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IMDbPro

Tess

  • 1979
  • PG
  • 3h 6m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
17K
YOUR RATING
Tess (1979)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer2:29
8 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaRomance

A strong-willed young peasant girl attracts the affection of two men.A strong-willed young peasant girl attracts the affection of two men.A strong-willed young peasant girl attracts the affection of two men.

  • Director
    • Roman Polanski
  • Writers
    • Thomas Hardy
    • Gérard Brach
    • Roman Polanski
  • Stars
    • Nastassja Kinski
    • Peter Firth
    • Leigh Lawson
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    17K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Roman Polanski
    • Writers
      • Thomas Hardy
      • Gérard Brach
      • Roman Polanski
    • Stars
      • Nastassja Kinski
      • Peter Firth
      • Leigh Lawson
    • 98User reviews
    • 71Critic reviews
    • 82Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 3 Oscars
      • 16 wins & 16 nominations total

    Videos8

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:29
    Watch Official Trailer
    Tess: Offering Help (French Subtitled)
    Clip 2:07
    Watch Tess: Offering Help (French Subtitled)
    Tess: Apology (French Subtitled)
    Clip 3:43
    Watch Tess: Apology (French Subtitled)
    Tess: We Bore A Child (French Subtitled)
    Clip 2:22
    Watch Tess: We Bore A Child (French Subtitled)
    Tess: You Look Like Cats Afraid Of Water (French Subtitled)
    Clip 2:23
    Watch Tess: You Look Like Cats Afraid Of Water (French Subtitled)
    Tess: Don't Be So Coy (English Dubbed)
    Clip 3:45
    Watch Tess: Don't Be So Coy (English Dubbed)
    Tess: I Can't Marry You (French Subtitled)
    Clip 1:01
    Watch Tess: I Can't Marry You (French Subtitled)
    Tess: Don't Be So Coy (French Subtitled)
    Clip 0:57
    Watch Tess: Don't Be So Coy (French Subtitled)

    Photos163

    Nastassja Kinski in Tess (1979)
    Nastassja Kinski in Tess (1979)
    Nastassja Kinski and Peter Firth in Tess (1979)
    Nastassja Kinski in Tess (1979)
    "Tess" Nastassja Kinski 1979 Columbia
    "Tess" Nastassja Kinski 1979 Columbia
    Roman Polanski at an event for Tess (1979)
    Roman Polanski at an event for Tess (1979)
    Nastassja Kinski and Roman Polanski at an event for Tess (1979)
    Nastassja Kinski and Roman Polanski at an event for Tess (1979)
    Tess (1979)
    Nastassja Kinski in Tess (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nastassja Kinski
    Nastassja Kinski
    • Tess
    • (as Nastassia Kinski)
    Peter Firth
    Peter Firth
    • Angel Clare
    Leigh Lawson
    Leigh Lawson
    • Alec d'Urberville
    John Collin
    John Collin
    • John Durbeyfield
    Tony Church
    • Parson Tringham
    Brigid Erin Bates
    • Girl in Meadow
    Jeanne Biras
    • Girl in Meadow
    John Bett
    • Felix Clare
    Tom Chadbon
    Tom Chadbon
    • Cuthbert Clare
    Rosemary Martin
    Rosemary Martin
    • Mrs Durbeyfield
    Geraldine Arzul
    • Child
    Stephanie Treille
    • Child
    Elodie Warnod
    • Child
    Ben Reeks
    • Child
    Lesley Dunlop
    Lesley Dunlop
    • Girl in Henhouse
    Maryline Even
    • Girl in Henhouse
    Jean-Jacques Daubin
    • Bailiff
    Sylvia Coleridge
    Sylvia Coleridge
    • Mrs d'Urberville
    • Director
      • Roman Polanski
    • Writers
      • Thomas Hardy
      • Gérard Brach
      • Roman Polanski
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film's opening dedication at the start of the film states: "For Sharon". Roman Polanski dedicated this movie to his late wife, Sharon Tate, who was killed in 1969 by the Manson Clan. Before Tate's death, she had read the film's source novel by Thomas Hardy and was convinced that her husband would one day make a great film based on the novel. Movie was released to the theaters exactly 10 years after her untimely death.
    • Goofs
      At the beginning of the final sequence, set at Stonehenge, someone's head can be seen at bottom-left.
    • Quotes

      Alec d'Urberville: [pins a pink rose on Tess' dress] What's the matter?

      Tess: A thorn.

      Alec d'Urberville: Aw, cousin, beauty has its price.

    • Alternate versions
      The film was first released to German cinemas uncut with a running time of 184 minutes. As the audience reaction was far from overwhelming the distributor decided to re-cut and re-release the film in a more "accessible" 134 minutes version. But at least one of the original prints had survived and was shown here at the local art house years later.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 38th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1981)

    User reviews98

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Not one of Polanski's masterpieces but has much to admire regardless
    Tess had a lot going for it, a wonderful book and a director that was responsible for masterpieces like Chinatown, Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. Tess didn't quite live up to the promising potential it did have and I don't consider it one of Polanski's masterpieces. However it is a commendable film and adaptation(even if I do prefer the 2008 BBC series) and better on re-watch than when I saw it a couple of years back and didn't care at all for it. The film is overlong, and while the pace is purposeful considering the book's complexity there are times where it does get a bit too languid. On the other hand, visually it is stunning with evocative scenery and photography. The music is also resolutely haunting, the scripting thought-provoking and literate and the story having its necessary pathos as well as being devastating and powerful in equal measure. The denouncement with Stonehenge as the backdrop is just stunning. The characters are not as complex as in the book or the series but are still interesting and emphatic. Nastassja Kinski does have moments where she is a little flat, but on the whole it is a very moving performance. Peter Firth is suitably subtle as Angel Clare and Leigh Lawson's menacing Alec comes close to stealing the film. Polanski's direction is exemplary. All in all, has much to admire but falls flat of being a truly outstanding movie. 7/10 Bethany Cox
    helpful•18
    7
    • TheLittleSongbird
    • Aug 16, 2012

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 12, 1980 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • France
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Cô Gái Đức Hạnh
    • Filming locations
      • Morienval, Oise, France(final scenes, Stonehenge reconstitution)
    • Production companies
      • Renn Productions
      • Timothy Burrill Productions
      • Société Française de Production (SFP)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $12,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $20,093,330
    • Gross worldwide
      • $20,101,247
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      3 hours 6 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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