Cruel Intentions is the 1999 film which is a modern day remake of Dangerous Liaisons, and based on the 18th century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. It is a tale of seduction and is well directed by Roger Kumble.
The film is a twisted tale of seduction with the backdrop of wealthy college ... Read review
Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar - Scooby Doo, The Grudge) and Sebastian Valmont ... more
(Ryan Phillippe - Gosford Park) are two gorgeous, filthy rich, manipulative stepsiblings from Manhattan's upper east side.Bored of the girls he has so easily seduced in the past, Sebastian has set his sights on the ultimate challenge - the beautiful, virginal, headmasters' daughter Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon - Legally Blonde, Vanity Fair).Kathryn sees the perfect opportunity for a wager. If Sebastian fails to lure Annette into his bed, he will have to surrender his priceless vintage Jaguar; if he succeeds, he will win the most tempting prize of all - Kathryn.Sparks fly in this wickedly sexy tale of seduction as Kathryn and Sebastian play a dangerous game of sex and betrayal...
Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar - I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2, TV's ... more
Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe - I Know What You Did Last Summer, Studio 54) are two gorgeous, filthy rich, manipulative stepsiblings from Manhattan's upper east side. Bored of the girls he has so easily seduced in the past, Sebastian has set his sights on the ultimate challenge - the beautiful, virginal, headmasters' daughter Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon - Pleasantville, The Man in the Moon). Kathryn sees the perfect opportunity for a wager. If Sebastian fails to lure Annette into his bed, he will have to surrender his priceless vintage Jaguar; if he succeeds, he will win the most tempting prize of all - Kathryn. Sparks fly in this wickedly sexy tale of seduction as Kathryn and Sebastian play a dangerous game of sex and betrayal...Also available is the sequel Cruel Intentions 2.
From the Producer of the original Cruel Intentions and I Know What You Did Last Summer, ... more
comes a brand new story about three unscrupulous college students willing to use and abuse each other in their vicious games of gossip, deceit and betrayal.Patrick (Kerr Smith - TV's Dawson's Creek), Cassie (Kristina Anapau - Cursed) and Jason (Nathan J. Wetherington - TV's The It Factor) take malicious pleasure in ruining the lives of fellow classmates through a series of sexual wagers. Bored with such easy prey, Jason and Patrick agree to one final bet, a winner-takes-all game of seduction and revenge where Cassie becomes the grand prize and the loser is forced to experience a whole new level of pleasure ...and pain.
Sarah Michelle Gellar (TV's Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Ryan Phillippe (Crash) sizzle as ... more
a pair of unscrupulous siblings in a deliciously sexy tale of seduction, revenge and conquest.After cleverly seducing and ruining the reputation of an unsuspecting classmate (Selma Blair, Hellboy), the sparks fly when Kathryn (Gellar) poses the ultimate challenge to her insatiable stepbrother Sebastian (Phillippe): deflower the headmaster's beautiful, virgin daughter Annette (Reese Witherspoon, Walk The Line). If he fails, Kathryn gets his most prized possession, but if he succeeds, Sebastian gets to possess and bed Kathryn. The stakes are high, but for Sebastian, the payoff is feverishly irresistible...
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 2000 - Drama - Director: Giuseppe Tornatore - Original Language: Italian - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana
Advantages: Good handling of social issues Disadvantages: Subplots drag
Cruel Intentions is the 1999 film which is a modern day remake of Dangerous Liaisons, and based on the 18th century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. It is a tale of seduction and is well directed by Roger Kumble.
The film is a twisted tale of seduction with the backdrop of wealthy college kids in the States. Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe) are step-siblings with common morals - each is the most popular ... ...has been criticised for its cruel depiction of teenage society, but I would say its handling of this was maturely done.
The film is probably not one I would watch over and over again, but if it is on TV, I would probably put it on. The DVD is available from amazon.co.uk for £3.98. ... more
Cruel Intentions is the 1999 film which is a modern day remake of Dangerous Liaisons, and based on the 18th century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. It is a tale of seduction and is well directed by Roger Kumble.
The film is a twisted tale of seduction with the backdrop of wealthy college kids in the States. Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe) are step-siblings with common morals - each is the most popular of their sex, and each regularly proves to the other how good they are at bedding someone. Kathryn bets Sebastian that he cannot bed Annette (Reese Witherspoon), a virgin who has vowed to wait until love before losing her virginity. If he succeeds, he gets to spend a night with Kathryn.
Essentially, this film is about nothing but ego. There are some good performances on show, with the two leads giving seductive and passionate performances. The supporting cast is equally as good, with Joshua Jackson, Selma Blair and Sean Patrick Thomas strong in their roles, but no one else really stands out.
There is a little comedy in the film, which takes the seductive nature to a new level, and explores the inner devil and disregards all morals and ethics and goes straight for the jugular in showing us how devious the human mind can be. Kathryn is nothing short of selfish and arrogant, and Sebastian is not that dissimilar, although he does have the odd moment of clarity where he rethinks how he is.
Ultimately, the film is enjoyable, but the plot is as shallow as its characters. At times it drags and I wondered where it was going with some of its subplots. It does deal with social issues that affect us such as drugs, sex and social status, and does so in an up front manner, not shirking away from tackling them. The film achieved relative success, but was never intended to be a big blockbuster. It has been criticised for its cruel depiction of teenage society, but I would say its handling of this was maturely done.
The film is probably not one I would watch over and over again, but if it is on TV, I would probably put it on. The DVD is available from amazon.co.uk for £3.98.
Advantages: All of the extra features Disadvantages: None that I can think of
Ok, I’ve already wrote an opinion on CruelIntentions I know, but the DVD is so good that I just had d=to write another one on the DVD itself!
So, if you want to know what the movies about, this isn’t the place to get the info from, you’d be better looking at the opinions on the film itself.
Right, so onto the DVD. What has it got that makes it so good in my humble opinion? Well you know when you either rent or buy a DVD and look forward to all the extras then find a theatrical trailer and nothing else, well this DVD isn’t one of them! Here we go….
- US Theatrical Trailer.
Right, well you know what this is don’t you, its basically the trailer to the film that was released in the US in the cinemas before it came out. It’s got that man who seems to do the voice overs to all ...
Advantages: Sexiest film for years Disadvantages: The ending may not be quite what you wanted!
I have never read Les Liaisons Dangereuses, I have never seen Dangerous Liasons, therefore CruelIntentions was of no adaptive inaccuracy and certainly no disappointment. I believe in the ideas of sex selling everything and I also believe in the concepts of beautiful people creating ticket sales, (Ocean's Eleven), however it also takes a little extra to bring it all together and make it worth your money. You need the electricity, the real sexiness, the good versus evil, the plot, the sub-plot, the love story and if you are provided with this is 97 minutes, it doesn't make for a bad movie.
The leads are played by the young Reese Witherspoon and real-life love Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar with suppporting roles played by a clumsy Selma Blair who does so with a wonderfully amusing etiquette, a gay Joshua Jasckson, bisexual ...
...A clever reworking of a literary classic... (Sight and Sound, )
DVD Description
The Dangerous Liaisons tale is transfered to Manhattan, where Kathryn bets her step-brother Sebastian that he can't deflower the virginal Annette before the school year begins. If he fails to accomplish this task, Kathryn gets his Jaguar Roadster; if he succeeds, he gets Kathryn.
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