Dangerous Liaisons
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| Dangerous Liaisons | |
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| Directed by | Stephen Frears |
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| Produced by | Norma Heyman Hank Moonjean |
| Written by | Christopher Hampton |
| Starring | John Malkovich Glenn Close Michelle Pfeiffer Swoosie Kurtz Keanu Reeves Mildred Natwick and Uma Thurman |
| Music by | George Fenton |
| Cinematography | Philippe Rousselot |
| Editing by | Mick Audsley |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | December 16, 1988 |
| Running time | 119 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$14 million |
Dangerous Liaisons is a 1988 film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman. It is based upon a play by Christopher Hampton which in turn is based on the classic eighteenth-century novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. It is the first film adaptation in English of the novel, although the very next year it was adapted by Miloš Forman as Valmont.
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[edit] Plot
The Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) calls on her partner, the Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich), to seduce the young daughter of her cousin, Madame de Volanges (Swoosie Kurtz), in order to have revenge on a former lover, the man to whom young Cécile de Volanges (Uma Thurman) is promised in marriage. At first, Valmont refuses her proposition: he wants to seduce the virtuous Madame de Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer), who is spending time at his aunt's house while her husband is abroad.
Upon discovering that Madame de Volanges had been secretly writing to Madame de Tourvel to warn her against his evil nature, Valmont changes his mind and decides to follow Merteuil's scheme. They take advantage of the fact that young Cécile is in love with her music teacher, the Chevalier Danceny (Keanu Reeves), who does not qualify in the eyes of her mother as a potential suitor.
At his aunt's, Valmont easily seduces Cécile. She later becomes pregnant with Valmont's child, but suffers a miscarriage, thus avoiding a scandal. Valmont meanwhile steadily targets his main prey, Madame de Tourvel, who, despite realizing his motives, eventually gives in to his tireless advances. However, Valmont, the lifelong womanizer, has fallen in love with Tourvel.
Merteuil had promised Valmont a night in her company should he be successful. Nevertheless, secretly jealous of Tourvel, she refuses to grant Valmont his prize unless he breaks off with Tourvel completely, and threatens to ruin his reputation as a debaucher. Valmont heeds her request and leaves Tourvel, who falls desperately ill.
Valmont goes back to Merteuil, who in the meantime has taken Chevalier Danceny as her lover, and demands the immediate fulfillment of her promise. The Marquise refuses, and they declare war.
The Marquise reveals to Danceny that Valmont had seduced Cécile. Danceny and Valmont duel and, lovesick and disinterested, Valmont allows Danceny to fatally wound him. Before he dies, he asks Danceny to visit Tourvel and assure her of his love, and hands him a collection of letters from Merteuil.
After hearing Valmont's message from Danceny, Madame de Tourvel dies. Danceny publishes Merteuil's letters, and she is booed and disgraced by the audience at the opera.
The film and play alter the novel's original ending, in which Merteuil's face is permanently disfigured due to illness.
[edit] Cast
- Glenn Close as Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil
- John Malkovich as Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont
- Michelle Pfeiffer as Madame Marie de Tourvel
- Uma Thurman as Cécile de Volanges
- Swoosie Kurtz as Madame de Volanges
- Keanu Reeves as Le Chevalier Raphael Danceny
- Mildred Natwick as Madame de Rosemonde
[edit] Production
Dangerous Liaisons was Frears' eighth feature film, and his first working with American studios. With seven Academy Award nominations, it was a very successful Hollywood debut.
The film features widely acclaimed performances by Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer in the roles of the three major characters from Laclos' novel, the Marquise de Merteuil, the Vicomte de Valmont and Madame de Tourvel, respectively; Keanu Reeves, Uma Thurman and Swoosie Kurtz also appear in supporting roles.
The movie was shot entirely on location in historical buildings of the French regions of Île-de-France and Picardie such as the famous Château de Vincennes. It was co-produced by Christopher Hampton, who also wrote the screenplay based on his adaptation of Laclos' novel for the stage.
The original score was written by George Fenton. The soundtrack also included masterpieces of baroque and classical music, most notably works from Vivaldi, Bach, Handel and Gluck.
The original English-language film, which has characters speaking American English, strives for an authentic French sensibility: conversations are hushed, almost whispered, in an effort to evoke the grace and reserve of eighteenth-century nobility.
When the novel Les liaisons dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos was first published in 1782, it was considered so scandalous that when Queen Marie Antoinette commissioned a copy for her personal library she had to have it bound in a black cover so that no one would recognize the author's name or the title.
This was Mildred Natwick's last film. Glenn Close secured her role of Isabelle early. Drew Barrymore tested, and came close to getting, the role of Cécile. Sarah Jessica Parker was originally cast as Cécile. Mary Steenburgen wanted the role of Marie de Tourvel that went to Michelle Pfeiffer. Michael Douglas and John Travolta were considered for the role of Valmont before it went to John Malkovich. Travolta reportedly wanted to return to mainstream film with this film to recover the popularity he had in the 1970s.
