Tess of the d'Urbervilles
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DVD details
Actor: Gemma ArtertonBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Stereo
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 212 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-01-13
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Worldwide
Product features:
- A passionate, sensual and very modern version of Thomas Hardy's infamous novel, combining young, upcoming acting talent with recognisable and much-loved faces. When the beautiful and innocent Tess Durbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune, meeting the manipulative Alec proves to be her downfall. Starring Gemma
DVD Reviews of Tess of the d'Urbervilles
DVD Review: Bucolic but Sad Beauty
Summary: 4 Stars
Thomas Hardy's Tess Durbeyfield has had at least three film reincarnations in the last thirty years. All of the women portraying this woebegone heroine are beautiful--Nastassja Kinski in Polanski's feature film "Tess (Special Edition)," Justine Waddell (Dracula 2000) in the 1998 BBC production for television (Tess of the d'Urbervilles) and now former Bond girl Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace) in this latest 212 minute version in four parts. One thing for certain, all three of these women know exactly how to eat a strawberry with all the innocence and inadvertent provocation that would surely drive any man--from any century, repressed or not--mad with desire.
Not since Nastassja Kinski has an actress depicted such naïve sensuality, as does Gemma Arterton as the ill-fated Tess. Even without speaking, Arterton epitomizes vulnerable femininity with her lovely porcelain complexion set off by long tresses of dark brown hair, punctuated by full red lips and warmed by the fathomless brown eyes of a doe. Yet this reliance on the physical to embody the spirit of Tess by no means suggests that Arterton's performance is vacuous. Perhaps her youth, like that of the character she is portraying, works in her favor--but it is her ability to bring to the surface that quality of sweet innocence that puts her in almost the same category as the alluring girl-woman Kinski.
Waddell's Tess, although beautiful in another way--remember her portrayal as Estella in Great Expectations (Masterpiece Theatre, 1999), seems feistier, more knowing and less susceptible to the wiles of the mesmerized yet confused men in her life. Perhaps, her eyes do not convey the same wonder at the dualities of the world. Waddell's Tess already seems primly aggrieved by the trials and tribulations of her life; her face reflects her accrued experience.
Similarly, the other actors in this ensemble will work or not work for you depending on the extent of your familiarity with and expectations of Thomas Hardy's characterizations. If you like your Tess sweet, vulnerable and undeniably attractive, then Arterton will amply fill the bill. Hans Matheson, as the despicable Alex Stokes-D'Urberville (black-hearted misunderstood Mordred in The Mists of Avalon) undeniably personifies the dastardly qualities of the villain with a sneering, not at all self-deprecating, self-acceptance and `who cares?' arrogance that seems true to type. However, this reviewer found his reappearance and reinsertion in Tess's life a little hurried. Indeed, the audience understands the feeling of obligation that Tess once felt for her family at the opportunistic prodding of her mother, but I didn't think this sense of resignation was adequately portrayed simply because it was allotted little screen time. On the other hand, the behind the scenes glimpse through the keyhole of the boardinghouse as Alex and Tess argue as seen through the eyes of landlady, Mrs. Brooks spectacularly depicts the depravity of the cruel life Tess reluctantly endures with Alex.
The role of Angel Clare played by Eddie Redmayne (POWDER BLUE, The Other Boleyn Girl) at first seems miscast. However, his innocent scenes of love with Arterton's Tess, are bucolic to behold. Filmed against lush fields and mooing cows, the audience sees and enjoys the purity and magnetism of the halcyon days of first love. In contrast, Angel's hypocritical withdrawal from what could have been a wonderful life of committed sharing in another part of the world appears all the more marked as does the increased emotional release Redmayne's character must expel as he ricochets from feelings of impending doom and the simple joy of being at long last with the woman that he loves. Redmayne's oddly shaped face showcases a boy becoming a man--possessing the same brand of innocence as his Tess. His struggles to be of the world and above the world mature him yet do not defeat him.
