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 | Love | Widow | Costume Drama | Harp

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

Color:

Color

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:

Michelle Pfeiffer was offered the role of the Marquise de Merteuil at the same time she was offered the role as Madame de Tourvel in Dangerous Liaisons (1988).

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Mertuil: Valmont, you disappoint me. That's what's keeping you here. Tell me, are you really falling in love?
Valmont: Does that make you jealous?
Mertuil: Not really.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Minuet from Quartet in F, Opus 50, Number 5

"Valmont" is better than "dangerous liason" in some ways

I just watched "Valmont" just now actually, and what can I say, I was really impressed with the film... I've seen "Dangerous Liason" so many times before, and it's always been one of my favorites, so maybe that's why I was a bit skeptical about "Valmont" as it started (for me it was overshadowed by "Dangerous Liason", but it was quick for me to be proven wrong...) The film was great, very interesting, because it provided different insight into the the story. Colin Firth (who I've fallen in love with ever since I watched "Bridget Jones' Diary, because he is one charming brit!) was dazzling as Valmont, and he managed to display another kind of Valmont, which John Malkovich wasn't, but he was great as well. Firth's Valmont was very charming and he has a passion and charisma to him that Malkovich lacked (he was overall rather "cool"), and what can i say? He just took my breath away again once again. Annette Bening (is that how u spell her name?) was also brilliant, and in the begining I was tricked into thinking that she was too nice for the part, but nope, she was evil as well, and maybe to some extent more evil that Glenn Close's portryal, because beneath all the nice and sweetness, beining was evil indeed! and Henry Thomas, he was extroidinary, and he did a great job! His potrayal of his character was so much better than Keanu Reeves (who can't act), and he made the movie interesting indeed. it was sad to see his innocence lost at the end though, what really disturbed me, because before he was such a loyal lover! sad, the loss of innocence, once it's gone, it never comes back...maybe "Valmont" is lacking in the sense that it failed to illustrate the importance of Madame de Tourvel, like "Dangerous Liason" did, but otherwise, Valmont is magnificent. passionate, fun, and definetly keeps you going!