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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.
Original Release
10/06/1979
US Release
12/12/1979
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Cast
Name | Character |
---|
John Collin | John Durbeyfield |
Tony Church | Parson Tringham |
Nastassja Kinski | Tess / Tess Durbeyfield |
Brigid Erin Bates | Girl in meadow |
Jeanne Biras | Girl in meadow |
Peter Firth | Angel Clare |
John Bett | Felix Clare |
Tom Chadbon | Cuthbert Clare |
Rosemary Martin | Mrs. Durbeyfield |
Geraldine Arzul | Child |
Directors
Writers
Roman Polanski, Thomas Hardy, Gérard Brach, John Brownjohn
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
John Collin | John Durbeyfield |
Tony Church | Parson Tringham |
Nastassja Kinski | Tess / Tess Durbeyfield |
Brigid Erin Bates | Girl in meadow |
Jeanne Biras | Girl in meadow |
Peter Firth | Angel Clare |
John Bett | Felix Clare |
Tom Chadbon | Cuthbert Clare |
Rosemary Martin | Mrs. Durbeyfield |
Geraldine Arzul | Child |
Stephanie Treille | Child |
Elodie Warnod | Child |
Ben Reeks | Child |
Leigh Lawson | Alec d'Urberville / Alec Stokes-d'Urberville |
Lesley Dunlop | Girl in henhouse |
Maryline Even | Girl in henhouse |
Jean-Jacques Daubin | Bailiff |
Sylvia Coleridge | Mrs. d'Urberville |
Jacob Weizbluth | Yokel at barn-dance |
Jacques Mathou | Harvester |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Pierre Grunstein | Executive Producer |
Claude Berri | Producer |
Timothy Burrill | Producer |
Jean-Pierre Rassam | Producer |
Editors
Clips
Year | Type | Category | Won |
---|
1981 | Oscar | Best Picture | Nominated |
1981 | Oscar | Best Director | Nominated |
1981 | Oscar | Best Cinematography | Won |
1981 | Oscar | Best Art Direction-Set Decoration | Won |
1981 | Oscar | Best Costume Design | Won |
1981 | Oscar | Best Music, Original Score | Nominated |
1981 | Golden Globe | Best Foreign Film | Won |
1981 | Golden Globe | Best Director - Motion Picture | Nominated |
1981 | Golden Globe | Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama | Nominated |
1981 | Golden Globe | New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture - Female | Won |