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| Nastassia
Kinski, Peter Firth, Leigh Lawson, John Collin |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Tess Durbeyfield (Nastassia Kinski):
Can't you forgive me? But I forgave you!
Angel Clare (Peter Firth): You aren't the person I thought
you were. You're the last decendant in a perverted line of aristocrats.
A poor Essex country girl is sent
out to improve her family's circumstances after her father learns
that they are decendents of an ancient aristocratic family.
 Polanski's
lavishly mounted adaptation of the sombre Thomas Hardy novel is
hard to fault for its class, scale or style. Convincingly shot in
atmospheric locations in France and Great Britain, it breathes the
spirit of nenteenth-century England, which is inhabited here by
subtly played characters. The slow unfolding of the inevitably tragic
narrative, set in motion by an off-hand remark in the opening scene,
is slowly but compellingly played out with assurance and plenty
of style. What the fiilm lacks, however, is the momentum and edgy
sense of unpredictability that has characterized Polanski's best
work. Tess remians an impressive achievement, but never does
it become quite clear what drew the director to this unlikely material. |
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No DVD release is as yet available
for Region 1. The Region 2 release distributed in Belgium and the
Netherlands by A-Film Home Entertainment served as the basis for
this review.
The anamorphic widescreen image
is framed at an aspect ratio of approx. 2.35:1. The video presentation
is a decidedly mixed affair: the source print used for this new
transfer is in outstanding shape, with bright, vivid colors, excellent
contrast and hardly a blemish in sight. The transfer itself on the
other hand is fraught with aliasing and compression artifacts, making
for a distractingly jittery and unstable presentation.
The Dolby
Digital 5.1 sound mix is understated but quite clean. Surround
effects are almost totally absent, but fidelity is very good and
dialogue separation is also quite decent.
No extras apart from a trailer
and some brief pages of cast and crew filmographies are included.A nicely animated menu screen offers
access to the limited features, with disappointingly few chapter
stops for such a long feature.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
January 31, 2002
Click
here for IMDB info on Tess.
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to return to the front page.
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