Dangerous Liaisons

Name: Dangerous Liaisons
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: December 16, 1988
Duration: 119 min
Rating: 74
Cast: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer

1988

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 76 Ratings

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7.6

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7.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 76 Ratings

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Dangerous Liaisons

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Movie Details & Credits

Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: December 16, 1988 | R

Starring: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer

Summary: A cruel wager is made between the beautiful but deviousMarquise de Merteuil (Close) and her former lover, the Vicomte de Valmont (Malkovich). The Marquise challenges Valmont to seduce the virginal Cecile de Volanges (Thurman) before the girl can be wed. As a counter-challenge Valmont bets the Marquise that he will be able to bed the marriedA cruel wager is made between the beautiful but deviousMarquise de Merteuil (Close) and her former lover, the Vicomte de Valmont (Malkovich). The Marquise challenges Valmont to seduce the virginal Cecile de Volanges (Thurman) before the girl can be wed. As a counter-challenge Valmont bets the Marquise that he will be able to bed the married Madame de Tourvel (Pfeiffer).… Expand

Director: Stephen Frears

Genre(s): Drama, Romance

Rating: R

Runtime: 119 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Hal Hinson

A delectably naughty experience. This sort of wit and immediacy is extraordinarily rare in a period film. Read full review

100

Pauline Kael

A first-rate piece of work by a director who's daring and agile... It's heaven – alive in a way that movies rarely are. [9 Jan 1989]

Vincent Canby

Nothing Miss Close has done on the screen before approaches the richness and comic delicacy of her work as the Marquise. [21 Dec 1988, p.C22]

Jonathan Rosenbaum

The film seems a bit studied, but the creepy plot still holds a certain fascination. Read full review

Roger Ebert

If there is anything lacking in the movie, it may be a certain gusto. The director, Stephen Frears, is so happy to make this a tragicomedy of manners that he sometimes turns away from obvious payoffs. Read full review

Jay Scott

No matter how many times the script instructs us that Valmont is "conspicuously charming," Malkovich is not charming, conspicuously or otherwise. Read full review

David Sterritt

A second-rate adaptation of the second-rate Choderlos de Laclos novel: two hours of pretty people sitting in pretty rooms and talking about sex. [23 Dec 1988, A& L, p.19]

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User Reviews

Bitash

Sep 15, 2019

Absolutely amazing, I did not even know about the movie till today.....breath taking costumes , hair and jewelry, set design is spectacular, great great acting, director paying attention to every detail, fantastic writing and dialog......complicated layered characters....everyone’s actingAbsolutely amazing, I did not even know about the movie till today.....breath taking costumes , hair and jewelry, set design is spectacular, great great acting, director paying attention to every detail, fantastic writing and dialog......complicated layered characters....everyone’s acting is superb, I forgot I was watching a movie, you get immersed in the storyline which is well told, never once could I see the script in my head, No weak link in this movie. It’s a must see. No one will be able to remake this movie, you cannot make it any better than this. They should re release this movie in theatres so the ne wgeneration can see.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

FilipeNeto

Feb 2, 2020

A visually beautiful film, where evil and perversity show their most attractive and seductive side.

The Baroque period was a time that became history for its wars (Seven Years' War, Spanish Succession War), for the emergence of art and opera (Handel, Vivaldi, Carlos Seixas, Bach etc. inA visually beautiful film, where evil and perversity show their most attractive and seductive side.

The Baroque period was a time that became history for its wars (Seven Years' War, Spanish Succession War), for the emergence of art and opera (Handel, Vivaldi, Carlos Seixas, Bach etc. in music, Velasquez, Caravaggio , van Dyck, Josefa de Óbidos, Rembrandt etc. in art), for the elaborate clothes and wigs worn by the rich and for the aristocracy, for royal absolutism and for their gigantic palaces (like Versailles, Sanssouci, Charlottenburg, Peterhoff, Tsarskoye Selo, Mafra, El Escorial etc.) But the Baroque was also a period of some moral relaxation, particularly for the upper classes. Figures such as Giacomo Casanova or the infamous Marquis de Sade are precisely from this period. And it is around two particularly infamous figures that the film takes place.

The marquise Isabelle de Merteuil is a manipulative, cold and cruel widow, who has a long-standing affair with the promiscuous and rude Viscount Valmont. It is she who asks Valmont to seduce the pure young Cécile de Volanges, who was destined to marry a man whom Merteuil hated. The viscount hesitates, preferring to try to seduce Madame de Tourvel, married and highly moralistic, due to the challenge this represents. But together they will jeopardize their and others' honor and feelings.

