Valmont
by Milos Forman
List Price:
Our Price: $2.98
You Save: $12.00 (80%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Annette Bening, Colin Firth, Fairuza Balk, Meg Tilly, Si?n PhillipsDirector: Milos Forman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 137 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-09-17
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of Valmont
Movie Review: "One must always honor a bet."
Summary: 4 Stars
This lavish retelling of Les Liaisons Dangereuses stars Annette Benning as the Marquise de Merteuil, a nasty aristocrat who delights in manipulating those around her. She is outraged when her lover makes plans to marry the young and virtuous Cecile,(who is in love with her music teacher), so she engages the services of the notorious playboy the Vicomte de Valmont to cuckold him. Before he can do it, however, Valmont falls in love with a proper, married woman, Madame de Tourvel. Learning of this, Merteuil bets Valmont that he can't bed Tourvel, and he happily takes up the challenge.
The plot was so complex that I needed a scorecard to keep straight who was doing what to whom and why. All the action swirls around Benning's Merteuil and she's malicious and flirty enough, but her American accent detracts from her character. In fact, the array of American and British accents and their 21st century delivery spoil the illusion that the story is set in 18th century France. As Valmont, Colin Firth is definite eye-candy but not nearly lecherous enough; he's boyish and pitiable instead of cunning and ruthless. Meg Tilley (Tourvel) and Henry Thomas, (the music teacher) are incredibly bland and look out of place in a period piece.
On the plus side, the Oscar-nominated costumes are breathtakingly opulent and palatial sets and locations are flawless. It's the actors that keep the movie from being really good; they're more common than genteel and I didn't believe any of them. 3.5 stars.
Summary of Valmont
Based on the classic novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, this delectable thriller stars Colin Firth (Bridget Jones's Diary) and Oscars? nominee* Annette Bening (American Beauty) as embittered aristocrats who weave a wicked web of cruel intentions and savage seductions. Directed by Oscar? winner** Milos Forman, Valmont is a darkly amusing period drama that issimply a piece of high entertainment (The Hollywood Reporter). In 18th-century France, a cruel and calculating playboy, Valmont (Firth), makes a malicious wager with the equally wicked Madame de Merteuil (Bening): Valmont must dishonor the married Madame de Tourvel (Meg Tilly) by sleepingwith her. If Valmont succeeds, he gets the privilege of Merteuil's bed as well. But when Valmont sets out on his task, the unexpected happens...he falls in love with Tourvel! And now Merteuil will stop at nothing to destroy Valmont's newfound passion. *1990: Supporting Actress, The Grifters; 1999: Actress, American Beauty *1975: Director, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; 1984: Director, AmadeusTalk about too little, too late. A year after Stephen Frears's marvelous Dangerous Liaisons, Milos Forman released this film, based on the same material: the novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Shot at the same time but held so as not to compete, it suffered by comparison. The story--about a pair of aristocrats, former lovers, who wager that the man cannot seduce a particularly chaste woman--is still awash in lust and intrigue. But, while Forman's craft was exceptional, his cast couldn't match the power of its predecessor. In particular, Colin Firth, as the game-playing title character, lacked the snaky charm of John Malkovich, and Meg Tilly couldn't compare to the tragic beauty of Michelle Pfeiffer. Annette Bening, though born to play a vixen, seemed callow and insubstantial next to the sinister depths of Glenn Close. --Marshall Fine
Art House & International DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in All Things Erotic, Movies & TV Part 2 of 2
Secret Diary of a Call GirlDVD
Total EclipseWarner Brothers; Release date: 1999-12-21; DVD
Best price: $6.35
Price in other shops:
Pretty BabyRelease date: 2003-11-18; DVD
Best price: $7.66
Price in other shops:
QuillsRelease date: 2001-05-08; DVD
Best price: $4.21
Price in other shops:
Lady Chatterley's LoverTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2005-07-26; DVD
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops:
9 songs - Unrated Full Uncut VersionRelease date: 2005-11-22; DVD
Best price: $15.33
Price in other shops:
The Dreamers (Original Uncut NC-17 Version)Release date: 2004-07-13; DVD
Best price: $4.09
Price in other shops:
Cat PeopleRelease date: 2002-08-27; DVD
Best price: $7.90
Price in other shops:
Laurel CanyonSony; Release date: 2003-07-15; DVD
Best price: $3.15
Price in other shops:
Eyes Wide Shut (Unrated Two-Disc Special Edition)Release date: 2007-10-23; DVD
Best price: $23.99
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason (Widescreen Edition)Release date: 2005-03-22; DVD
Best price: $2.69
Price in other shops:
PersuasionSony; Release date: 2000-02-01; DVD
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops:
Bridget Jones's Diary (Collector's Edition)ZELLWEGER,RENEE; Release date: 2004-11-09; DVD
Best price: $5.73
Price in other shops:
Lost Empires (3 DVD Set)Release date: 2002-05-28; DVD
Best price: $59.98
Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition (A&E, 1996)A&E; Release date: 2001-09-25; DVD
Best price: $20.43
Price in other shops:
Hope SpringsFIRTH,COLIN; Release date: 2004-04-06; DVD
Best price: $4.19
Price in other shops:
The Importance of Being EarnestRelease date: 2002-11-12; DVD
Best price: $6.59
Price in other shops:
Girl With a Pearl EarringLions Gate; Release date: 2004-05-04; DVD
Best price: $4.24
Price in other shops:
Dangerous LiaisonsWarner Brothers; Release date: 1997-10-29; DVD
Best price: $3.19
Price in other shops:
The AdvocateRelease date: 2003-07-01; DVD
Best price: $4.74
Price in other shops: