Dangerous Liaisons [1988 film]

by Stephen Frears (Director), Christopher Hampton (Original play, screenwriter)

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Set in 18th century France, this is the story of two bored aristocrats and the havoc they wreak when they play dangerous games with people's lives. The beautiful widow Merteuil challenges rakish Valmont to seduce a virtuous young married woman, never suspecting that he would violate his personal credo and fall in love.

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Member Reviews

6 reviews
Can you believe it?! Well, obviously those folks needed something else to do with their time. Talk about a soap opera. The intrigue, the betrayal, the lives lost...for what? Excellent film, fabulous costumes.
From costume pint of view, this is one of the best 18th century movies ever! And the story and the characters are good too. Close was one likened as a "maternal tank", and I feel that is pretty apt.
Compare/Contrast:

Dangerous Liaisons-1988-Dir: Stephen Frears
Valmont-1989-Dir:Milos Forman

Same story. Both outstanding. I tend to lean to DL. I love the austereness. Though Valmont has the sensuousness going for it.

How sayeth you?
½
Jan 17, 2025Portuguese (Brazil)

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Author Information

Picture of author.
Director
46+ Works 2,315 Members
Picture of author.
Original play, screenwriter
45+ Works 1,659 Members
Born on January 26, 1946 in Fayal in the Azores, Christopher Hampton graduated from New College, Oxford, with a Modern Languages degree in 1968. After a stint as the resident dramatist at the Royal Court from 1968 to 1970, Hampton began a career as a playwright, soon becoming interested in screenwriting, directing, and producing. As a playwright, show more Hampton wrote more than a dozen tales including When Did You Last See My Mother?, Tales from Hollywood, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and Alice's Adventures Under Ground. In 1988, Hampton decided to take his hit play Les Liaisons Dangereuses to the big screen. The resulting movie, Dangerous Liaisons, which Hampton also co-produced, featured Michelle Pfeiffer and John Malkovich in leading roles. Hampton has also written the screenplays for the movies A Doll's House, a story based on Henrik Ibsen's popular play, The Secret Agent and Carrington, both of which Hampton also directed, and Mary Reilly, which starred Julia Roberts. Christopher Hampton has received numerous honors including the Laurence Olivier Award for Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1986, an Academy Award and Writers' Guild award in 1988 for Dangerous Liaisons, and a Tony award in 1995 for Best Score and Best Book of a Musical for Sunset Boulevard. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

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Acheson, James (Costume designer)
Audsley, Mick (Film editor)
Close, Glenn (Actor)
Craig, Stuart (Production designer)
Fenton, George (Composer)
Heyman, Norma (Producer)
Moonjean, Hank (Producer)

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Dangerous Liaisons [1988 film]
Original title
Dangerous Liaisons
Original publication date
1988-12-16
People/Characters
Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil; Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont; Madame de Tourvel; Madame de Volanges; Chevalier Raphael Danceny
Important places
Paris, France; France
Important events
18th century; 1780s
Related movies
Dangerous Liaisons (1988 | IMDb)
Original language
English

Classifications

DDC/MDS
791.43Arts & recreationRecreation, sports, and performing artsMovies, TV, VideoMotion pictures, radio, television, podcastingMotion pictures
LCC
PN1997 .D2852Language and LiteratureLiterature (General)Literature (General)DramaMotion picturesPlays, scenarios, etc.

Statistics

Members
211
Popularity
154,422
Reviews
5
Rating
½ (4.43)
Languages
Dutch, English, French
ISBNs
8
UPCs
4
ASINs
16