Tess (1979) on Netflix
In Wessex, a parson tells John Durbeyfield he is descended from the noble d'Urbervilles. Durbeyfield sends his daughter Tess to call at the manor, where Alec d'Urberville lives.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb7.3/1020,148 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes81%
Trailer
Plot summary
In Wessex in the 1880s, Parson Tringham, a local historian, tells the villager John Durbeyfield that his family descends from the noble d'Urbervilles, a line that died out with its last male heirs. Durbeyfield becomes fixated on using the lineage to better his family's fortunes and, with his wife, sends their daughter Tess to call at the manor of a wealthy family bearing the same name. Alec d'Urberville and his mother live there, and they know she is no kin to them, having bought the name and the coat of arms. Finding her naive, penniless and attractive, Alec sets about taking advantage of her. Tess later works as a milkmaid at a dairy farm, where she meets Angel Clare, an apprentice farmer from a respectable family. Angel believes her an innocent country girl, and the two fall in love.
Cast
- David Markhamas Reverend Mr. Clare
- Tony Churchas Parson Tringham
- Brigid Erin Batesas Girl in meadow
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Tess (1979)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- During the third month of shooting Tess, on 28 October 1978, cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth died of a heart attack; Ghislain Cloquet shot the rest of the film, including most of the interiors. Both men won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
- Roman Polanski was living in Europe while making Tess because he was wanted as a fugitive after his conviction for sex with an underage girl in the United States. He had fled before sentencing and could have been extradited to the U.S. from the United Kingdom.
- For the film, the megalithic site of Stonehenge was reconstructed in Morienval, a village located in the Oise department of France.
