Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

cnycitylady BBC has done it again, and has out done any and every other book to film translation they have ever done. With their Tess of the D'Urbervilles mini series they elegantly translate the book and all of its intricate characters beautifully on screen. Gemma Arterton was perhaps the only person in the world who could capture the beauty, innocence and tenderness that is Tess Durbyfield and Eddie Redmayne was the manifestation of Angel Claire himself. The chemistry between the two actors could not be found or duplicated anywhere else. They were so true to the portrayals of the characters that you would think that they were actually in love with each other if you were to meet them in the street. BBC usually stays true to the book changing very little and only if they have to, but here for Tess of the D'Urbervilles they change almost nothing and if such changes were implicated it would literally take an expert on the book to point them out. The character Alec D'Urberville was brilliantly splashed on screen by Hans Matheson; He captured the unctuous character in his entirety, with his "smooth" and "charming" persona which is really just slimy and abusive. The scenery was almost an exact replica of what was described in the book and all of the supporting characters were spot on in their performances. I especially loved the love scene between the two lead actors, it was flawlessly filmed and directed and never will you see a more tender love moment in a movie. Overall the mini series Tess of the D'Urbervilles was...well...perfect! I loved the book, it is one of my favorites (despite the poor abuse Tess goes through and the sheer unfairly harsh life she has) and I usually say the book is better than the film, (as most readers say) but in this case I say that I don't know which is better. So if you have to read this book for class, or for whatever reason and you really don't want to, just watch this series. You will get all of the information, you will get all of the suffering, love, longing, desire, hate and forgiveness just as well as if you actually sat down to read it. BBC never disappoints, but after watching this I feel as if my expectations for all other book to film translations will have skyrocketed, leaving me forever disappointed. And I thank BBC for giving me a glimpse of perfection.

nevandsue What a really good production this is. Technically perfect and an excellent cast. Gemma Arterton is a super actress and for me this is the best performance of her career so far. If he could, I'm certain that Hardy would agree! Her newest release "Tamara Drewe" is taken from the Simmons comic strip which in turn was inspired by Hardy's "Far From The Madding Crowd". I read that a new version of "Crowd" is in the works - if they don't have Arterton as Bathsheba Everdene they are making a serious error in my opinion. She was born to play that role. I see that one of the reviews here is personally insulting to the actress. For shame!

pinxoxoxo ----------- ----- --------- ---- ------------------------ ------------------------------- -------- ------- ----------------- --------------------------------------------- --------- - ----- ---------- ------------ ------- ----------The movie was TERRIBLE. The acting was moderately good (tess was pretty and convincing), but the story was awful. They did not build up on some parts enough and failed to really prove whether Alec was good until the end. The movie really didn't have any theme, and it wasn't really good enough to be a classic tradegy. If you expect a happy ending or at least something that brings closure, you will be disappointed.

elisaMR Aside from this, I've only seen the 1998 version starring Justine Waddell; I have, however, read Hardy's novel three times, it being my favorite. I have to say that I was disappointed with this production. I felt that the beginning was too rushed from the dance, to the death of the family horse, and while Gemma Arterton is a beautiful Tess, I just couldn't connect with her. I also didn't like the way that they developed the relationship between Alec and Tess. My interpretation has always been that while Tess remained civil with him in the beginning, she wanted little to do with him and shunned him because of his arrogance. In this adaption they make it seem as if they've developed an actual friendship and she's falling in love with him. I don't necessarily think that the acting was bad, but there was just something about this cast, particularly the two protagonists, that made me feel less for them than I normally would. The love between Angel and Tess didn't seem as real; something was missing. Angel appeared to be a young man who's pride drove him away from his true love once her secret was revealed, but in the novel he is so much more intelligent and complex than what this representation suggested. I guess overall I just feel that the characters weren't developed enough. Normally when I read the novel, or watch the 1998 version, I feel so much for these characters and become emotionally invested. Sadly this series did not produce the same effect. It is still, however, a beautiful and tragic story, and I did enjoy seeing Angel's parents and his relationship with his family, which was basically nonexistent in the '98 series. While some scenes and certain dialogue were a stretch in my opinion, the overall story stayed true to Hardy's heartbreaking novel.