Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9300 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-02-25
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 132 minutes

Synopsis
VALMONT is director Milos Forman's witty and playful adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos's famous novel LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES, about the sexual machinations of two jaded 18th-century French aristocrats. In order to get revenge on the man who jilted her, the wicked Marquise de Merteuil (Annette Bening) persuades a former lover, the rakish Vicomte de Valmont (Colin Firth), to deflower the man's virginal young fiancée. Valmont agrees but presents the marquise with his own challenge: If he succeeds in seducing Madame de Tourvel (Meg Tilly), a virtuous young wife known for her unshakable fidelity, the marquise must grant Valmont a night in bed. The cold-blooded twosome proceeds gleefully with their heartless scheme until true love unexpectedly alters the course of events. Look for a great bathtub scene. The film was co-written artfully for the screen by Milos Forman and Jean-Claude Carriere and set like a gem in the visually emphatic Baroque period.

Customer Reviews

"One must always honor a bet."
This lavish retelling of Les Liaisons Dangereuses stars Annette Benning as the Marquise de Merteuil, a nasty aristocrat who delights in manipulating those around her. She is outraged when her lover makes plans to marry the young and virtuous Cecile,(who is in love with her music teacher), so she engages the services of the notorious playboy the Vicomte de Valmont to cuckold him. Before he can do it, however, Valmont falls in love with a proper, married woman, Madame de Tourvel. Learning of this, Merteuil bets Valmont that he can't bed Tourvel, and he happily takes up the challenge.

The plot was so complex that I needed a scorecard to keep straight who was doing what to whom and why. All the action swirls around Benning's Merteuil and she's malicious and flirty enough, but her American accent detracts from her character. In fact, the array of American and British accents and their 21st century delivery spoil the illusion that the story is set in 18th century France. As Valmont, Colin Firth is definite eye-candy but not nearly lecherous enough; he's boyish and pitiable instead of cunning and ruthless. Meg Tilley (Tourvel) and Henry Thomas (the music teacher) are unbelievably bland and look out of place in a period piece.

On the plus side, the Oscar-nominated costumes are breathtakingly opulent and the palatial sets and locations are flawless. It's the actors that keep the movie from being really good; they're more common than genteel and I didn't believe any of them. 3.5 stars.

An Irresistible Valmont
One of my favourite films and one of Colin Firth's best films along with 'The Hour of The Pig' and 'Pride & Prejudice'. This is a Valmont you can believe seduces for a hobby, being charm personified, who learns too late what love is and ends up hurting himself the most. The gorgeous costumes, outdoor scenes, palacial interiors (including the Chapel Royal) and French courtly dances he performs with the adoring ladies are fascinating. Superb supporting cast. Some witty repartee and comic scenes with his valet interject the 'dangerous liaisons' main storyline and a surprise ending concludes the film in a satisfying way.

a sumptuous film with superb performances
This is not a movie cast in terms of 'the american movie product' with all its clichés and star personality enhancements regardless of story lines. This is beautiful and intriguing ensemble playing of a series of intriguing events through its orchestration by a superb european director. It has the right european feel and the right european contexts - and in spite of the american actors - retains a definite european integrity. Aesthetically it absolutely cannot be faulted - it is a feast for the eyes throughout. I think the final resolution leaves a little to be desired, but the film certainly maintains its integrity to its comic/tragic ending. All the performances are brilliant in their own ways though I have never seen Annette Bening as glitteringly exquisite as in this movie. And if perhaps at first Colin Firth's performance might appear somewhat stolid, it therefore manages all the better to contrive his camouflage as a seriously dangerous seducer.