Other characters of note in this production are Tess's three milkmaid friends and the heartlessly cruel Groby (Christopher Fairbank) whose mere presence had this reviewer shuddering in trepidation each time he appeared on the screen. In addition, Ruth Jones, as Tess's subtly scheming mother, portrays with distinction a conniving opportunist willing to use her daughter to gain financial happiness.
Bottom line? The 2008 BBC presentation of Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" successfully conveys the storyline and emotional impact of an impoverished woman's plight in the late 19th century. Gemma Arterton looks as if she could walk right out of a Monet painting; her beauty palpably represents the innocent insouciance of Hardy's Tess--a girl child in a woman's body. Her male leads do not overpower her, but set off her desire for love and her innate naivety from both ends of the spiritual spectrum. Viewers who have not read the novel be cautioned that all ends badly despite the audience's best and most hopeful wishes. Recommended to all lovers of the Masterpiece Theatre genre as a faithful adaptation of Hardy's classic tragedy.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"
Description of Tess of the d'Urbervilles
TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES - DVD MovieTen years have passed since the BBC last produced Tess of the d?Urbervilles, then starring Justine Waddell, and this new four-episode miniseries based on Thomas Hardy?s Victorian novel does well, again, by sticking closely to the original plot. Gemma Arterton this time brilliantly portrays Tess Durbeyfield, a character whose blend of naiveté and sexual allure makes her a guy magnet. Arterton?s long, dark hair and fair skin alone are the model of Gothic beauty, and her acting imbues Tess with the sweetness that helps maintain viewer sympathies as Tess embarks on a road of endless hardship. As the story is chock full of heated drama, each hourlong installment shows how Tess endures drastic emotional and social life change, leaving one feeling both exhausted for her and craving to witness more of her strength. As far as literary characters go, Tess warns young women to the wild ways of men and inspires all to strive for honesty. The morality implicit to the story is made apparent in this BBC version, and leaves the viewer questioning the effectiveness of Tess?s stringent moral sense, especially by today?s different sexual standards. Tess, in 2008, seems permanently punished for something that not only was not her fault, but also that may be unfortunately more common than perhaps it once was, namely teenage pregnancy. Episode One launches directly into Tess?s early meeting of her true love, the seemingly heroic Angel Clare (Eddie Redmayne). But her family?s poverty trumps the crush; once her robust parents John Durbeyfield (Ian Puleston-Davies) and Joan Durbeyfield (Ruth Jones) discover their hereditary ties to the royal d?Urbervilles, they send Tess off to a mansion to inquire for work. It is there that she encounters the villainous predator, Alec d?Urberville (Hans Matheson), and the tensions between a story about an upwardly mobile lady and a lady doomed by fate begins to take hold. The loss of Tess? child and Tess? inability to gain respect following her un-Christian motherhood comprise the next two episodes? story. In these, we witness women bonding against a society of men who judge Tess too harshly. There are her loving sisters, like Liza-Lu (Jo Woodcock), and the girlfriends who support her through her milkmaid career and worse. As Tess, however, reunites with Angel and agrees to marry him, tragedy is foreshadowed by her dearest friend, Retty Priddle (Emily Beecham), who withers from jealousy. The closer Tess comes to happiness, the more those around her suffer. Once Tess experiences an ultimate shunning, without giving away too much, dire circumstances prevail.
Episode Four reminds the viewer of the destructive aspects of Tess? aggressors, Alec and Groby (Christopher Fairbank), her employer who works her like a horse. By the time forgiveness arrives for Tess, it is too late. This version of the story explores less its sexual connotations, as does Roman Polanski?s Tess, relying more heavily on the scales shifting hour to hour from fortune to failure and back. The whole viewing is a roller coaster ride, well-worth every moment to be reminded of the ways this classic tale lives on in its application to contemporary life. --Trinie Dalton
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