Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
Genre: Dramas
Starring: David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Jean Seberg, Geoffrey Horne, Mylene Demongeot
DVD Info
Release:
Dec 16, 2003
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
- Dolby Digital - English
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
Has a glacial tone that gets covered with a lobster red French Riviera sunburn.
Kerr, of course, is a standout talent in spite of script deficiencies, and Demongeot plays the role of a silly blonde well. The Riviera scenes are rich in eye appeal and Kerr's chic costuming by Givenchy adds another plus.
Script deficiencies and awkward reading -- some lines are spoken as though just that -- have static results.
The flirtation with incest at the centre of this adaptation of Françoise Sagan's novel is tame by modern standards, but the evil scheming of Seberg as the daughter set on separating her father and his mistress is still forceful.
While some may be put off by Preminger's glossy presentation of the idle rich, his direction in Bonjour Tristesse engages the mind while it stimulates the senses.
Among favorite cinephile pet auteurs, no one’s reputation has had a rougher ride than that of Otto Preminger’s.
he overall ambiguity of the film and its refusal to make judgements mark it as ahead of its time, while the cast are first-rate, particularly Seberg, veering between impishly mischievous and spookily sinister.
Hollywood soap opera at its best, nicely done and still entertaining after many decades.


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