The British Film Institute has officially announced and detailed its upcoming Dual Format edition of director Roman Polanski's
Tess (1979), starring Nastassja Kinski, Peter Firth, Leigh Lawson. The release will be available for purchase online and in stores across the United Kingdom on March 18th.
This faithful screen rendering of the classic Victorian-era romantic novel, by Academy Award-winning director Roman Polanski (
Chinatown, The Pianist), captures with compassion the painful cruelty of love. Unavailable in the UK for several years, the BFI is proud to release Tess for the first time on Blu-ray, in a stunning new restoration (premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival) that is the best the film has ever looked.
Nastassia Kinski gives a career-defining performance as Hardy's heroine, with strong support from Peter Firth (Equus, The Hunt for Red October, Spooks) as Angel Clare and Leigh Lawson (Being Julia, Casanova, Silent Witness) as Alec d'Urberville. Geoffrey Unsworth and Ghislain Cloquet's exquisite Oscar-winning photography brings the author's Wessex setting vividly to life. Although filmed in France, Wessex was painstakingly re-created.
The film was nominated for five Oscars and three BAFTAs, eventually winning Oscars for Art Direction, Cinematography and Costume Design (the latter won by Anthony Powell, whose original designs are seen here in a short film), a BAFTA for Cinematography and also a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film.
Hardy's enduring 1891 novel continues to sell strongly and last year booksellers reported a huge spike in sales after its appearance and significance in the 4 million-selling erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James.
Special Features
- New 4K digital restoration
- Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
- Tess: From Novel to Screen (Laurent Bouzereau, 2004, 29 minutes, DVD only): Polanski on the adaptation of Hardy's classic novel with contributions from Hardy scholars and cast and crew
- Filming Tess (Laurent Bouzereau, 2004, 26 mins, DVD only): cast and crew discuss the technical challenges they faced
- Tess: The Experience (Laurent Bouzereau, 2004, 20 mins, DVD only): those who worked on Tess discuss their experiences
- Costume Designs (2013, 2 mins): Anthony Powell's award-winning designs
- Original theatrical trailer
- Illustrated booklet with essays and credits