Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers (WGA):

Christopher Hampton (play)
Choderlos de Laclos (novel)

Release Date:

21 December 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Lust. Seduction. Revenge. The Game As You've Never Seen It Played Before.

Plot:

Rich and bored aristocrats in Rococo France play high-stakes games of passion and betrayal.

Plot Keywords:

France | Love | Passion | Betrayal | Corruption

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Glenn Close	...	Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil
John Malkovich	...	Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Madame de Tourvel
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Madame de Volanges
Keanu Reeves	...	Le Chevalier Raphael Danceny
Mildred Natwick	...	Madame de Rosemonde
Uma Thurman	...	Cécile de Volanges
Peter Capaldi	...	Azolan
Joe Sheridan	...	Georges
Valerie Gogan	...	Julie
Laura Benson	...	Emilie
Joanna Pavlis	...	Adèle
Nicholas Hawtrey	...	Major-domo
Paulo Abel Do Nascimento	...	Castrato
François Lalande	...	Curé

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | France:Unrated | Australia:M | Argentina:18 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Peru:18 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Château de Champs-sur-Marne, Champs-sur-Marne, Seine-et-Marne, France

Company:

Lorimar Film Entertainment

Trivia:

Mildred Natwick's final film

Goofs:

Continuity: In one scene (in Mme de Rosemonde's garden), Valmont sits behind Mme de Tourvel and asks "Why are you so angry with me?" The camera then cuts to a close-up of Michelle Pfeiffer's face, and John Malkovich is sitting much closer behind her.

Quotes:

Marquise de Merteuil: Tell us we should think of the opera.
Chevalier Danceny: Oh, it's sublime, don't you find?
Marquise de Merteuil: Monsieur Danceny is one of those rare eccentrics who come here to listen to the music.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: John Malkovich/T.I. (#34.10)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Concerto for Harpsichords

You can see why France had its revolution.

Stephen Frears directs a top-notch movie adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' novel about several manipulative Rococo-era French aristocrats. Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil (Glenn Close) is a seductively evil character who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Vicomte Sebastien de Valmont (John Malkovich) knows how to trick the peasants into thinking that he's a good guy, despite his vampiric intentions. Madame Marie de Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Le Chevalier Raphael Danceny (Keanu Reeves) may be only products of this vile society, but they are practically helpless to do anything about it. Maybe it's a little strange to see Keanu Reeves in a movie like this, but he makes the best of his role. All in all, "Dangerous Liaisons" is a movie that you can't afford to miss. Perfect.