Valmont (1989)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

Choderlos de Laclos (novel)
Jean-Claude Carrière (writer)

Release Date:

17 November 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Set in Baroque France, a scheming widow and her lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman...

Plot Keywords:

France | Widow | Love | 18th Century | Foreign Language Adaptation

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Colin Firth	...	Valmont
Annette Bening	...	Merteuil
Meg Tilly	...	Madame de Tourvel
Fairuza Balk	...	Cecile
Siân Phillips	...	Madame de Volanges (as Sian Phillips)
Jeffrey Jones	...	Gercourt
Henry Thomas	...	Danceny
Fabia Drake	...	Madame de Rosemonde
T.P. McKenna	...	Baron
Isla Blair	...	Baroness
Ian McNeice	...	Azolan
Aleta Mitchell	...	Victoire
Ronald Lacey	...	José
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Jean
Sandrine Dumas	...	Martine

Runtime:

137 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2000) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Brazil:16 | UK:15 | Iceland:L | Peru:18 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Sweden:7 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen, Calvados, France

Company:

Renn Productions

Trivia:

Wil Wheaton was originally chosen to play Danceny, but the producers of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) would not release him from his commitments, and the role went to Henry Thomas.

Goofs:

Continuity: In bed, talking to her lover, Madame's legs change position from one shot to the next.

Quotes:

Valmont: You are confusing bets and marriages, madame. One must always honor a bet.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary (1989) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Minuet from Quartet in F, Opus 50, Number 5

better of the two by far

I notice a bit of a war going on between partisans of this and "Dangerous Liaisons" (the Glenn Close/John Malkovich/Stephen Frears vehicle). I'm not entirely sure why, but I find "Valmont" so much better. I think it's because: A) Milos Forman is unquestionably a better director than Frears, especially when he can call on the photographic talents of a cinematographer like Miroslav Ondricek; B) "Valmont" takes the time to develop some of the relationships between characters on screen, while the other simply injects the viewers into preexisting relationships; C) Colin Firth and Annette Benning are quite simply sexier than Glenn Close and John Malkovich; "Dangerous Liaisons" is too intellectual, while "Valmont" works at the hormonal level too. D) Fairuza Balk is far more believable as a virgin than Uma Thurman (can anyone say differently?!?). I certainly acknowledge "Dangerous Liaisons" as a well-made, well-acted film, but in the end I find it nearly unwatchable compared to "Valmont", which I can (and have) enjoyed over and over.