Tess
Tess
•
2h 51m
Directed by Roman Polanski • 1979 • France, United Kingdom
Starring Nastassja Kinski, Peter Firth, Leigh Lawson
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 BALTHAZAR)—TESS is a work of great pastoral beauty as well as vivid storytelling.
Up Next in Tess
-
“Ciné regards”: Roman Polanski on TES...
This 1979 episode of the French television program “Ciné regards” intersperses behind-the-scenes footage from the making of TESS in the French countryside with an interview with director Roman Polanski.
-
Once Upon a Time . . . TESS
This 2006 documentary by Daniel Ablin and Serge July, about the making of TESS, features interviews with director Roman Polanski, actors Nastassja Kinski and Leigh Lawson, producer Claude Berri, costume designer Anthony Powell, and composer Philippe Sarde.
-
From Novel to Screen
This documentary on the adaptation of TESS was directed by Laurent Bouzereau in 2004.