In this film, the story combines seduction, cruelty and passion quite well. The main characters, played brilliantly by Glenn Close and John Malkovich (one of the most notable films in the career of both actors), are truly despicable but have style and class, and that is what makes them alluring. Evil can be attractive, as we all know. Beside them, we have a great Michelle Pfeiffer, living the golden years of her career, and a young Uma Thurman, emerging, showing a developing talent as she played a Baroque Lolita. Keanu Reeves also appears, in a somewhat discreet role but that the actor effectively fulfills without having the space to show more.

Directed by Stephen Frears, the film has excellent costumes and sets. The use of excellent filming locations such as the Château de Neuville, Vincennes and the Montansier Theater in France helped a lot to the beauty and realism of the final product. The film also features a photograph with good contrast and regular filming.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

RachelS.

May 12, 2006

Simply the truest reflection of the battle of the sexes that there has ever been.

1 of 1 users found this helpful

radegeddon

Aug 19, 2018

"Dangerous Liaisons" is a brilliant melodrama whose assets are difficult to count. Let's just say this film wins you over layered characters, the luxurious and convincing reconstruction of the era in which the action takes place, rich emotions, the great camera, and meticulous directing."Dangerous Liaisons" is a brilliant melodrama whose assets are difficult to count. Let's just say this film wins you over layered characters, the luxurious and convincing reconstruction of the era in which the action takes place, rich emotions, the great camera, and meticulous directing. Still, the striking trumps are phenomenal actors. Difficult to say who is better, John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer or then very young Uma Thurman. Nowadays famous Keanu Reeves (Matrix), had a small but nice act. In addition to great criticism, Frears' "Dangerous Connections" can boast of great success at cinemas and a great number of awards.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

JLuis_001

Dec 1, 2019

I don't really consider myself a fan of period films. I rarely enjoy them but this one has a much darker and provocative plot than one would expect and that was quite striking and curious.

What I always rescue from films of this type are the performances and usually these don't disappointI don't really consider myself a fan of period films. I rarely enjoy them but this one has a much darker and provocative plot than one would expect and that was quite striking and curious.

What I always rescue from films of this type are the performances and usually these don't disappoint and this film is no exception. The three main actors were still at a great moment and that adds another good point to this story.

Stephen Frears is not a great filmmaker but this is one of the best films I've seen from him.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

sc0TTi

Oct 14, 2019

Solid adaptation. The male actors are the weakest points (John Malkovich and Keanu) , and it misses a couple of the important character aspects from the book here and there, but I was mostly satisfied.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Broyax

Jun 10, 2022

Je ne crois pas que ce livre (qui remonte au XVIIIème siècle) soit vraiment adaptable, ni au théâtre, ni au grand écran… ni ailleurs, d’ailleurs ! ce film compassé est quoi qu’il en soit tiré d’une pièce, elle-même adaptée pour le cinéma par Stephen Frears, lequel n’a -au moins- pas lésinéJe ne crois pas que ce livre (qui remonte au XVIIIème siècle) soit vraiment adaptable, ni au théâtre, ni au grand écran… ni ailleurs, d’ailleurs ! ce film compassé est quoi qu’il en soit tiré d’une pièce, elle-même adaptée pour le cinéma par Stephen Frears, lequel n’a -au moins- pas lésiné sur la qualité de la distribution.

Ils étaient tous si jeunes à cette époque que visionner ou tenter de revisionner ce machin nous fait demander en quel temps il fut tourné… eh bien, en 1988 pour être précis ! diantre, autant dire une éternité… Elles étaient belles en tout cas et il était beau le Malkovich ! en plus, avec la perruque d’usage, on ne remarquait pas sa calvitie…

On remarque ces sacrés corsages par contre, avec une préférence pour Uma thurman qui campe une oie blanche à la gorge généreuse (est-ce qu’elle arrive encore à respirer ? ça semble difficile…). Mais ces complots d’opérette chez les peigne-culs se révèlent assommants… impossible de tenir sans dormir.

A tout prendre, je préfère de loin le sketch d’anthologie des Inconnus (évidemment infiniment plus court que cette litanie pédante de deux plombes) et très drôle : « les liaisons vachement dangereuses » que ça s’appelait ! et ça, c’était quelque chose… Comme quoi merde, avec des efforts et des idées, on peut… tout adapter… finalement !… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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