Bonjour Tristesse

Love it and LOVE the book.

Please, I can't be casual...

It's beautiful. The monochrome and color sequences alone. Though I think Niven's and Seberg's acting isn't on a par with Deborah Kerr's - she's brilliant (and I love seeing her in really stylish clothes, for once. I also love the book and I think it captures a moment in time for a young adult that's so true to life. The locations are incredible too. And the hot young male actors.

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Wonderful movie. Watched it again recently and it was even better than I remembered.

A film for and about adults. Brilliant in its sublety, understatement and acting. They don't make them like that anymore.

The truly stunning cinematography was by Georges Périnal , who won an Oscar for "The Thief of Bagdad". Inconceivably, he wasn't even nominated for "Bonjour Tristesse". I'm not big on Preminger, but this one is beautifully directed. Niven won an Oscar for "Separate Tables" the same year, but I thought he was much more interesting as Raymond.

Saul Bass' lovely title sequence:

Agree about the cinematography. Just stunning.

Yes. Judy Holliday sang about it eloquently in The Bells Are Ringing.

Scripted by a gay man, Arthur Laurents, to show how creepy father-daughter lurve can be.

Geoffrey Horne was HAF in this flick.

The 1933 version of Little Women. Apparently, 12-year-old Amy looked like a 30-year-old Ziegfeld Girl

Ignore r11, that got cross-posted from another thread

Who did the music in the film?

Georges Auric

It came out around the same time as the similar "A Summer Place" but is so much more frank, sophisticated and entertaining.

Preminger discovered Jean Seberg for Saint Joan (1957); critics savaged her; Bonjour Tristesse (1958) was their second together, and she followed it with The Mouse That Roared (1959) and Breathless (1960). Preminger's two films after this were Porgy And Bess (where he took over from Rouben Mamoulian) and the masterpiece, Anatomy Of A Murder (both 1959), followed by Exodus (1960), and Advise And Consent (1962). He was on a roll. But his career went slowly downhill after that. In Harm's Way (1965) and Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970) were pretty good, though.

I don’t think it was very well-regarded at the time of its release, but it’s justifiably grown in stature over the years. Deborah Kerr is outstanding — her close-up when she overhears a shocking conversation is heartbreaking. Terrific film.

It's a fine film but a little too bleak for my taste. I suspect audiences were scandalized at the time.

I also like Preminger’s “Such Good Friends”, R16. Elaine May’s screenplay has some hilariously acid moments, and Dyan Cannon is excellent (although she and Preminger were at each other’s throats during filming.)

I posted this a while ago, but Cannon said Preminger couldn't direct his little nephew to the bathroom. Such bad enemies...

I loved the book - probably because it was written by a teenage girl (which I was at the time!). The movie? Cinematography, scenery, so beautiful. But I thought Kerr and Niven weren't right. Jean Seberg was great but the other two were miscast. How about a thread suggesting replacements? I don't have the energy but would love to read suggestions!

Grace Kelly, Cary Grant and Susan Strasberg.

Grace Kelly - no. Cary Grant - yes. Susan Strasberg - yes. Grace Kelly would have been too much. Her personality precedes her plus she was a terrible actress. You're on the right track; please try again!

A quiet masterpiece of a film. I think David Niven was a very underrated actor. And Kerr is always a master class. Say what you will about Otto but he always made adult films for adults. I appreciate that so much. Very few adult films.

James Mason for Niven; Margaret Leighton for Kerr; Seberg stays.

Leighton is a great alternative choice, but I thought Kerr was just fine.

R22 Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman?

Fin.

Everybody see "Seberg". Kristen Stewart gives a very affecting performance, and looks gorgeous in 60's fashions. And Jack O'Connell is sex on a stick.

R25 / R26 Great suggestions. Do you think this film could be remade? Or is it too dated?

I'd like to see it with Denzel Washington and Thandie Newton as the David Niven/Deborah Kerr characters. The Jean Seberg part would be a star-making role for a beautiful black teen actress.

I’m in love with those tall, slender, dry-witted British men with posh accents and exquisite manners. David Niven ruined American men for me.