Updated adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' classic 18th Century tale of seduction, betrayal and revenge set in the modern 1960s world of Parisian high society. The beautiful Madame de Merteu... Read allUpdated adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' classic 18th Century tale of seduction, betrayal and revenge set in the modern 1960s world of Parisian high society. The beautiful Madame de Merteuil seeks vengeance against her ex-lover Gercourt when he becomes engaged to her young godd... Read allUpdated adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' classic 18th Century tale of seduction, betrayal and revenge set in the modern 1960s world of Parisian high society. The beautiful Madame de Merteuil seeks vengeance against her ex-lover Gercourt when he becomes engaged to her young goddaughter, Cécile. Merteuil turns to her ex-lover/partner-in-crime, Valmont, famous for his ... Read all
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By being rather dull and boring. Somewhat based on that stalwart tale of love, revenge, lust and hate 'Liaisons Dangereuse' the story takes place in a kind Swinging Paris and casts French Idol Deneuve as the Real Wicked Witch of the West. And that's the major fault of the otherwise adequate show: Miss Deneuve, looking alarmingly like Ivana Trump in decay, is much, much too old (and, I'm sorry to admit, old looking) to be credible as the most amoral woman this side of the Channel. Mister Everett fares a little better, but not much. Poor Nastasja Kinski! Once a glamorous and talented star she is relegated to a mere piece of furniture. And Miss Sobieski (said to be the great-great-great niece or something like that of Jan Sobieski, who defeated the Turks in the battle of Kahlenberg and so saved Vienna in 1683) appears rather frumpy and plumpy. No sings of her remarkable talent she demonstrated in the much underrated damsel-in-distress shocker 'The Class House' not so long ago.
All in all: a monumental waste of time and money. Even Roger Vadim fared better with his less-than-adequate modern version of de Laclos' glum tale.
Starting with hilarious miscasting (Catherine Deneuve is far too old and not sensuous enough), over boring, wooden dialogue to incompetent camera work - there is one scene which has two of the leading characters talking to another, and you don't even get to see the face of one of them!
Shifting the story into the present may be an interesting idea, but the script does not take the simplest care in adapting to this.
See another version of this, the Stephen-Frears-film if you can. But do miss this one!
I didn't find the duel/contest to be very convincing. Having said that, I think this is my only negative criticism of the picture. I didn't bother to see the English version. The French version with English subtitles worked very well.
There are three dvd versions available: (1) in French with English subtitles, (2) English spoken by the actors, and (3) the definitive extended 3 dvd set in French with English subtitles and an interview with the director. (1) and (2) are truncated 200 minute versions with anamorphic transfers. I saw `Les Liaisons Dangereuses' (2003) on (3) and this is probably the dvd to watch because of its gorgeous anamorphic transfer in a European 2.35:1 aspect ratio, although it is listed as an anamorphic 1.78:1 aspect ratio. (3) is the extended version with a total run time of over 300 minutes, including a 50 minute director's interview.
Did you know
- GoofsThe series takes place in late-'5's - early-'60s, yet Maria has a modern phone with a keypad in her hotel room.
- ConnectionsVersion of Les liaisons dangereuses (1959)
- SoundtracksCarnaval, Op. 9, Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes: 'Chopin'
Written by Robert Schumann
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Dangerous Liaisons
- Filming locations
- Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland, UK(on location)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro