Jefferson in Paris | | Cast : | Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, William Christie, Lambert Wilson, Greta Scacchi, Michael Lonsdale, Charlotte de Turckheim, Nick Nolte | | Director : | James Ivory | | Studio : | Buena Vista Home Vid | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | March 31, 1995 | | DVD Released Date : | April 06, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 23, 2005 | | Summary | JEFFERSON PORTRAYED IN CELLULOID | Content
 | A FOUR-STAR FILM FOR ME. YES MERCHANT AND IVORY'S STRONG SUIT A SUMPTOUS PERIOD PIECE FILM SET AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF FRENCH REVOLUTION, WORTH WATCHING FOR THE HISTORY OF THAT ERA WHEN EUROPE WAS ABOUT TO RAGE, OF COURSE AMERICA WAS STILL VERY PROVINCIAL.JEFFERSON THE CHAMPION OF LIBERTY PLAYED WELL BUT A BIT STIFF AND RESERVED BY NOLTE BUT WHEN A LADY LIKE SCACCHI ENTERS HE BEGINS TO FEEL A SPARK OF HEAD VERSUS HEART AND ALSO WITH SALLY HEMINGS(THANDIE NEWTON)THE SLAVE GIRL HE RATHER PLAYFULLY FALLS FOR, THAT ASPECT OF FILM IS NOT SALACIOUSLY EXPLOITED BUT SUBTLELY HANDLED. ALSO IF I MAY SUGGEST A BIOGRAPHY ON JEFFERSON TRY DUMAS MALONE. |
| Rating | | | Date | November 16, 2004 | | Summary | A sumptuous and lavish retelling of an ENIGMA | Content
| If this movie doesn't get you to thinking about the conflicts of our society and how different people confront them, then the movie would fail! It doesn't,though.Jefferson is a man at odds with himself.What he believes versus what he actually does remains for all the world to see.Monticellian life was an undiscussed secret.Jefferson loved French society and yet loathed an aristocracy.Jefferson was an enigma and Nick Nolte plays the part to an absolute tee!The more I have watched this film the more I could never see anyone else playing Jefferson but him.The story line is quite engaging and Thandie Newton,Greta Scacchi and Gwyneth Paltrow are at their very best as supporting cast.The soundtrack is wonderful for the lover of Baroque music.This is an artistic film and has great appeal to those with an artist's sensibilities. |
| Rating | | | Date | September 12, 2004 | | Summary | Jefferson in Paris- A Must See ! | Content
| Just finished watching Jefferson in Paris again for what seems like the upmteenth time and am amazed by how much more I undertood the movie, and how much of its many nuancies I'd missed, or simply forgotten, from previous viewings. For example, the almost competitive nature of the relationship between the perpetually sickly and sullen looking Martha "Patsy", Jefferson's daughter and the enigmatic Mrs. Conway, played by the incomparable Greta Sacchi; Mr. Conway's inexplicable jealousy at the blossoming relationship between his wife and Jefferson, even in spite of his flagrant homosexuality (addressed in a sublte, yet clear fashion, another example of this film's classiness), and much more.
From the beautifully hypnotic and classical soundtrack (an escapists dream), to the movie's scenery and wardrobe that encapsulates the European decadence of the period, not to mention the historic accuracy of events and the director's ability to entertwine both historical events of the time with a little poetic justice to fill in those gaps which history books have often left unfilled (such as Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemmings played with such nymph-like and utterly stunning talent by the amazing Thandie Newton), this movie is one of my all time favorites. Nick Nolte is perfect in this role and lends a keen sensitivity to Jefferon (not to mention sexiness!); Gweneth Paltrow does a wonderful job of making Patsy one of my least favorite characters in the movie: her sullen, bitter, jealous, clinging and insecure nature comes shining through under Paltrow's characterization, helping us to understand just how plausible it might have been for an incestuous relationship to have existed between herself and her father. The actor who plays James Hemming deserves much praise also in his rare portrayal of a young slave who is not only alert and smart (able to learn French and the art of French cusine without much help) and canny, but also endowed with the ability to reason and understand the liberties to which he is entitled as a human being, despite the clear absence of a formal education America's institution of slavery's denied him and others of his position.
However, the bulk of my praise goes to Thandie Newton and her portrayal of the young Sally Hemmings. Thandie lends to Hemmings a naivete, innocence, virginity, vulnerable good-natured childishness and beauty and myriad more qualities which at once make it easy to understand how Jefferon could so easily have engaged in an ongoing relationship with her. If the household in which he lived in true life was anything close to that portrayed in the film, then who could blame him for finding solace in the childish wit and naive entertaining quality and charm of a girl like Sally? It would appear that his household prior to her arrival was not entirely dissimilar to that of a dark hospital room- prisine and sanitary, yet devoid of sunlight and vibrancy such as the joyful sounds of laughter which Sally Hemmings' presence was able to illicit from the previously astute Jefferson.
An A plus cast, an exquisite soundtrack, coupled with an excellent attention to historical events of the time, make this one of my favorite period pieces. Ivory fans will not be disappointed. A must see for all those who profess to be American history buffs and those who share a love for escapist flights into a period in American and French history not too often portrayed in movies!! |
| Rating | | | Date | December 10, 2003 | | Summary | Best film about our early history | Content
| Although some people may find this film boring, it may not be their type of film. For anyone who wants to see a film about one of our most fascinating Founding Fathers, this is the film to watch and own. Its my favorite film about any of the presidents and I wish they would make more of them. I especially loved the actress who played Marie Antoinette. She embodied exactly how I pictured Marie Antoinette to look and act when I only read about her. The same goes for Lambert Wilson, who played the Marquis de Lafayette...exactly as I had imagined him. My favorite performance though, goes to Thandi Newton as Sally Hemmings. Seeing her in this film when it first came out made me take notice of her and follow her career with interest. What I love most about this film is the glimpse it gives viewers of life during the pre-revolutionary period in France, and shows the absurdities of ritualized Court life and why the people demanded change. King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were simply out of touch with ordinary people, and our Ambassador to France Thomas Jefferson was a first hand witness to it all. The film ends too abruptly for me. I would have liked a greater resolution than that...but since films like these are rare, and I wish that Hollywood made more films about our Founding Fathers, I can't complain with what this film accomplishes. Its certainly a lot better than the made for TV, "Sally Hemings" mini-series. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 20, 2002 | | Summary | Long, boring and offensive (to me anyway). | Content
| Long and boring sum's this film up, and its anti-English (like most American film's these day's). Though you probably don't care about that. I'm going to keep this review short because this film does not deserve a long one.
Complete load of garbage. |
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