Movie Reviews : Vadim’s 1960 ‘Liaisons’ a Hard Act to Follow

The unexpectedly wide appeal last year of Stephen Frears’ elegant period production of Choderlos de Laclos’ 200-year-old novel “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” has had the happy consequence of reviving Roger Vadim’s handsome modern-dress version.

Under the title “Dangerous Liaisons 1960” (at the Fine Arts), Vadim’s 30-year-old film not only has stood the test of time but is really more satisfying than the Frears version--and not just because of the perfect casting of Jeanne Moreau and Gerard Philipe.

Moreau and Philipe both have a physical allure and inimitably Gallic savoir-faire that makes it quickly and completely credible that in the affairs of the heart their Juliette and Valmont are capable of risking anything and everything. They have an innate glamour and sensuality, not to mention humor, qualities seriously lacking in Glenn Close and John Malkovich’s portrayals of the same characters in Frears’ film.

But what makes the film still dazzle, stun and amuse is that Vadim himself is so ideally suited to bringing Laclos to the screen. Probably more than any other film, “Dangerous Liaisons 1960” reveals Vadim’s understanding of the relationship of sex and love and the complicated interplay of power and emotion between lovers. More than this, the film shows Vadim to be a moralist, in the detached French meaning of the word, something not nearly so clear 30 years ago when he was causing as much of a furor with this and his Bardot films as Laclos did in his time.

The truth is that “Dangerous Liaisons 1960” is actually quite chaste, all but devoid of sex, but there is that once-startling, quintessentially Vadim apres-sex moment when Valmont is seen talking on the phone while the instrument is setting on the naked derriere of his latest conquest (who is doing her geometry homework).

Shot in harsh, high-contrast black-and-white (by Marcel Grignon), boasting a score by Thelonious Monk and Jack Murray and the latest in chic attire and settings, this “Dangerous Liaisons” (Times-rated Mature for adult themes) epitomizes all that was considered to be cool as the ‘50s gave way to the ‘60s. Beneath its hard, metallic surface, its people are as timeless in their passion, ruthlessness and vulnerability as Laclos’ originals.