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50-463: Dangerous Liaisons is a 1988 American period romantic drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Christopher Hampton , based on his 1985 play Les Liaisons dangereuses , itself adapted from the 1782 French novel of the same name by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos . It stars Glenn Close , John Malkovich , Michelle Pfeiffer , Uma Thurman , Swoosie Kurtz , Mildred Natwick , Peter Capaldi and Keanu Reeves . Dangerous Liaisons

100-569: A BAFTA and an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and received a Golden Globe nomination, while the film was nominated in the Best Picture categories. Hampton was knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to drama. In March and April 2021, it was announced that Hampton and Zeller will co-write the adaptation of The Son (which serves as Zeller's and Hampton's follow-up to The Father ) with Zeller directing, and Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern attached to star in

150-655: A Chinese version was released, starring Jang Dong-gun , Zhang Ziyi and Cecilia Cheung . It is loosely based on the novel itself and is set in 1930s Shanghai . In 2018, the TV series The Great Seducer was released as a modern-day adaptation set in Korea starring Joy (singer) , Moon Ga-young , Kim Min-jae (actor, born 1996) and Woo Do-hwan . Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders parodied Dangerous Liaisons on their sketch show French & Saunders , which then inspired their 1999 comedy series Let Them Eat Cake . In 2022,

200-834: A "kind of lethal drawing-room comedy." The Time Out reviewer wrote of Christopher Hampton 's screenplay that "one of the film's enormous strengths is scriptwriter Christopher Hampton's decision to go back to the novel, and save only the best from his play". James Acheson and Stuart Craig were also praised for their work, with Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times stating that "the film's details of costuming (by The Last Emperor ' s James Acheson) and production design (by Stuart Craig of Gandhi and The Mission ) are ravishing". All three would go on to win Academy Awards for their work on this film. Glenn Close received considerable praise for her performance; she

250-808: A French-language version of Hampton's play in Paris, which ran at the Théâtre de l'Atelier . In December 2012, the production was brought to Lansburgh Theatre by the Shakespeare Theatre Company for a limited run in Washington, D.C. In 1989, the film Valmont was released starring Colin Firth , Annette Bening and Meg Tilly . In 1999, the film Cruel Intentions set the same story in present-day America, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar , Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon . In 2012,

300-669: A Musical and Best Original Score . Hampton was born in Faial , Azores , to British parents Dorothy Patience (née Herrington) and Bernard Patrick Hampton, a marine telecommunications engineer for Cable & Wireless . His father's job led the family to settle in Aden , Yemen, and Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt , and later in Hong Kong and Zanzibar . During the Suez Crisis in 1956,

350-468: A challenge, Valmont accepts. Tourvel rebuffs all of Valmont's advances. Searching for leverage, he instructs his page Azolan to seduce Tourvel's maid, Julie and gain access to Tourvel's private correspondence. One of the letters intercepted is from Cécile's mother and Merteuil's cousin, Madame de Volanges, warning Tourvel that Valmont is nefarious and untrustworthy. Valmont resolves to seduce Cécile as revenge for her mother's accurate denunciation of him. At

400-624: A choice: you can write the same play over and over for the next 30 years" or, alternatively, "you can decide to do something completely different every time". He told her that he was writing a play about the "extermination of the Brazilian Indians in the 1960s". Savages , set during the period of the military government and derived from an article "Genocide in Brazil" by Norman Lewis , was first performed in 1973. His first produced film adaptation, of Ibsen 's A Doll's House (1973),

450-670: A film version was never made. From 1968 to 1970, Hampton worked as the Resident Dramatist at the Royal Court Theatre, and also as the company's literary manager. He continued to write plays: Total Eclipse , about the French poets and lovers Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine , was first performed in 1967 and at the Royal Court in 1968, but it was not well received at the time. The Philanthropist (1970)

