Critic Reviews
French Lieutenant's Woman, The (1981) Movie Reviews
Expert Review Summary
based on (13) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Fair
1
(0)
Poor
0
(0)
Reviews by Score:
See all (3) "Excellent" Reviews
Movie Reviews UK
A classic tale of passion, betrayal and loss is related using a mixture of Victorian costume drama and contemporary fiction. The action is muddled right from the very beginning when we are placed on a film set watching Sarah Woodruff (Meryl Streep) play...read the complete French Lieutenant's Woman, The (1981) review at Movie Reviews UK
See all (8) "Very Good" Reviews
Daily-Reviews.com (Dan Jardine)
MGM's DVD release of the film is presented in the film's original theatrical format (1.85:1 aspect ratio) and the picture is well-preserved, though the overall effect is kind of sterile. It may be the filmmaker's choice of palette, but the film is cold,...read the complete French Lieutenant's Woman, The (1981) review at Daily-Reviews.com (Dan Jardine)
See all (2) "Good" Reviews
Daily-Reviews (Dan Jardine)
the film comes off as an academic exercise instead of a living, breathing testament to the ideas it presents....read the complete French Lieutenant's Woman, The (1981) review at Daily-Reviews (Dan Jardine)
There are no "Fair" Reviews
There are no "Poor" Reviews
User Reviews
by M. Elizabeth Wils... on April 16, 2008
I saw this in the original release -- then I got to go to England, to Lyme Regis, to walk on the Cobb in a misty rain -- and it was magic. And so is this film. If you've read John Fowles' novel, you know what a challenge it was to make the film version. ...
by Hiram Gomez Pardo on July 09, 2007
This film signified for Streep and Irons, the golden ride to raise both in their respective careers. Brilliant adaptation of John Fowles bestseller in which certain attitudes and customs of the past are placed face to face with powerful emotional power, ...
by Cricket on the He... on April 24, 2006
Of my most cherished movies. I adore everything about it. From the backdrop if Victorian England to the switch over to a parallel storyline of the actors in the present day. Genuis!
I think Meryl Streep was the best possible choice for the lead. There ...
by M. R. Estante "ht... on April 02, 2006
Two story lines run parallel in this movie version of the famous novel. One about a French Lietenant's Woman who enchants a British artistocrat. The other about an affair of the production of the movie. It is brilliant play on the eternal theme of ...
by Jinx on December 04, 2005
Most of John Fowles' novels, including TFLW, tease us by unexpectedly revealing and obscuring the line between the world in the book and a wider world in which we are reading the book, throwing us off balance, reminding us that we have traveled into the ...
by Bomojaz on September 21, 2005
A daunting and potentially confusing movie based on John Fowles's novel, that unfolds beautifully and with no confusion at all. In Victorian England a man (Jeremy Irons), about to be married to a plain Jane, meets and falls hopelessly in love with a ...
by Carolyn G. Clemen... on September 21, 2005
The Past and Present play together in the story and they intertwine in a strong theme that is captivating. ...
by Mary Whipple on October 13, 2004
Harold Pinter's screenplay of John Fowles's novel, combined with Karel Reisz's direction, creates a stunning vehicle for Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons as they bring an enigmatic 19th century love story to life. But this film is actually two love stories. ...
by Themis-Athena on March 03, 2004
"Outside of marriage, your Victorian gentleman could look forward to 2.4 f*cks a week," Mike (Jeremy Irons) coolly calculates after Anna (Meryl Streep) has read to him the statistics according to which, while London's male population in 1857 was 1 1/4 ...
by Rebecca Johnson "... on August 09, 2003
"You cannot imagine my suffering. My only happiness is when I sleep. When I awake, the nightmare begins." ~Sarah Woodruff
The first few scenes in this movie are so terribly sad if you have seen the movie at least once before. In the first few scenes all ...
User Comments
del.icio.us
Digg
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! My Web
Facebook
Google Bookmarks
ma.gnolia
Newsvine
reddit
Windows Live
