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Les Liaisons Dangereuses Film Adaptations

As a popular book to film adaptation, Les Liaisons Dangereuses has taken on many artistic forms through the eyes of the director.

By Filthy StaffPublished 8 years ago 7 min read
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The French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos has been adapted to the screen multiple times since its publication in 1782. Several films share the essence of the novel, with the two main characters displaying deceit, manipulation, sexual conquests, and revenge. Not every adaptation is completely accurate to the novel, but in each it is clear where the story originated.

There have been more accurate and literal adaptations in film, with Dangerous Liaisons in 1988 and Valmont in 1989. These films keep the time period and language style very much the same, as well as the plot line, story complexity, and detail. There were also a couple of adaptations that were clearly inspired from the novel but keep less strictly to the text, with Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1959 and Cruel Intentions in 1999. Both films changed character names, the setting, and altered the plot to fit the time period. Finally, there were two films that adapted the novel to an Eastern culture, both Untold Scandal in 2003 and Dangerous Liaisons in 2012. Both of these films altered many parts of the novel to fit the culture, such as character names, plot points and character motivation.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1782)

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos wrote the French epistolary novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, in 1782. The novel is structured in a series of four volumes, with the story told through correspondence letters from one character to another. The two main characters are Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont. Marquise and Vicomte were once lovers and are now rivals who enjoy manipulating others for their own entertainment. Marquise is determined to seek revenge on an ex-lover by seducing his new fiancé, Cecile, with Vicomte’s charms. Vicomte wishes to seduce a married woman, Madame de Tourvel, for Cecile proves to be a much too simple conquest. Marquise agrees that if Vicomte beds Madame de Tourvel she will sleep with him also.

This novel is filled with sabotage and manipulation. Early on Vicomte wants nothing with Marquise’s plan to seduce Cecile, but after Cecile’s mother alerts Madame de Tourvel of Vicomte’s ways, he is quick to move on to Cecile and seduces her in hopes that Marquise will still hold up her end of the bargain.

As the story continues it grows in complexity, with Marquise attempting to sway Cecile away from her fiancé and on to her music tutor, Chevalier Danceny. Marquise sleeps with Chevalier Danceny and Vicomte eventually beds Madame de Tourvel, only to fall in love. Marquise tricks Vicomte into leaving Madame de Tourvel, which leads Vicomte to tell Cecile and Chevalier Danceny about Marquise and her schemes. Once everything is out in the open, Chevalier Danceny and Vicomte duel, resulting in a wounded Vicomte. Before his death, Vicomte shares his letters from Marquise about her involvement in everything, and professes his love to Madame de Tourvel. Marquise flees to the country and loses her beauty to illness.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1959)

This 1959 film directed by Roger Vadim adapts the novel to the screen with a more simplistic storyline focused on more of a love story angle than the original work. Some original characters’ names are changed, with Marquise changing to Juliette and Madame de Toruvel to Marianne Toruvel. The story told in Les Liaisons Dangereuses focuses on a classy couple’s sexual affairs and exciting escapades with only one rule between them, never to fall in love. Similar to the original, Vicomte de Valmont falls in love with Marianne. While the novel is more involved with a very complex feel, this film adaptation takes the basic structure of the novel and adds an updated and more relatable feel while simplifying the plot.

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

A better-known adaptation is the film Dangerous Liaisons from 1988, directed by Stephen Frears. The film proves to be a very accurate adaptation of the novel. Marquise and Vicomte compete in the art of seduction, with Vicomte measuring his success only in his number of conquests. Marquise challenges Vicomte to seduce Cecile and in return offers him a night with her. Vicomte is more interested in Madame de Tourvel, who is married. This plot is extremely similar to the original text, from beginning to end. All characters have the same names and motivations. The film is set in 18th century France, which is true to the novel as well. Staying close to the novel’s plot line and characters allows the film to capture the intricacy of the original story without losing detail in the adaptation.

Valmont (1989)

A third screen adaptation is Valmont, created in 1989, directed by Milos Forman. While this film shares the basic storyline of the novel, things like character names and plot structure are simplified. Vicomte de Valmont becomes just Valmont and Marquise de Merteuil becomes just Merteuil. The storyline is centered on a widow, Merteuil, who wants to seduce a married woman with her lover, Valmont. They strike a deal that if he seduces Cecile he can have Merteuil however he likes. Valmont falls in love and disrupts the bet, which leads to the remaining portion of the plot following the novel’s storyline fairly closely. The film is set in Baroque France, which is very similar to the novel and helps keep its foundation in the original text. As an adaptation the story feels very similar and true to the novel, and the simplifications in name and storyline don’t detract from the original.

Cruel Intentions (1999)

Another, better-known film adaptation is Cruel Intentions from 1999, directed by Roger Kumble. This piece is more loosely adapted from the novel, and holds on to the basic plot structure of the text while adapting things like character names, setting, and language to a more modern time. The main characters, Kathryn Merteuil and Sebastian Valmont, are stepsiblings who use manipulation to obtain favored outcomes. This is drastically different from the novel, but there is still an element of attraction between them. Sebastian wants to bed Kathryn because she’s the only woman he can’t have. Kathryn bets Sebastian to bed Annette Hargrove, who functions in the Tourvel role, because she’s waiting until marriage to have sex. If Sebastian is successful he will get to bed Kathryn, but if he fails, Kathryn will take his most precious possession, his car. Kathryn also plots revenge on her ex-boyfriend by getting Sebastian to sleep with his new girlfriend, Cecile.

Despite the changes to a more modern time, this film adapts most of the plot depth and complexity from the original work. The characters have multiple motives and the story gets more complex and involved as the film progresses. The film also ends much like the novel, with both characters exposed for their manipulation. Sebastian passes away, and Kathryn flees from the consequences of her wrongdoings.

Untold Scandal (2003)

Untold Scandal from 2003, directed by Je-yong Lee, is a very different adaptation in that the storyline changes to fit its native culture more than other modern adaptations. Set in 18th century Korea, the lead woman role is Lady Cho, who asks her cousin, Soh-ok, to deflower the woman who is to be her husband’s concubine. Soh-ok is actually lusting after Lady Sook, who is Catholic and celibate.

It is clear that there are many changes from the original text, from character names to plot points, but the essence of the novel is still intact, from the main characters and their motivations to the secondary characters and how they are wronged. The complexity and manipulation, which is the focus of the novel, is still present in the film, and many of the changes are focused on making the film more relatable to the audience and setting.

Dangerous Liaisons (2012)

The last film adaptation, Dangerous Liaisons, is set in Shanghai, directed by Jin-ho Hur. This adaptation also changes the names of the characters to fit the new culture and location. The storyline is also simplified from the complex original to something more basic. An aging high-class woman is obsessed with her ex-boyfriend. The ex agrees to seduce and then leave a young woman. While the storyline is only one portion of the original text, there are elements of the novel within this film; both obsession and manipulation are present throughout.

It is clear that Les Liaisons Dangereuses has become a model for illustrating malicious characters with motivation to destroy others through manipulation in order to seek revenge. This foundation has allowed new characters to develop and become the basis of retelling the story in more modern films. Adaptations of the novel have illustrated that while character names and specific actions may change, there will always be characters whose motivations are purely selfish and disregard how their actions may impact others when it comes to wanting revenge. No matter how the novel is adapted it is also worth noting that most of the stories end somewhat true to the text, and show that those that take advantage of others usually pay for it in the end.

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Filthy Staff

A group of inappropriate, unconventional & disruptive professionals. Some are women, some are men, some are straight, some are gay. All are Filthy.

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