In Roman Polanski's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Nastassja Kinski plays Tess, a poor British peasant girl sent to live with her distant and wealthy relatives, the D'Urbervilles. Though Tess' father had hoped that the girl would be permitted a portion of the D'Urberville riches, he is in for a major disappointment: Tess' new housemates are not D'Urbervilles at all, but a social-climbing family that has bought the name. Tess won three Oscars, including a "Best
Cinematography" statuette for the late Geoffrey Unsworth and his successor Ghislain Cloquet. The film also served to catapult Nastassja Kinski to stardom. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
een in the context of Roman Polanski's career it becomes something rich and strange, shaded into terror by the naturalistic absurdism that is the basis of Polanski's style.
Visually, Tess is a masterpiece, capturing in amazing detail the scenery and atmosphere of the England of yore. The film's chief drawback, however, is its lack of vitality.
Though not one of Polanski's best features, this adaptation of Thomas Hardy's challenging novel, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, is intelligent if flawed, but it's nice to look at due to excellent production values, particularly cinematography.
Polanski is entitled to one monstrously overlong period piece, and in Tess he acquits himself satisfactorily, though the film isn't nearly the equal of its counterparts
The mean and downward day by day of a gorgeous peasant girl. beautifully adapted to the screen by Roman Polanski. A film dedicated to his wife Sharon Tate.
Natassja Kinski delivers a intelligent star-making performance as strong-willed farm girl of exceptional beauty from a poor family who is forcibly seduce by aristocrat. leaving her pregnant and alone, she gives birth to a sickly child who soon dies. She eventually falls in love with another man who marries her and then
treats her unfairly and abandons her, she has no choice but return to the aristocrat who misused her with tragic consequences. The romanticism and social determinism of Victorian England are dramatized with precision and effectiveness thanks to Roman Polanski masterful direction. A visually stupendous film with Oscar winning cinematography by Geoffery Unsworth. Based upon novel by Thomas Hardy, a memorable cinematic masterpiece. Highly Recommended.
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