Tess

Cat People was my introduction to Nastassja Kinski, so I had not yet seen 1979's Tess at this point in 1982. So when it came to the York Theater, I was all over it.

Now, there's no doubt she fits the role as far as looks is concerned; she's just stunningly beautiful in it. But I think she got some criticism for her performance. Personally, I think she's fine, and I find her attempts at a Wessex accent kind of charming. But I can totally seeing sticklers taking issue with it...



After seeing the movie, I read the book, and quite liked it. I think it benefited me to have seen the movie first, as it made the book easier to follow, and the language a little less impenetrable. About a year later in school, we started reading books by Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, and others, mainly Victorian novels, or a little earlier. But I stuck with Thomas Hardy, and to this day, prefer Tess to anything by Jane Austen.

I also had this Tess poster on my wall for years, never really considering a poster with the word "rape" on it might not have been the best thing to really draw the boys to me....