess Durbeyfield |
| Peter Firth | Angel Clare |
| Leigh Lawson | Alec d'Urberville |
| John Collin | John Durbeyfield |
| Rosemary Martin | Mrs. Durbeyfield |
| Carolyn Pickles | Miriam |
| Richard Pearson | Vicar of Marlott |
| David Markham | Reverend Clare |
| Pascale de Boysson | Mrs. Clare |
| Suzanna Hamilton | Izz Huett |
| Caroline Embling | Retty |
| Tony Church | Parson Tringham |
| Leslie Dunlop | Girl in benbouse |
| Sylvia Coleridge | Mrs. d'Urberville |
| Fred Bryant | Dairyman Crick |
[edit] Marketing
Taglines used to advertise the film include:
- "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."
[edit] Ratings
The film is rated PG in the UK for brief sexuality and thematic elements.
[edit] Reception
The film grossed US$20,093,330 in the United States.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Academy Award nominations
- Golden Globe Awards
- Best Foreign Language Film
- New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture
- Golden Globe Award nominations
[edit] External links
- Tess at the Internet Movie Database
- Tess at All Movie Guide
- Tess at Rotten Tomatoes
| Films directed by Roman Polanski |
|---|
| Rower • Uśmiech zębiczny • Rozbijemy zabawę • Morderstwo • Dwaj ludzie z szafą • Lampa • Gdy spadają anioly (When Angels Fall) • Le Gros et le maigre • Ssaki • Nóż w wodzie • Les Plus belles escroqueries du monde • Repulsion • Cul-de-Sac • The Fearless Vampire Killers • Rosemary's Baby • Macbeth • What? • Chinatown • The Tenant • Tess • Pirates • Frantic • Bitter Moon • Death and the Maiden • The Ninth Gate • The Pianist • Oliver Twist • To each his cinema • Pompeii |
| Preceded by La Cage aux Folles |
Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film 1981 |
Succeeded by Chariots of Fire |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Films directed by Roman Polański | 1979 films | Columbia Pictures films | Drama films | English-language films | Epic films | Films based on romance books | Films based on Thomas Hardy's books | Films over three hours long | French films | Romantic period films
