TESS - MOVIE [Blu-ray] [1979]

Polanski's version of Hardy's novel is a cinemagraphic treat, and a deftly scripted screenplay. There are very few deviations from the plot of the book and there are frequent lines of dialogue lifted directly from the novel. Natassia Kinski plays Tess to perfection -- with a fatalistic melancholy and innocence that captures the character that Hardy invoked so decisively. She is also astoundingly beautiful without seeming to ever realise it, which is one of the causes her downfall. The filmic representation of Tess' life is wonderfully managed -- particularly good is the way the summer Tess spends working at the dairy farm and meeting Angel is portrayed in sumptuous golden light before things go pear-shaped and the scenes become mist-filled and mud-strewn as Tess lives out her unhappy life. Hardy was making a statement about the industrialisation of the countryside and the destruction of rural ways of life at the end of the nineteenth century. Polanski has managed to translate this from book to film in mesmerising fashion, mostly with the aid of visuals such as the ear-splitting, steam-driven machinery in use at the industrialised farm Tess is forced to work at after Angel leaves her. This compares to the slow-pace of rural life at Tess' home and at the dairy. The film's atmosphere and the characterisations are deep and rich, and is certainly the best film adaptation of a Hardy novel despite some stiff competition. Just one aside -- the film is dedicated to Polanski's murdered wife Sharon Tate.

This is a heart wrenching story from one of Thomas Hardy's many sad, depressing novels set in the English countryside. Polanski is a good film maker and the story flows very much as it does from the novel. It is well-paced so that the only thing one loses from not having read the novel is the fine description and character building effort Hardy puts into his book. That said, although Kinski and Firth were wonderfuyl actors in their roles, they do seem slightly miscast because Kinski is a different sort of beauty one has in mind of an English country rose, and Firth is not quite the Angel of Hardy. But if one doesn't read the book, this will not matter much. The book is also a little more depressing than the movie.

Polanski's 'Tess' is elegiac and epic in a way that tv adaptations cannot match. The cinematography is hugely impressive. It also benefits from the inspired casting of Nastassia Kinski as Tess; she perfectly encapsulates her character's qualities of exceptional beauty, youthful innocence, vulnerability, and a certain melancholic nobility. In contrast, Leigh Lawson as Alec seems too old (he's only supposed to be in his 20s), and Peter Firth a bit wishy-washy as Angel. It is hard to believe that Tess would effectively throw her life away for him (though that is indeed true of the character in the novel, too). I mistakenly purchased the abridged version of this film, which is 8 minutes shorter than the alternative available, and feel a bit cheated!

The print for this reborn blu-ray issue of Tess is very good and the film comes back to life in widescreen. When it is was first released I remember there were dissenting voices among the critics for Nastassia Kinski's performance in the lead role. I cannot now imagine why: she is excellent, notwithstanding the Dorset accent overlaying her native German twang. The production is sumptuous, with top line photography (many a scene could make a work of art, and Polanski holds wide shots through the length of some scenes to use these images to best advantage), costume design, art direction and locations. Polanski directs with great precision, unfolding the tale with just the right rhythm. Characters like Tess and most especially Angel Clare are hard to bring to life for a modern audience, capturing their self-image and motivation. Polanski and the other scenario writers do better, I think, than any other filmed version. The significance of ancestry and antiquity, window dressing in some other productions, is solidly embedded in this telling. Hardy is a bit of a paradox. He was very modern for his day, but he strived for universality and he can seem old fashioned today (perhaps more so than, say, Jane Austen, who was writing long before him). I am not sure this film is quite in tune with Hardy, but it gets close and is absolutely wonderful to look at and contemplate.