Tess

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT.First to draw attention is the sublime packaging of the Criterion Collection's release of Roman Polanski's TESS: in particular the haunting visage on the box cover of Tess as portrayed by Nastassja Kinski. This face can magnetically cross store aisles and hypnotically pull one towards it. Who is this mysterious woman named Tess? She is lovely, a living work of art - but she is not smiling, not happy. No. In the masterful screen-grab used to perfect poetic effect for this cover, Tess looks mostly...lost. She looks at whomever looks at her with past darkness over her left shoulder and nothing but fog before her when she must eventually turn her head and face her uncertain future. Her look is more resigned than expectant, more doubtful than certain, much more lost than ever having been found. If the essence of a film may be captured in one image, this is that image for the tale of Tess.Very few movies truly attain the peak of perfection in all of their elements: story, acting, photography, music, costuming, set design and so forth. Kubrick attained it with his period piece, BARRY LYNDON, in 1975. And here, in Polanski's possible reply to Kubrick's challenge, we have another period piece that is an unmitigated masterpiece with nary a false note in the entire cinematic symphony that this film undoubtedly is.TESS was made in 1979 before the crippling temptations of CGI came to distract and "direct" directors. The land in this film is real - the sky is the true thing - you can almost inhale the fragrance of everything from grassy lawns to rainy nights to barn stalls - and the trees, you can almost feel the shade of them. The rooms are all there as well! Not half real and the rest cyberly painted in post-green screen. In the extremely interesting extras herein one will see how arduous Art and the attainment of its perfection truly can be. The several extras explore the making of this film quite extensively and always interestingly. And listening to Polanski talk film is like listening to a Renaissance master discuss his paints and canvas.Some have criticized the acting of Ms. Kinski in the titular role. Some say she is one-note, lacking in emotional range. But those who think this are missing the point, at least with regards to her performance in this film. Tess, through the vagaries of fate, finds herself facing death before she has truly had the time to ever live a life all her own. Tess is putty molded in the minds of men. She is what the men in her life think her to be, not what she is or could be. Even when she finds herself a murderer, she becomes one in a daze - and kills because some bit of her knows on some level that throughout her short years she has been killed, over and over again. That is why - when the police come to arrest her - she is ready. People who are truly alive are never really ready to die. But Tess, who never grew to be more than a beautiful woman in the eyes of men who could never see or care to see the stirrings of a soul within, has never been truly alive, truly alive to herself most of all. So Ms. Kinski's vacant, vapid performance is pitch perfect - and it conveys the utter ambiguity and loneliness of a spirit stunted by its vacillating surroundings and circumstances.It may be cliched to say they don't make movies like this any more. Nonetheless, it is mostly very true. So if you haven't yet met Tess, don't let this pass by. And if you are looking for a movie that has been as artfully and carefully composed and created as a Leonardo da Vinci masterwork, cross the aisle to the haunting face and pick up an authentic crown jewel of cinema.

What's in a name? Well to farmer John Durbeyfield it means everything and when a local church parson tells him that he might be related to the aristocratic family named "d'Urberville" it sets in motion a series of events involving his eldest daughter Tess that has all the elements of a tragic Shakespearean play. But it's not Shakespeare. "Tess of the d'Urbervilles"(published in 1891) is one of the many novels written by author Thomas Hardy that explores class distinctions in Victorian England where young women were brought up to marry into wealth and family name meant everything. If you were a strong willed peasant girl the odds of achieving such a life were dim if not impossible. In 1979, director Roman Polanski brought Hardy's masterwork to the screen in a sensitive and intelligent film adaptation that ranks as one of his best films. Criterion has now brought "Tess" to Blu-ray for the first time and the results are simply astonishing. According to the liner notes from the enclosed booklet: "This digital transfer was created in 4K resolution from the 35mm original camera negative" which makes for a pristine picture from start to finish(Bitrate: 18.66). Using French countryside locations in place of Hardy's semi-fictional region of Wessex, colors just pop off the screen. Greens, yellows, blues and reds are vivid and look exceptional on Blu-ray. The Oscar winning cinematography by the Geoffrey Unsworth and Ghislain Cloquel is a marvel to behold with every scene looking like a painting(Sadly, Unsworth died during the production and did not live to see his final work). The period costumes by Anthony Powell(also Oscar winning) are very impressive and colorful with even the smallest details being highlighted, especially the red dress worn by Tess during the film's climax. The Audio(DTS-HD MA 5.1) is another delight with the sounds of the countryside(threshing machines, horse carts, etc.) adding to the flavor of the story. The acting is top notch held together by an absolutely incredible performance by Nastassia Kinski. Only 17 at the time of filming, Kinski's beautiful features are on full display and it's obvious from the first scene that she and the camera were meant for each other. Her instinctive approach to her role as Tess Durbeyfield is one of the best performances on film. "Tess" is 171 minutes(Aspect ratio: 2.39:1) and only contains the following subtitle: English SDH. Special features include: (1) A 1979 French television episode about the shooting of the film(49 min.); (2) A documentary about the making of "Tess" (53 min.); (3) A 1979 British television interview with director Roman Polanski; (4) Three short documentaries of the making of "Tess" and the Original Theatrical Trailer. There is an informative booklet by Professor Colin MacCabe that is also included. This Blu-ray package is a Criterion "Dual Format" edition that includes both the Blu-ray & the DVD.(Please note that Criterion has since released a "stand alone" Blu-ray of "Tess" that comes in a standard clear transparent case for those who just want the Blu-ray). "Tess" is another outstanding Blu-ray presentation by Criterion and one of their best releases. It comes very highly recommended.