Bonjour Tristesse
by Otto Preminger
List Price:
Our Price: $29.94
You Save: $0.01 (0%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $24.00 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Geoffrey Horne, Jean Seberg, Mylène DemongeotDirector: Otto Preminger
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); Japanese (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Portuguese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-12-16
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Sony Pictures
DVD Reviews of Bonjour Tristesse
DVD Review: Charming story with a good twist in the end
Summary: 5 Stars
I read the novel well over thirty years ago, in Europe, when I was fifteen, but did not get to watch the movie until tonight. I wanted to see it for a sit-down stroll through memory lane, and never expected to be touched by the story and its morale. You see, when I first read the novel, I did not care about it; I was then a fifteen-year old who was dealing with a much harsher existence than the seventeen-year old Cecile's (marvelously portrayed by Jean Seberg), who had the freedom and the money to drive her own car, to smoke, to dance, and hobnob between Paris and the French Riviera with her soft-hearted, caring, and still a child-at-heart, dad. Thus her poor little rich girl's woes, primarily consisting of keeping her dad's love to herself, was boring as well as infuriating. I realize now that I got to read the novel again to reexperience the characters in the manner originally presented by Francoise Sagan.
From the film version I watched tonight, I did not get the sense that it's >>>an accurate account of the empty, amoral, flamboyant and insensitive life in the French "high-life" during the late 50's/early 60's.<<<<
The core of the story is a father (debonair David Niven) and teenage daughter (beautiful imp, Jean Seberg), who lead charming lives and have the good fortune of being each other's friend and confidante. I can't recall a reference as to the manner of the mother's death (re-reading the novel ought to help in that), but neither the father nor the daughter seem to mourn her loss. However one may easily surmise that the father's affectionate and tolerant treatment of his daughter is his way of filling the void of a mother in her life. Although a charming and prolific playboy, he always makes sure that his daughter knows she is number one in his heart, and Cecile never feels threatened by any of his short-lived paramours.
So, on that fateful summer, father and daughter land on the French Riviera for their customary fun-filled R & R. But then a dark cloud appears on Cecile's sunny skies: Anne (portrayed by Deborah Kerr), beautiful, intelligent, elegant, a successful career woman willing to leave her profession (she is a respected fashion designer) to be a perfect wife and astute stepmother; much to Cecile's chagrin her father falls for Anne's charms, pops the question and Anne answers in the affirmative. Overcome by jealousy and the fear of losing her careless butterfly lifestyle, Cecile hatches a diabolic plot to prevent their marriage from occurring. And unfortunately, she succeeds, with tragic consequences.
The morale, of course, is: don't mess with Fate! On the other hand, Cecile, having faced her darker side, builds a wall around her heart to keep herself from feeling pain and sorrow, yet as you watch the closing scene, you will understand that the wall is transparent, letting us look into Cecile's soul as she sits in front of her mirror, taking off her make-up with cream, and by now the scene has reverted to black/silver/white...tears are running down her cheeks... and, ah, tristesse.... bonjur, and bonnuit, always.
The cinematography is superb, the opening and closing scenes are various shades of gray and silver, and then as the story flashes back the French Riviera comes alive in glorious colors, Jean Seberg is just beautiful,her portrayal of Cecile deserving of respect, David Niven sophisticated in an easy-going, warm-hearted way, Deborah Kerr's Anne is perfection, and Juliette Greco, playing herself as the night club singer crooning Bonjour Tristesse in her unique style, a real treat. Be prepared to be surprised at how much you will feel touched, and enjoy.
PS: French author Francoise Sagan, had made international headlines when she was a teenager with her first novel, "Bonjour Tristesse". Her background was privileged, a la her heroine, Cecile's; born Francoise Quoirez to a wealthy family in Cajarc in southwestern France, Sagan - who took her pseudonym from a character in Marcel Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" - was educated in private and convent schools at home and in Switzerland. She wrote "Bonjour Tristesse" ("Hello Sadness") in 1953 while on a summer holiday from her studies at the Sorbonne. Sagan, then 18, completed the manuscript in just six weeks.
Interesting to note how the world has changed, since then... upon its release in 1954, Bonjour Tristesse created a furor in France. Some critics scorned it as a tale of "passionless hedonism" and Sagan was called immoral and was marked as symbolizing a generation of bored and blasé young adults. They could not have been more wrong....
Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
DarlingCHRISTIE,JULIE; Release date: 2003-12-02; DVD
Best price: $6.82
Price in other shops:
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Film Collection (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf 2-Disc Special Edition / The Comedians / The Sandpiper / The V.I.P.s) 5 Disc SetWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-12-05; DVD
Best price: $14.43
Price in other shops:
Vanya on 42nd StreetRelease date: 2002-09-24; DVD
Best price: $17.29
Price in other shops:
Advise and ConsentWarner Brothers; Release date: 2005-05-10; DVD
Best price: $4.41
Price in other shops:
The Night of the IguanaWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-05-02; DVD
Best price: $8.48
Price in other shops:
Breathless (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2007-10-23; DVD
Best price: $24.47
Price in other shops:
Separate TablesRelease date: 2001-12-11; DVD
Best price: $18.30
Bunny Lake is MissingOLIVIER,LAURENCE; Release date: 2005-01-25; DVD
Best price: $5.89
Price in other shops:
LilithBEATTY,WARREN; Release date: 2004-08-24; DVD
Best price: $4.88
Price in other shops:
Bonjour Tristesse: A Novel (P.S.)by Francoise Sagan
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2008-06-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.34
Price in other shops: