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Movies / On DVD / Bonjour Tristesse
Bonjour Tristesse

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Bonjour Tristesse (1958)

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Reviews Counted:13

Fresh:11

Rotten:2

Average Rating:6.7/10

Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Set on the French Riviera, Otto Preminger's film concerns a wealthy Frenchman (David Niven) who openly cavorts with his mistress, under the watchful eye of his 17-year-old daughter, Cecile. Cecile... Set on the French Riviera, Otto Preminger's film concerns a wealthy Frenchman (David Niven) who openly cavorts with his mistress, under the watchful eye of his 17-year-old daughter, Cecile. Cecile embarks on her own steamy summertime affair with a boy named Phillipe (Geoffrey Horne). But when Cecile's straight-laced godmother, Anne (Deborah Kerr), expresses disapproval toward the girl's fling with Phillipe, Cecile devises a scheme to drive her godmother away--which causes a tragic turn of events. Based on the novel by Francoise Sagan. [More]

Starring: David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Jean Seberg, Geoffrey Horne

Starring: David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Jean Seberg, Geoffrey Horne, Mylene Demongeot, Juliette Greco, Martita Hunt, Walter Chiari, Jean Kent, Roland Culver

Director: Otto Preminger

Director: Otto Preminger
Composer: Georges Auric
Producer: Otto Preminger

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Bonjour Tristesse

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1 - 13 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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The flirtation with incest at the centre of this adaptation of Françoise Sagan's novel is tame by modern standards, but the evil scheming of Seberg as the daughter set on separating her father and his mistress is still forceful.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

he overall ambiguity of the film and its refusal to make judgements mark it as ahead of its time, while the cast are first-rate, particularly Seberg, veering between impishly mischievous and spookily sinister.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Misunderstood at the time and still underappreciated, this 1958 glossy melodrama improves on Sagan's French novella, displaying Preminger's best qualities as auteur, moral ambiguity, detached, nonjudgmental approach, not to mention smooth visuals.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
07/14/09
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Has a glacial tone that gets covered with a lobster red French Riviera sunburn.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/16/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Kerr, of course, is a standout talent in spite of script deficiencies, and Demongeot plays the role of a silly blonde well. The Riviera scenes are rich in eye appeal and Kerr's chic costuming by Givenchy adds another plus.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/23/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Script deficiencies and awkward reading -- some lines are spoken as though just that -- have static results.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/23/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A bomb.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
03/25/06
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

While some may be put off by Preminger's glossy presentation of the idle rich, his direction in Bonjour Tristesse engages the mind while it stimulates the senses.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
01/09/04
David Sanjek
David Sanjek
PopMatters

Among favorite cinephile pet auteurs, no one’s reputation has had a rougher ride than that of Otto Preminger’s.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
12/08/03
Eric Henderson
Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
12/23/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Arguably, this is Preminger's masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

Hollywood soap opera at its best, nicely done and still entertaining after many decades.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews
 
 
1 - 13 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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