500-545: A genre directed towards women. Historical dramas have also been described as a conservative genre, glorifying an imagined past that never existed. Historical drama may include mostly fictionalized narratives based on actual people or historical events, such as the history plays of Shakespeare , Apollo 13 , The Tudors , Braveheart , Chernobyl , Enemy at the Gates , Les Misérables , and Titanic . Works may include references to real-life people or events from

550-443: A host of other artists in a short documentary celebrating their Tony Award success and Mr. Hampton's 50 published plays and screenplays. Hampton's translation into English of Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay 's Austrian musical Rebecca , based on Daphne du Maurier 's novel of the same name , was supposed to premiere on Broadway in 2012, directed by Francesca Zambello and Michael Blakemore . The production did not open, with

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600-486: A more conventionally handsome leading man." Variety was less impressed, stating that while the "sly actor conveys the character's snaky, premeditated Don Juanism... he lacks the devilish charm and seductiveness one senses Valmont would need to carry off all his conquests". Uma Thurman gained recognition from critics and audiences; film critic Roger Ebert found her to be "well cast" in her "tricky" key role. Almost 25 years after he played Valmont, John Malkovich directed

650-522: A score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 31 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Stylish, seductive, and clever, Stephen Frears' adaptation is a wickedly entertaining exploration of sexual politics." On Metacritic it has a score of 74 based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+ on scale of A to F. Pauline Kael in The New Yorker described it as "heaven – alive in

700-612: A terse excuse: "It's beyond my control." Overwhelmed with grief and shame, Tourvel retreats to a monastery where her health deteriorates rapidly. Despite the breakup, Merteuil still refuses to honor the agreement and even declares "war." She informs Danceny that Valmont has been sleeping with Cécile. Danceny challenges Valmont to a duel, ending with the latter voluntarily running into Danceny's sword. With his dying breath, Valmont asks Danceny to communicate to Tourvel his true feelings for her; he also warns Danceny about Meurteuil and gives him his collection of intimate letters from her as proof of

750-508: A time when, for once, I was bombarded with offers. In 2007, Hampton was nominated for a second Academy Award for his screenplay and adaptation of Ian McEwan 's novel Atonement , directed by Joe Wright and starring James McAvoy , Keira Knightley , and Saoirse Ronan . Since the 1990s, Hampton has created the English translations of the works of French dramatists Yasmina Reza and Florian Zeller . Reza's Art ran for eight years in

800-770: A vague or general era such as the Middle Ages , or a specific period such as the Roaring Twenties , or the recent past. In different eras different subgenres have risen to popularity, such as the westerns and sword and sandal films that dominated North American cinema in the 1950s. The costume drama is often separated as a genre of historical dramas. Early critics defined them as films focusing on romance and relationships in sumptuous surroundings, contrasting them with other historical dramas believed to have more serious themes. Other critics have defended costume dramas, and argued that they are disparaged because they are

850-630: A way that movies rarely are." Hal Hinson in The Washington Post wrote that the film's "wit and immediacy is extraordinarily rare in a period film. Instead of making the action seem far off, the filmmakers put the audience in the room with their characters." Roger Ebert called it "an absorbing and seductive movie, but not compelling." Variety considered it an "incisive study of sex as an arena for manipulative power games." Vincent Canby in The New York Times hailed it as

900-565: A year that has seen her in varied assignments such as Married to the Mob and Tequila Sunrise , the movie is more evidence of her versatility. She is good when she is innocent and superb when she is guilty." Pfeiffer would go on to win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance. The casting of John Malkovich proved to be a controversial decision that divided critics. The New York Times , while admitting there

950-569: Is a "student-teacher" relationship; by day, Cécile is courted by Danceny, and each night, she receives a sexual "lesson" from Valmont. Merteuil begins an affair with Danceny. After a night in Valmont's bed, Cécile miscarries her child. Meanwhile, Valmont has won Tourvel's heart, but at a cost: the lifelong bachelor playboy falls in love. In a fit of jealousy, Merteuil mocks Valmont and refuses to honor her end of their agreement unless Valmont breaks up with Tourvel. Valmont abruptly dismisses Tourvel with

