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Tess

Play trailer Poster for Tess PG 1979 2h 50m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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81% Tomatometer 78 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
In Roman Polanski's take on "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," impressionable young Tess is sent by her alcoholic father to visit her rich relatives and apply for a job. She's taken in and immediately seduced by her cousin, Alec, who leaves her pregnant. She keeps it to herself and, after the child dies, begins a relationship with a respectable farmer, Angel. They marry, but when Angel learns of her checkered past, he's not sure if he can live with it.
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Tess

Tess

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Critics Consensus

A reverent adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel, Tess marries painterly cinematography and unhurried pacing to create an epic ode to perseverance.

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Critics Reviews

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Judith Martin Washington Post 06/17/2022
This is cinematography at its best -- film used to present a view, in motion, of a reality that has been artistically ordered to reveal a greater-that-literal essence. Go to Full Review
Gary Arnold Washington Post 06/17/2022
Watching this long, placid maddeningly subdued movie, you can't help wondering what became of Hardy's stark chronicle of crimes of passion. Go to Full Review
Richard Schickel TIME Magazine 06/17/2022
One emerges from [Roman Polanski's] endless version of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles with a sense that one could have read the book in a shorter span and had more fun too. Go to Full Review
Richard Freedman Newark Star-Ledger Jan 12
A haunting, richly rewarding recreation of one of the towering masterpieces of English fiction. Go to Full Review
Lorien Haynes Radio Times Nov 11
4/5
Not as good as the novel, but still has much to recommend it, not least the evocative Oscar-winning photography. Go to Full Review
Scott Sublett Washington Blade 06/17/2022
It does not shout and it does not speed; it rolls along effortlessly, at an even rate, like a country brook, and when it ends one wishes for more. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Muzaffar N @Muzaffar01 2d The Gold Standard of Visual Storytelling: A Review of Tess (1979) See more Matthew D @OceanSage Mar 3 Nastassja Kinski is incredibly moving and subtle in her expressive depiction of poor Tess. Polish director Roman Polanski’s English romance drama epic Tess (1979) is a heartbreaking tale. I do appreciate that his Tess feels like a feminist film capturing the empathy for women’s hardships, struggles, dangers, hopes, and love that English author Thomas Hardy wrote. Tess is a hard watch, but a rewarding one. Nastassja Kinski is outstanding as the sadly abused Tess Durbeyfield. Kinski is so genuine as the depressed, poor, and lonely Tess. She is so sweet and innocent, then dejected after she experiences how awful the world can be to young girls. This is one of the most touching performances I’ve ever seen by any actress. I keep thinking about her devastating line, "Once victim, always victim." Tess did not deserve all her pain. She did nothing wrong. Only men were cruel to her in a vicious world. A standout lead actress role from Nastassja Kinski that is dearly depressing. See more Vincent S. @Vin_E_At_The_Movies Sep 23 Nastassja Kinski is outstanding in this beautifully filmed, emotional, tragic story. One of the best adaptations! See more Marit Risto F @RT66247982 Aug 16 Same old story. Beautiful, innocent girl, being raped, tortured, and killed, by a heap of Christian, and other, assholes See more thiago s @Thiagostone Jun 16 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Leaburn O @RT35452347 02/15/2025 Whilst Kinski is always essential viewing, the trouble isn’t the acting which is excellent, it’s just the turgid script that makes this a real Steve to get through. It is interminably tragic and slow paced. I’ve never read the book but this show has confirmed to me that I really don’t want to as a lot of the so called classics are just plain dull. Watched on DVD. See more Read all reviews
Tess

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Movie Info

Synopsis In Roman Polanski's take on "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," impressionable young Tess is sent by her alcoholic father to visit her rich relatives and apply for a job. She's taken in and immediately seduced by her cousin, Alec, who leaves her pregnant. She keeps it to herself and, after the child dies, begins a relationship with a respectable farmer, Angel. They marry, but when Angel learns of her checkered past, he's not sure if he can live with it.
Director
Roman Polanski
Producer
Claude Berri
Screenwriter
Gérard Brach, Roman Polanski, John Brownjohn
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Burrill Productions
Rating
PG
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 25, 1979, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 19, 2017
Runtime
2h 50m
Sound Mix
Surround
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