Les liaisons dangereuses

Les liaisons dangereuses (1959) is a French movie co-written and directed by Roger Vadim. The film is a contemporary version of the 1782 novel by Pierre de Laclos.

Jeanne Moreau stars as Juliette de Merteuil, a beautiful but amoral woman. She lives by her own rules, which include serial infidelities and initiating seductions by one of her lovers, Valmont. (Portrayed well by Gérard Philipe.)

The target of their Valmont's seduction is Madame Tourvel, played by Annette Stroyberg. She became Annette Vadim when she married director Vadim after they met while making this movie. She was his post-Bardot sex kitten. (Unlike Moreau, she wasn't born to play the part of a virtuous young wife. She doesn't look pious or modest in the least.)

This movie has some merits--Moreau is perfect, and it's a pleasure to watch her act. Thelonius Monk composed the score, and Art Blakely and the Jazz Messengers have a long set when they are playing at a wild party. There's also the famous telegraph scene, which is powerful in a horrible sort of way.

The movie takes liberties with the plot of the novel, of course, but I think it captures the essence. However, a film about decadence and deceit isn't going to cheer you up. Ultimately, I think the blame lies with the novel, not the movie. It's a story about people that we don't like, and for whom we don't care much. That pretty much sums up my thoughts of the film.

The movie has a lackluster rating of 6.9, which which I agree. I rated it 7.

Among all Vadim's duds,"les liaisons dangereuses " seems to have stood the test of time better than the other "works" of the director.The reason is to be found in the cast.Gérard Philipe -though largely overshadowed by John Malkovich in Frears's version -and mainly Jeanne Moreau are earnest thespians and you cannot be wrong with them.And Roger Vailland and Claude Brulé had a good idea for the conclusion:fire instead of smallpox allows us to hear Laclos's immortal line "She's wearing her soul on her face!"

Objections to this early version -to be followed by half a dozen of them- remain:that the story should have been transferred to the sixties is eminently questionable:La Merteuil was a definitely modern original character in Choderlos de Laclos's times ;in 1960,such a woman's behavior had become banal.Vadim would do worse when he would transfer Zola's "la curée" to his era.

Proof positive that all that glittered in the nouvelle vague was not gold.

This is one of the movies (not many) where the remake "Dangerous Liaisons" of Stephen Frears wins by a large margin.

First of all those movie had one Great Actress in Jeanne Moreau. Bur ir as an incompetent Director in Roger VAdim and some miscasts like Gérard Philippe as Valmont. Perhaps the main culprit is "Roger Vailland". I'm am very fond of "Vailland",love is novels (namely "Drôle de Jeu", but I've read them when I was too young. Nowadays I believe that is is the wrong kind of scriptwriter. Also Roger Vadim did not care for literature. Ask Brigite Bardot. This is a semi-failure. See it only id you are a fan of Jeanne Moreau. There is more eroticism in "Journal d'une Femme de Chambre" by Luis Buñuel than here, about "boudain". "morcilla" or just plain English "sausage". The Anglo-Saxons cannot make sausages and the current laws forbid to to it properly..

Interesting adaptation of the infamous Laclos classic, this movie was banned in England on it's original release. Difficult to understand why by today's standards. The movie is introduced by director Roger Vadim who basically warns that everyone is going to be bad, bad, bad. He then appears to head off to the nearest cafe for a nasty cigarette and a vile cup of coffee. Given that the movie was made a decade before the sexual revolution of the 1970's it must have had an aura of scandal about it at the time but is strictly tied to the 1950's and suffers from the inhibitions of the period. Very French, very stylish and well acted by the principals the storyline holds up but the cynicism and callousness of the original book are missing. Still, it's never boring and worth seeing for the performances and the direction that later, more explicit movies would take.

...for many reasons. few - the mark of Roger Vadim on a story almost classic, the presence of Boris Vian in a role reflecting his work, the cold chemistry between Jeanne Moreau and Gerard Philipe and for the most inspired soundtrack. because it is a jazz film. with improvisation and tension, seduction and precise picture of near reality. more than an adaptation, it is a confesion. Valmont by Philipe, one of his last roles, is more than an example of good job but a testimony about the force and nuances and beauty of the great game of nuances for a special actor. because it is not an ordinary film. it reflects its time more than the source of inspiration novel and the contemporary lost of emotion, form of profound insensitivity/cruelty/egocentric circles in brilliant way. and this is the motif to see it. maybe twice. for admire an authentic masterpiece. and an useful warning.