#697: POLANSKI, Roman: Tess (1979)

POLANSKI, Roman (United Kingdom)
Tess [1979]
Spine #697
Blu-ray


This multiple-Oscar-winning film by Roman Polanski is an exquisite, richly layered adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles. A strong-willed peasant girl (Nastassja Kinski, in a gorgeous breakthrough) is sent by her father to the estate of some local aristocrats to capitalize on a rumor that their families are from the same line. This fateful visit commences an epic narrative of sex, class, betrayal, and revenge, which Polanski unfolds with deliberation and finesse. With its earthy visual textures, achieved by two world-class cinematographers — Geoffrey Unsworth (Cabaret) and Ghislain Cloquet (Au hasard Bathazar) — Tess is a work of great pastoral beauty as well as vivid storytelling.

171 minutes
Color
5.1 Surround
2:35:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2014
Director/Writers


Based on the novel by Thomas Hardy.
Polanski was 46 when he directed Tess.

Other Polanski films in the Collection:

#215: Knife In The Water (1962)
#483: Repulsion (1965)
#577: Cul-De-Sac (1966)
#630: Rosemary's Baby (1968)
#726: Macbeth (1971)

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twenty page booklet featuring an essay by critic Colin MacCabe.

Commentary

None.

Once Upon a Time . . . “Tess”: The Experience

Featuring interviews with Polanski, actors Kinski and Lawson, producer Claude Berri, costume designer Anthony Powell, composer Philippe Sarde, and others.

Interview

With Polanski from a 1979 episode of The South Bank Show.

Forty-five minute

Documentary shot on location for French television during the making of the film.

Trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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