Tess (Special Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Tess (Special Edition)
Movie Review: Beautiful But Lacking Something
Summary: 4 Stars
I know there has been a lot of praise (and controversy) over Roman Polanski's "Tess", and while I think this is a good film, I wonder sometimes if it is a bit overrated. Don't get me wrong, I have it in my collection, I enjoy comparing adaptations and such, but it's a bit too subdued and slow moving for my taste at times (and I know that it's not a story that can move quickly) and while Nastassja Kinski (of whom I am a fan) is very good and stunningly beautiful in the part, she just doesn't seem like an English country girl to me, she's quite exotic-looking (due to her Teutonic/Slavic ancestry). Her accent is quite good, despite what some have said, but some of her lines are spoken so softly and lowly you have to hit the volume button just to make sure you can hear her dialogue. The fact that Polanski had to film in France due to Britain's extradition laws (he was on the run from US authorities due to statutory rape charges involving a 13-year-old girl), and he had been having an affair with Kinski while she was underage added to a lot of uneasiness and controversy that swirled around the production and its release. It's dedicated to Sharon Tate (of whom I am also a fan), who suggested that Polanski read the novel and consider making it into a film (Julie Christie gave Tate a copy of the book and inscribed it, "To my Hardy heroine", Chrisitie herself having played a Hardy heroine in the 1967 epic Far From The Madding Crowd), which I find very touching. Leigh Lawson is very good as Alec, but he strikes me as a bit too old for the role, Peter Firth comes across as quite lackluster as Angel, not a lot of charisma, while Tess's mother comes off more as a silly matchmaking woman (I know Tess's parents are ignorant, but they should also come across as a bit more exploitative, since they pretty much pimp her out).
There are other things about Polanski's "Tess" that bother me. First off, it doesn't show how the death of Prince is what made Tess go along with her parents insistence that she claim kin. Her guilt over the loss of the family horse is crucial foreshadowing in the plot, but in Polanski's film it's only mentioned that the horse died, so that is somewhat of a loss in the narrative, which is a pity. Also, Tess in the novel, while she was naive in the beginning, she did have spirit and pluck, but she was made very passive and compliant in this film. Perhaps Polanski intended the film to be more introspective, since Kinski has very little dialogue for a film that runs three hours. The Chase sequence lost some of its impact for me when Polanski had Tess push Alec off of the horse and her begging his forgiveness, leading to a kiss and while she struggles with him, it makes it seem as if she is "reluctantly seduced" as one Thomas Hardy scholar noted on the DVD special features than forcibly taken by her "cousin". Or that it showed that Tess stayed on for a while as Alec's mistress, although the novel did say she didn't leave Trantridge until a few weeks after the night in the woods. The romance between Tess and Angel wasn't developed enough to feel for it or long for their reunion. Also, the fact that Alec became a preacher was totally left out, so the explanation of why he reappears in Tess's life is because Tess's mother wrote him telling him of Tess's troubles (the pregnancy, the baby's death, her abandonment by Angel), which seems absurd when she could have wrote him when Tess returned with child from Trantridge. Polanski said in a 1979 interview about the film that he left out Alec's conversion because it was "too Victorian". Whatever. I think he missed a big opportunity there, as well as the fact that the movie jumps ahead in time without much explanation which made it a bit confusing and awkward if you haven't read the novel. Both the BBC mini and the '98 A&E/LondonWeekendTelevision adaptations benefited from including those crucial parts of the plot into their presentations. Of course, none of the presentations are perfect (there's no such thing) but I feel that these latest two capture the spirit of the novel a bit better in some respects. Both Arterton and Waddell captured Tess's inner strength and somewhat independent way (it's interesting to note that Polanski also omitted the scene when Tess argues with her mother after she returns home after working for her "sham kin", regarding the fact that she has been "compromised/violated" by Alec and she did not get him to marry her and how her "condition" is something they'll have to make the best of). Also, we don't get much of an insight into Tess's family dynamic in this 1979 picture (such as her relationships with her younger siblings, and their names). With Kinski's Tess, who was a bit more introverted with her emotions, you sometimes had to guess her thoughts.
The French countryside (Normandy and Brittany) is gorgeous but it is missing that Wessex/Dorset aura - all you have to do is watch other Hardy adaptations (Far From The Madding Crowd, Jude, The Woodlanders and the other Tess versions), to get the idea. I can usually pick up on the authentic feel of certain locations, and I found that was missing in the Polanski film. That's probably one of the reasons why I prefer the later adaptations.
Great costuming though, lovely cinematography and Phillipe Sarde's score is very emotionally in tune with the tone of the story and the changing of the seasons.
Movie Review: Somber Version, but Quite Effective
Summary: 4 Stars
Tess of the D'Urbervilles represents one of the essential novels of the Victorian era. Roman Polanski's version of Thomas Hardy's novel is exquisite in its depiction of the mood that I believe this type of work wants to create. Tess, for all her weaknesses, does represent a tragic heroine. Some may argue that Polanski's Tess is a bit weak, but I don't think they are truly giving Natasha Kinski credit for creating a sensitive and innocent Tess.
Tess goes to the D'Urberville estate in the family's hopes of bringing wealth to their name. Alec, the son of the family, attempts many times to seduce young Tess, and finally, one night, rapes her. Alec, shameless, seems to come across as a "stalker" at points, trying to get her to love him while Tess leaves an unhappy life on the estate. She eventually returns home and tries to start life anew.
After a year of suffering, Tess, while working on a dairy farm, Tess meets, falls in love with, and eventually marries Angel Claire. This appears to finally be the saving grace in Tess' life, but both Tess and Angel have secrets from their past, and they both decide to reveal these on the first night of the honeymoon.
I really felt like this confession scene with Tess and Angel worked so well because of the camera angles. After Tess forgives Angel for having an affair with an older woman, the scene shows Tess in front of Angel while she tells him her secret of becoming pregnant with Alec's child and eventually having her son die. The disappointment and mood of Angel rings forth as we see Angel become more and more somber before finally stating "I'm going out" leaving the room, and, in effect, Tess' life.
From this point on, both Tess and Angel have their difficulties. Tess' struggles seem to be not only a burden for her individually, but also her family. One of the tragic themes of the film is that there are injustices in life, and we see this in how the Durbeyfield family struggles to live under a roof after their father's death, and how Tess falls deeper and deeper into despair.
The movie is quite lengthy (3 hours), but I think this is because Polanski wanted to get all the essential aspects of the novel included. Like some have already stated, the DVD is not the best quality, but I didn't notice too many problems with mine. Overall, this is an effective rendition of Hardy's novel, and it might not be exactly as Hardy would have liked it, but the integrity of the work is clearly demonstrated.
Movie Review: "Special Edition" must mean the NOT MASTERED version.,
Summary: 4 Stars
I wish I didn't have to give such a negative review for this film. But, anyway, it's unanimous, everyone agrees that a better effort could have been made to show this film in it's truest colors. It looks no better than the VHS tape version. I wish they wouldn't use the term "special edition" when it leaves so much to be desired. If they re-release this again in the future, will they refer to it as the "not so special, new and improved edition"? Maybe this is called the "special edition" because this one doesn't come with the book. Well, regardless, I still have to have this film in my library. Maybe my tolerance is more adamant than perhaps a first time watcher of this film. The undenyably poor video transfer of this otherwise wonderful film seriously reduces the integrity of the quality of my choices for family films. I don't think my kids will get into this film because it is a long film with eyesore inducing limited visual quality.
And I usually don't need all the "blah-blah-blah" extras that you usually get with a 2-DVD edition release (thank God this is only one DVD). I just want my films to look and sound as cutting-edge mastered as technologically possible.
Movie Review: Achingly sadly beautiful
Summary: 4 Stars
I didn't read the novel so I have no comments about the accuracy of the adaptation. I had no problem understanding it. (Some reviewers said that it was necessary to read the book in order to follow the film.) I had no problem, either with the length. In fact I was glad it was so long; I wanted to get "the whole story" not a compressed version.
The photography, as others have mentioned is exquisite. It's worth seeing again, with the sound off, just to see the gorgeous country shots.
The music was perfect too--just right for the mood of the film--not too intrusive.
Nastassja Kinski was perfect as Tess. I can't imagine anyone else playing the role. All of the other principle actors were just right and gave excellent performances. How we loved the divine Angel until his rejection of Tess on their wedding night!
The whole film is gorgeously earnest and deeply felt. The only reason I subtracted one star is that the story is just so damned depressing! Knowing what we do of Polanski's life, one can see how he'd be attracted to such material, but for me...I would have preferred some happiness and joy for poor Tess.
Movie Review: Melodic and Haunting - More Human than the Book
Summary: 4 Stars
Tess of the D'Urbervilles is far from being my favourite Thomas Hardy book, but this film is not only a faithful adaptation, it touches your soul. Tess is a complex character, and she is brilliantly brought to life by Nastassia Kinski. She makes us feel alternately Tess's coldness and her attempts to melt, her desperate grabbing at love only to shun it, her inability to choose between the two men in her life, and her final realization that her true happiness does not lie on earth. The movie does not only show Tess's inability to find happiness, but that she causes torment to the two men who love her. Each character is complex and human, not stereotyped and caricatured as it sometimes seemed in the book. The film's musical score is haunting and truly suits the mood of the story.
One interesting change the film makes is that, after Tess's father declares he doesn't want his children going begging, Tess is immediately shown on her way to the D'Urberville estate. In the book, she only goes after she kills the family horse, depriving them of income. Tess in the film is thus even more independent than in the book - this shows throughout the film.