Dangerous Liaisons
Short description
In eighteenth-century France, the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, two aristocrats who were once lovers, pass their time in games of seduction. When a man the Marquise once favoured is about to marry the young Cécile de Volanges, she asks Valmont to ruin the girl's reputation before the wedding, offering him a night with her in return. Valmont, however, has set his own sights on Madame de Tourvel, a devoutly married woman, and the schemes the two conspirators set in motion soon escape their control. The film is based on Christopher Hampton's play, itself drawn from Choderlos de Laclos's eighteenth-century novel.
Stephen Frears directed, with Hampton writing the screenplay; Norma Heyman and Hank Moonjean produced. Glenn Close plays the Marquise and John Malkovich the Vicomte, with Michelle Pfeiffer as Madame de Tourvel, Uma Thurman as Cécile and Keanu Reeves as the Chevalier Danceny, among twenty credited cast members. It was Frears's fourth film as director in chronological order, following My Beautiful Laundrette and preceding The Grifters.
Made for about 14 million dollars, it took roughly 35 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.6 from more than 74,000 votes and on TMDB 7.2 from around 1,300, while a critics' rating stands at 7.8 from 35 reviews, a little above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Drew Barrymore auditioned for the role of Cecile de Volanges and was quite close to getting it, but ultimately Uma Thurman was chosen instead.
- Madame de Rozmon is the last film role of American actress Mildred Natwick (1905 – 1994).
- The film is based on Choderlos de Laclos' novel "Dangerous Liaisons" (Les Liaisons dangereuses, 1782).
- Actress Swoosie Kurtz also starred in a modern adaptation of the book – "Cruel Intentions" in 1999.
- Stephen Frears' film "crossed paths" at the box office with Miloš Forman's adaptation of "Dangerous Liaisons." Forman began filming earlier than Frears, but the British director managed to shoot his film faster and released it in December 1988. As a result, Miloš Forman had to change the title of his film. "Valmont" was released in November 1989 and was a complete commercial failure – despite many critics believing that Forman's film was not only not inferior, but in some aspects superior to Stephen Frears' film.
- Michelle Pfeiffer simultaneously received offers to play Madame de Tourvel in Stephen Frears' "Dangerous Liaisons" – and to play the Marquise de Merteuil in Miloš Forman's "Valmont." The actress chose the role of Madame de Tourvel, and Annette Bening ended up playing the Marquise de Merteuil in "Valmont," which became her first prominent role in a major film.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
