Choderlos de Laclos's : Les Liaisons Dangereuses - publié le 22/01/2007

Résumé du document

Choderlos de Laclos's novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses has been the object of four main cinematic adaptations, all very different from one another or from the source text itself. These films are Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960 (1959) by Roger Vadim, Dangerous Liaisons (1988) by Stephen Frears, Valmont (1989) by Milos Foreman and Cruel Intentions (1999) by Roger Kumble. All these filmmakers departed from the same text and worked on it, some of them respected the time of the events, others played with the subject but changed the setting (like Vadim and Kumble). Laclos's work is an epistolary novel and we will see in what way it is a challenge to adapt such a novel, how the letters are included and used in the films, the rules dictated by this specific genre. Voyeurism in both novel and adaptations is an important element we shall discuss. Of course, we notice some changes from an adaptation to another, and we will try to point the major ones out in order to compare them.

Extraits

[...] After this study of the four main adaptations of Laclos' novel, we can of course assert that they are not all of the same quality. According to me, Frear's one is the best, but all are original and with some interest for such a study. Their common elements are strong characters, social criticism and battle of sexes. The main themes of the novel and its criticisms are still topical today and that is what makes its strength. There can be as many adaptations as possible readings of the novel, that is why it is interesting to compare them. [...]

[...] Choderlos de Laclos's : Les Liaisons Dangereuses Chorderlos de Laclos's Les Liaisons Dangereuses has been adapted for the screen four times, by R. Vadim, S. Frears, M. Foreman and R. Kumble respectively. The question is to what extent each filmmaker departed from the true spirit of the novel that mounted a critique on the 18th century society's double standards concerning the sexual behaviour of men and women. Construct your argument by taking also into account the major changes made in each adaptation. [...]

[...] Valmont offers her an ultimatum, like in the book: either she accepts to sleep with him to honour their tacit contract, or it's a declaration of war. But she chooses war and finally keeps her dominating status, she does not submit to his will and stays strong. In this adaptation, the scene is striking, mainly thanks to the strong and biting dialogues. In Valmont, the eponymous character arrives in Merteuil's room while she is having her bath, a very intimate situation. [...]

[...] In Frears adaptation, the correspondence between Cécile and Danceny is kept; in fact, it seems to be one of the best ways to show the shy and discreet game of seduction between two teenagers. Moreover, it enables Valmont and Merteuil to manipulate them even easier because they can dictate them what to write in these letters. It is also a pretext for Valmont to enter Cecile's bedroom. The letter, in this adaptation, is also the evidence required by Merteuil to Valmont to prove his relationship with Présidente de Tourvel, and enables her to control this relationship. This important element seems to have been forgotten in Foreman's adaptation. [...]

[...] The film director has to make different choices. He will decide what he will show and emphasize in his movie, and this for several reasons; first, this novel is a long one, more than 500 pages long and he cannot film everything the film mustn't be too long or boring. He also has to take the financial issue into account because the budget to make a film has its limits. We will see later that the casting is very important too, the choice of the actor can be decisive to the quality and the credibility of a movie. [...]