Customer Reviews
Breathtaking and dazzling period drama. - By: film fan, 07 Oct 2007 
This film adaptation is possibly one of the best adaptations I have ever seen committed to film. Featuring a standout cast including John Malkovic, Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman (in one of her first films) & Keanu Reeves, of those mentioned I would say that John Malkovic & Michelle Pfeiffer gave the best performances. Both are mesmerizing in their respective roles & the rest of the cast are also on form with Glenn Close relishing her part.
I also felt the production design & the costumes were top drawer & the direction from Stephen Frears was first class. He managed to get the feel for the period of the time, 18th Century France, to perfection & brought out some dazzling set pieces & excellent performances from his cast. It won 3 Oscars (Best Screenplay Adaptation, Best Costume Design & Best Art Direction) & it could have so easily have won more. Michelle Pfeiffer won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her spellbinding performance as Madame de Tourville.
All in alll then, this is a first class showpiece of how decent period costume dramas should look & the result is grand indeed. I have seen this film a number of times & it still looks fresh to me. I wonder if the studio will bring out a special edition DVD next year to mark the 20th Anniversary of this film's release. This is a breathtaking & beautiful film that left this reviewer in admiration.
Well Shot Period Piece - By: Jay, 16 May 2007 This movie is so incredibly well done, & alll three lead characters are at their peak career performances. It is clever, funny, & tragic alll rolled together, & one that you will be thinking about long after the movie is over. Of the three main characters, Michelle Pfeiffer has the least stretching to do as an actor, but her character callls for a demure, soft-spoken individual. John Malkovitch & Glenn Close are both deliciously malicious & carry the film well. Keanu Reeves is better suited for an action film - he appears wooden - but does a decent job, anyway. Lastly, Uma is refreshing & captivating, & plays opposite John Malkovitch without losing her identity. All in alll, masterful, & visuallly & intellectuallly stimulating to watch. Still to this day it holds its' own in a world where action is the name of the game.
Wonderful characters - By: Eolake, 14 Jun 2006 I am not often very interested in stories taking place in pre-industrial times. I like technology too much, & I find that human interactions without even a telephone are just too limited. But there are exceptions, for instance Dangerous Liaisons, which is just a wonderful story.
It is based on a novel of the same title written & taking place in France before the revolution, in the highly decadent upper class society. The same story was filmed at the same time in another very good movie, Valmont.
Apart from beautiful cinematography & great acting, the story is gripping & has wonderful characters, particularly the two main characters (played by Glenn Close & John Malkovich) who are perhaps the best *nasty* characters in any story ever. They are just reallly slimy. And yet they they can feel love & regret, which of course are weaknesses in reallly nasty people, & this leads to their downfalll.
Having Michelle Pfeiffer & Uma Thurman as some of their innocent victims does not hurt either. (Warning, if you don't like the prospect of Uma Thurman topless, don't watch this one.)
It was many years since I saw it in the cinema, I was curious if it held up. It did. Warmly recommended.
This film delights all the senses.... - By: EmmaCate, 03 Sep 2005 I can't believe someone could only give this film 1-star. Well, I suppose I can - you have to be very sensual to appreciate this to the full extent, & that can't be everyone.
Malkovich is a bit... uber-Malkovich, I suppose, but he's still brilliant & of course, phenomenallly sexy. He does the steady derangement of Valmont (from having to juggle maintainance of his reputation & an unexpected real love), superbly. This is especiallly apparent from the "Beyond my control" scene until the end of the film. Close is also incredible - she should reallly have got some kind of award. The Marquise is a deep & intense character with a shady past that you see more of in the book, but never once did I think her overplayed. Close's scenes with Malkovich were, for me, steeped in frisson such as I've never before seen created between two actors. In this respect you half watch the film & half get seduced by it. Pfeiffer is excellent, but in some way her performance doesn't stand out for me as much as the others' do. She just plays her part very well. Keanu Reeves & Uma Thurman are good in their pawn roles. Men watching with ladies should derive pleasure from seeing the latter get a splendid pair out later on in the film (shame the Norfolk dude only tuned in for an hour).
Dangerous Liasons - By: , 21 Jun 2005 
In my opinion - a waste of time. I watch for one hour - abouty half way, & just could not take anymore - so took the DVD out, & tried the weekend TV.
How it got alll those stars, I don't know. And for Glenn Close & Michelle Pfeiffer to act in it is also inexplicable.