[edit] Adapting the novel
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This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (May 2009) |
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Les Liaisons dangereuses is an epistolary novel, i.e., a novel entirely composed of letters. Through the messages sent by its characters, the reader learns not only of events and situations, but also of what Valmont and Merteuil portray as their innermost thoughts and wishes. This poses problems for stage or screen adaptation, since a large portion of the original material consists not of straightforward action, but of characters of unknown sincerity describing their thoughts and actions.
Hampton's play and screenplay follow the plot of the novel very closely, and are generally considered prime adaptations of Laclos' work. One remarkable difference lies in the fact that the film internalizes and somewhat softens the final fate of the Marquise de Merteuil. In the book, she contracts a painful disease and loses one eye after her letters to Valmont are published. In the movie, she is ostracized by her peers at the opera, but her ultimate destiny is undisclosed. Her downfall is less physical and more psychological.
Some argue[who?] that the dynamics required by stage and film action render the villains less capable of drawing the sympathy of the audience, since their inner motivations are not as clearly depicted as they are in their letters. Although still a very cruel person in the book, Valmont, for instance, is supposed to show a rather more violent nature in the movie.
[edit] Awards
Dangerous Liaisons was nominated in 1989 for seven Academy Awards, winning three.
- Awards
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Christopher Hampton)
- Best Costume Design (James Acheson)
- Best Art Direction (Stuart Craig, Gérard James).
- Nominations
- Best Picture
- Best Original Score (George Fenton)
- Best Actress in a Leading Role (Glenn Close)
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Michelle Pfeiffer)
At the time, the fact that neither Frears nor Malkovich were nominated led to a few critical remarks in specialized magazines,[citation needed] particularly in the case of the latter.
The film won two out of ten BAFTA Awards nominations, for Pfeiffer and Hampton. The writer was also awarded by the London Critics Circle and the Writers Guild of America, East. Philippe Rousselot's cinematography was nominated by the American and by the British Society of Cinematographers, losing both awards.
[edit] Cultural references
On the TV show Friends, Rachel Green claims Dangerous Liaisons is her favorite movie, though her actual favorite movie is later revealed to be Weekend at Bernie's.
The TV show The West Wing featured music from the soundtrack of Dangerous Liaisons during the episode "The Supremes" as a reference to guest star Glenn Close (playing the President's nominee as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court).
[edit] Adaptations and remake
- One year after Dangerous Liaisons, Miloš Forman's version of Laclos' novel was also released. Valmont had a screenplay by French writer and critic Jean-Claude Carrière and starred Annette Bening and Colin Firth in the leading roles.
- Conrad Susa wrote an opera in 1994 (revised in 1996-97) entitled The Dangerous Liaisons, set in 18th century France.
- In 1999, Roger Kumble directed an adaptation of the novel set in modern day New York. Released under the title Cruel Intentions, it had Sarah Michelle Gellar star as Kathryn Merteuil and Ryan Phillippe assume the role of Sebastian Valmont, with supporting roles from Reese Witherspoon as Annette Hargrove and Selma Blair as Cecile Caldwell. Swoosie Kurtz, who played Madame de Volanges in Frears' movie, had a cameo in this version.
- A French adaptation, Les Liaisons dangereuses (1959) was directed by Roger Vadim. This version stars Jeanne Moreau, Gérard Philipe, and Annette Vadim, and updates the story to a late-1950s French bourgeois milieu.
- In 2003, Lee Je Yong directed a Korean adaptation, Untold Scandal (스캔들 - 조선남녀상열지사 Seuchaendeul - Joseonnamnyeosang'yeoljisa). This version stars Mi-suk Lee, Do-yeon Jeon, and Yong-jun Bae, and transposes the novel to eighteenth-century Joseon Dynasty Korea.
- A ballet version was commissioned from Jean Grand-Maître by the Norwegian National Ballet in 2000. It was performed in 2004 and 2008 by The Alberta Ballet.
- In 1990, British comedy duo, French & Saunders parodied the film, in an episode of their eponymous television program. The episode features two gossip-mongers talking about the various debaucheries committed by Comtes and Comtesses, and feature over-large fans that match their dresses (and the drapes).
- In 2008 John Malkovich appeared in a Saturday Night Live sketch about himself starring in a Broadway remake of Dangerous Liaisons performed entirely in a hot tub, expressing frustration that he's working with bad actors because his co-stars from the film declined to participate.
[edit] Trivia
- Christopher Hampton and Glenn Close re-teamed for the 1993 Los Angeles (& American) premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard (musical). Hampton co-wrote the lyrics & book, with Close starring as faded star Norma Desmond. The show (after contract & casting complications in London) transferred from Los Angeles to the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway in 1994. The show won eight Tony Awards in 1995 (with virtually no other competition). Hampton took home the prize for Best Score and Best Book, and close won Best Actress.
- Director Frears, screenwriter Hampton, and actors Malkovich and Close all re-teamed again for another costume drama Mary Reilly (film) (1996), starring Julia Roberts in the title role, but the film didn't do well.
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Dangerous Liaisons |
- Dangerous Liaisons at the Internet Movie Database
- Dangerous Liaisons at Allmovie
- Dangerous Liaisons at Rotten Tomatoes
- Dangerous Liaisons trailer at YouTube
- The Washington Post Reviews: Hal Hinson, Desson Howe.
- The Chicago Sun-Times Review: Roger Ebert
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