1000-473: Is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play Les Liaisons Dangereuses based on the novel of the same name and the film adaptation . He has thrice received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay : for Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Atonement (2007) and The Father (2020); winning for the former and latter. Hampton

1050-456: Is also known for his work in the theatre including Les Liaisons Dangereuses , and The Philanthropist . He also translated the plays The Seagull (2008), God of Carnage (2009), The Father (2016), and The Height of the Storm (2019). He also wrote, with Don Black , the book and lyrics for the musical Sunset Boulevard (1994), for which they received Tony Awards for Best Book of

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1100-538: Is based on Ödön von Horváth , who died in Paris in 1938). The play also explores the different philosophies of Horwath and the German playwright Bertolt Brecht (who lived in the United States in the 1940s). Hampton told The Guardian critic Michael Billington in 2007: "I lean towards the liberal writer, Horvath, rather than the revolutionary Brecht. I suppose I'm working out some internal conflict". The play

1150-811: Is set in an English university town and was influenced by Molière 's The Misanthrope . The Royal Court delayed a staging for two years because of an uncertainty over its prospects, but their production was one of the Royal Court's more successful works up to that point. The production transferred to the Mayfair Theatre in London's West End and ran for nearly four years, winning the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Comedy. It reached Broadway in New York City in 1971. His agent told him after this success: "You've got

1200-669: The Best Picture , and won three: Best Adapted Screenplay , Best Costume Design , and Best Production Design . In pre-Revolution Paris, the Marquise de Merteuil plots revenge against her ex-lover, the Comte de Bastide, who recently ended their relationship. To soothe her wounded pride and embarrass Bastide, she seeks to arrange the seduction and disgrace of his young virgin fiancée, Cécile de Volanges, who has only recently been presented to society after spending her formative years in

1250-849: The Château de Vincennes in Val-de-Marne , the Château de Champs-sur-Marne , the Château de Guermantes in Seine-et-Marne , the Château du Saussay in Essonne , and the Théâtre Montansier in Versailles . Liaisons was the final film appearance of Academy Award and Tony Award -nominated actress Mildred Natwick . Drew Barrymore and Sarah Jessica Parker were considered for the role of Cécile before it went to Thurman. Annette Bening went through several auditions for

1300-438: The 1987 novel by Lawrence Thornton . It explores society during the military dictatorship of Leopoldo Galtieri , when the government conducted a Dirty War against opponents, killing many in " forced disappearances ." It starred Antonio Banderas and Emma Thompson. According to Hampton, this period of Argentinian history had not inspired a dramatic work before. "I decided to do something which it would be difficult to finance at

1350-460: The West End, and was also produced in the United States. Hampton translated Reza’s God of Carnage , which was the third-longest running Broadway play in the 2000s, playing 24 premieres and 452 regular performances. God of Carnage garnered six Tony nominations and three wins in 2009. God of Carnage actors James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden , joined Philip Glass , Phillip Noyce and

1400-600: The family had to flee Egypt under cover of darkness, leaving their possessions behind. After a prep school at Reigate in Surrey , Hampton attended the independent boarding school Lancing College near the village of Lancing in West Sussex at the age of 13. There he won house colours for boxing and distinguished himself as a sergeant in the Combined Cadet Force (CCF). Among his contemporaries at Lancing

1450-410: The film. The Son was directed by Florian Zeller from a screenplay by Zeller and Hampton. It is based on Zeller's 2018 stage play Le Fils . The film stars Hugh Jackman , Laura Dern , Vanessa Kirby , Zen McGrath, Hugh Quarshie , and Anthony Hopkins . The Son had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on 7 September 2022, and is scheduled to be released in

1500-632: The later machinations of Lyndon Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover and Martin Luther King – which ultimately led to the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . Appomattox was also performed as an opera with Philip Glass at The Kennedy Center in 2015. In 2020, Hampton served as screenwriter and executive producer for The Singapore Grip , an international TV mini-series exploring the Japanese invasion of Singapore during WWII. Adapted from

1550-478: The novel by J.G. Ferrell, the story portrays the intrigues and ultimate upheaval of British colonialism at the time of the Fall of Singapore. The same year, Hampton co-wrote The Father , starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman , with Florian Zeller (based on Zeller's 2012 play Le Père ), who directed the film in his feature directorial debut. The film received critical acclaim, and both Hampton and Zeller won

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1600-469: The opera, Cécile meets the charming and handsome Chevalier Raphael Danceny, who becomes her music teacher. They fall in love with coaxing from Merteuil, who knows that Danceny, as a nobleman of lesser rank, naive, young, and not particularly wealthy, can never qualify as a bona fide suitor. Valmont gains access to Cécile's bedchamber on a pretext and sexually assaults her. As she pleads with him to leave, he blackmails her into giving up physical resistance, and

1650-650: The producers, Ben Sprecher and Louise Forlenza, relinquishing the rights. In 2012, Hampton joined forces with Tiana Alexandra-Silliphant to form Hampton Silliphant Management & Productions, which presented the play Appomattox at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The play concerns itself with historic events in the United States, 100 years apart in time: the historic meetings between Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, as well as Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass in 1865, and

1700-518: The relationship between painter Dora Carrington and author Lytton Strachey . Hampton went on to direct the feature film Carrington , starring Emma Thompson and Jonathan Pryce . He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1999 Birthday Honours for services to literature. Hampton both wrote and directed Imagining Argentina (2003), his adaptation of

1750-623: The relevant time period or contain factually accurate representations of the time period. Works that focus on accurately portraying specific historical events or persons are instead known as docudrama , such as The Report . Where a person's life is central to the story, such a work is known as biographical drama , with notable examples being films such as Alexander , Frida , House of Saddam , Lincoln , Lust for Life , Raging Bull , Stalin , and Oppenheimer . Christopher Hampton Sir Christopher James Hampton CBE FRSL ( Horta, Azores , 26 January 1946)

1800-500: The role of the courtesan Émilie, but in the end the role went to Laura Benson. Bening would go on to play the role of the Marquise de Merteuil in Miloš Forman 's adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses , Valmont , a year later. During production Malkovich had an affair with Pfeiffer. His six-year marriage to actress Glenne Headly ended shortly thereafter. Thurman later revealed that she stripped for this film because she thought it

1850-516: The scene ends. On the pretext of illness, Cécile remains locked in her chambers, refusing all visitors. A concerned Madame de Volanges asks Merteuil to speak to Cécile; Cécile confides in Merteuil, naively assuming that she has Cécile's best interests at heart. Merteuil advises Cécile to welcome Valmont's advances; she says young women should take advantage of all the lovers they can acquire in a society so repressive and contemptuous of women. The result

1900-448: The series Dangerous Liaisons premiered on premium television provider Starz . According to writer Harriet Warner, the series is loosely inspired by the novel and explores the marquise's life before the events of the play. Historical drama Historical drama can be differentiated from historical fiction , which generally present fictional characters and events against a backdrop of historical events. A period piece may be set in

1950-518: The shelter of a convent . Merteuil calls on the similarly unprincipled Vicomte de Valmont, another ex-lover of hers, to do the deed. Valmont declines as he is plotting to seduce Madame de Tourvel, the devoutly religious wife of a member of Parliament and a current guest of Valmont's aunt, Madame de Rosemonde. Amused and incredulous at Valmont's hubris, Merteuil ups the ante: if Valmont somehow succeeds in seducing Tourvel and can furnish written proof, Merteuil will sleep with him as well. Never one to refuse

2000-421: The soul." Michelle Pfeiffer was widely acclaimed for her portrayal, despite playing, in the opinion of The Washington Post , "the least obvious and the most difficult" role. "Nothing is harder to play than virtue, and Pfeiffer is smart enough not to try. Instead, she embodies it." The New York Times called her performance a "happy surprise." Roger Ebert, considering the trajectory of her career, wrote that "in

2050-412: The veracity of his warnings. Valmont tells Danceny to circulate them after he has read them. After hearing Valmont's message from Danceny, Tourvel dies. Merteuil attends a show at the opera but leaves after being booed by her former friends and sycophants, implying that all of Paris has learned the full range of her schemes and depredations due to Danceny's circulation of the letters. Dangerous Liaisons

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2100-630: The work to the play agent Peggy Ramsay , who interested William Gaskill in it. The play was performed at the Royal Court Theatre in London, and soon transferred to the Comedy Theatre ; in 1966, Hampton was the youngest writer in the modern era to have a play performed in the West End . Hampton's work on screenplays for the cinema also began around this time. He adapted this play for Richard Attenborough and Bryan Forbes , but

2150-498: Was David Hare , later also a dramatist; poet Harry Guest was a teacher. From 1964, Hampton read German and French at New College, Oxford , as a Sacher Scholar. He graduated with a starred First Class Degree in 1968. Hampton became involved in the theatre while at Oxford University . The Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) performed his original play When Did You Last See My Mother? , about adolescent homosexuality. He drew from his own experiences at Lancing. Hampton sent

2200-694: Was commissioned by the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles; the Group first performed it in 1982. The play has been adapted in different versions for British and Polish television. Hampton won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his screen adaptation of his play Dangerous Liaisons (1988), directed by Stephen Frears and starring Glenn Close , John Malkovich , and Michelle Pfeiffer . He worked on Carrington (1995) for 18 years, writing multiple drafts. The play explores

2250-558: Was directed by Patrick Garland , and stars Anthony Hopkins and Claire Bloom . A sojourn in Hollywood led to an unproduced film adaptation of Marlowe 's play Edward II and the original script for Carrington . This period also inspired his play Tales from Hollywood (1982). This is a somewhat fictionalised account of exiled European writers living in the United States during the Second World War. (The lead character

2300-491: Was lauded by The New York Times for her "richness and comic delicacy," while Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that, once she "finally lets loose and gives way to complete animal despair, Close is horrifying." Roger Ebert thought the two lead roles were "played to perfection by Close and Malkovich... their arch dialogues together turn into exhausting conversational games, tennis matches of

2350-462: Was the "shock of seeing him in powdered wigs", concluded that he was "unexpectedly fine. The intelligence and strength of the actor shape the audience's response to him". The Washington Post was similarly impressed with Malkovich's performance: "There's a sublime perversity in Frears' casting, especially that of Malkovich... [he] brings a fascinating dimension to his character that would be missing with

2400-539: Was the first English-language film adaptation of Laclos's novel. The screenplay was based on Christopher Hampton 's Olivier Award -winning and Tony Award -nominated theatrical adaptation for the Royal Shakespeare Company , directed by Howard Davies and featuring Lindsay Duncan , Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson . The film was shot entirely on location in the Île-de-France region of northern France, and featured historical buildings such as

2450-677: Was the right choice at the time despite her immense nervousness, but she hated how "voyeuristic" the final cut of the scene was and resolved not to go naked in a movie again. The score of Dangerous Liaisons was written by the British film music composer George Fenton . The soundtrack also includes works by a number of baroque and classical composers, reflecting the story's 18th-Century-French setting; pieces by Antonio Vivaldi , Johann Sebastian Bach , George Frideric Handel and Christoph Willibald Gluck feature prominently, although no French composers are included. Dangerous Liaisons holds

2500-410: Was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 16, 1988. The film received widespread critical acclaim, with high praise for the performances by Close and Pfeiffer and the screenplay, production values, costumes and soundtrack. Grossing $ 34.7 million against its $ 14 million budget, it was a modest box-office success. It received seven nominations at the 61st Academy Awards , including for

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