Tess

A young strong-willed peasant girl (Nastassja Kinski), becomes the affection of two men, tragically falling into the arms of one. Polanski's second film translating a classic work of literature into a film -- the first being "MacBeth" (and he would later make "Oliver Twist"). This one is real epic, running nearly three hours. The budget as compared to "MacBeth" is greatly improved, and the video and sound quality reflect this. Is this one as violent, sexual or psychological as some of his earlier films? Polanski is director with great range, who refuses to be pigeon-holed into one genre or another. He has yet to tackle a western, but has done pretty much everything else. There is a scene of a forceful sexual assault of a minor, parallel with Polanski's own indiscretions. In fact, the film was set in England but filmed in France, as director Roman Polanski was wanted on sex-related charges in the United States and could have been extradited from England.

To say than it is an inspired adaptation is easy. To admire the Victorian atmosphere is, in same measure, an obvious fact. But the most important is the lovely and bitter and unique performance of Nastassja Kinski. Long time, the image of her as Tess remains present in memory.Because Kinski and Peter Firth are the pillars of this dramatic gem.. The force and fragility of it. The seductive references and the feel to be part of an universe of illusions and basic truth. A masterpiece. Not only for the artistic virtues. But for the manner to reflect the soul of a world. For

This is a striking film. First of all, it is a visual masterpiece. It has color and depth and captures the part of England that Thomas Hardy loved. This is the story of Tess Durbeyfield, a common girl, though an incredibly beautiful one. She hooks up with a guy named Angel Clare and while she loves him, he brings disaster to her. This was directed by Roman Polanski. It starred Klaus Kinski's beautiful daughter Nastassia. She has that innocence and vulnerability that fits the part. She is also quite voluptuous which draws the attention of men. The classic scene in the plains of Salisbury are so memorable. I haven't seen other versions of this story, but I would be hard pressed to find one as well done.

Beautiful to look at, not just the scenery but the art direction as well but overlong and somewhat ponderous. Nastassja Kinski handles the complex lead role with surety and exudes a great deal of charisma and star quality, it's surprising that her career fizzled out so completely but as she matured those qualities in evidence here diminished. Director Polanski's silent tribute to his late wife Sharon Tate at the end of the opening credits with a simple "To Sharon" after his credit is quite moving. She had left the Hardy novel with a note that she thought he would make a fine film of it when she headed back to the states just before her death.

This is a delicious film - a cinematic strawberry-sundae - with entrancing Nastassja Kinski as the succulent cherry on top. Don't miss the opening scene, in which the village maidens, all dressed in white with flowers in hair, skip along behind musicians as they slowly make their way up an old farming roadway towards camera & then past... In my opinion, this scene is as subtly magnificent as that classic scene from "The Third Man": 'Anna', coming from the grave site, making that seeming-to-take-forever walk along the road towards where 'Holly Martin' stands awaiting her, & then, she walks straight past, ignoring him...and from a pocket of his rumpled overcoat, he digs-out a pack of ciggies & lights one up...The End. Both are magical, time-suspending scenes, created by visual virtuosos who also knew that sometimes a modicum of music can be far more effective than a deluge of dialog. TB - a staff member of Prospect Point Productions, Inc

I saw Tess as a teenager and the images and emotions have lingered with me ever since. I remembered Natasia Kinski as Tess being tempted with a strawberry by her cad of a cousin, the subtlety of showing a murder by just having the tiniest spot of blood appear on the ceiling below, the powerful poetry of the final scene at Stonehenge... I have just watched the film again and it was even better than I remembered. I will go to my grave being in love with Kinski in this role! I had forgotten also what a perfect performance Peter Firth gives as Angel Clair, and the apparent authenticity of life in rural Victorian England. Perhaps what is most extraordinary is the leisurely pace at which the story is told. Shots linger on the countryside after characters have said their lines and moved off. Many sequences exist entirely to build up to a single glance or gesture. Altogether Tess is a superb lesson in story telling and one of the truly great movies of all.

This film was an almost exact replication of Thomas Hardy's novel "Tess of the d'Urbervilles". It's so rare to watch a film after reading the novel and not be disappointed by it, but this film didn't disappoint in any way. Details, such as the whiteness of the maids' dresses, the sound of milk squirting into a bucket, the sloshing mud of a wet English turnip field, and the glint of adoration in the eyes of the young lovers -- all came gloriously to life as if fresh off the pages of the book. I highly recommend this film for anyone who enjoys a good old fashioned Victorian love story.