A tragic masterpiece born from a promise to a lost love
In short: Roman Polanski’s 1979 epic Tess is more than a faithful adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s 1891 novel. It is a haunting, painterly tribute to Sharon Tate, who first suggested the project to her husband. The film remains one of Polanski’s most acclaimed works, capturing a vanished world of ancient peasant culture.
The genesis of Tess lies in a tragic personal history. Sharon Tate, Polanski’s wife, gave him a copy of the novel and expressed a desire to play the titular character. Following her murder by the Manson Family in August 1969, Polanski dedicated the film to her. The production itself faced significant adversity, including the death of cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth during the third month of shooting. Despite this, the film secured three Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography, which was completed by Ghislain Cloquet.
Set in the 1880s, the narrative follows Tess Durbeyfield, whose life is upended by the discovery of her noble ancestry. Her journey through poverty, betrayal, and eventual tragedy is rendered with a visual style inspired by 17th-century painter Georges de La Tour and 19th-century artist Gustave Courbet. Polanski sought to evoke the peasant life he witnessed in Poland during World War II, filming the Dorset-set story across various French landscapes, including Normandy and Brittany.
The film’s release history is marked by varying cuts. The initial 1979 French premiere ran 186 minutes, while the U.S. release in 1980 was trimmed to 170 minutes. Polanski considers the 170-minute version his definitive cut, which was later restored in 4K and presented at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Critics have consistently praised the work; it holds an 81% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 82/100 score on Metacritic, with reviewers like Roger Ebert celebrating its lyrical exploration of doomed youth.
Beyond its technical achievements, the film serves as a rare love story in Polanski’s filmography. While the screenplay, written by Polanski, Gérard Brach, and John Brownjohn, remains largely faithful to Hardy, it notably tones down the character of Alec d'Urberville. Today, the film stands as a testament to both the enduring power of Hardy’s prose and the complex, often painful circumstances of its own creation.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Tess (1979 film)
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