Rating: 
Summary: Hello, Gorgeous!
Review: BONJOUR TRISTESSE, like many Preminger films, is ripe for reevaluation, and this spiffy new DVD transfer may help spur on that long-overdue second look. Seberg's performance was much-maligned in its day, but she looks smashing here and acts with considerable wit and poise; our girl's a long way from Marshalltown. True, vocally she's perhaps not ideal, but certainly sounds as Gallic as co-stars Kerr and Niven. The material plays with all three stars' images in fascinating ways; Seberg's ingenue is lethal, Kerr, frequently neurotic, was never presented as a creature of such moral ambiguity, and Niven's all suave facade covering inner corruption, in a performance akin to his Oscar-winning turn in SEPARATE TABLES. Wonderful location photography, and great fun to hear the title tune keep turning up in a variety of arrangements, in best 50's-movie-theme-song tradition. The comparison others have made on this site to the glorious Sirk melodramas is apt; the picture transcends genre in many of the same ways. Preminger and company manage to get under your skin.
Rating:
Summary: Hello, Gorgeous!
Review: BONJOUR TRISTESSE, like many Preminger films, is ripe for reevaluation, and this spiffy new DVD transfer may help spur on that long-overdue second look. Seberg's performance was much-maligned in its day, but she looks smashing here and acts with considerable wit and poise; our girl's a long way from Marshalltown. True, vocally she's perhaps not ideal, but certainly sounds as Gallic as co-stars Kerr and Niven. The material plays with all three stars' images in fascinating ways; Seberg's ingenue is lethal, Kerr, frequently neurotic, was never presented as a creature of such moral ambiguity, and Niven's all suave facade covering inner corruption, in a performance akin to his Oscar-winning turn in SEPARATE TABLES. Wonderful location photography, and great fun to hear the title tune keep turning up in a variety of arrangements, in best 50's-movie-theme-song tradition. The comparison others have made on this site to the glorious Sirk melodramas is apt; the picture transcends genre in many of the same ways. Preminger and company manage to get under your skin.
Rating: 
Summary: DAUGHTER DEAREST.......
Review: Francoise Sagan's works have never quite been realized on film ["That Certain Smile", "GoodBye Again"].This version starring Jean Seberg, pairing David Niven and Deborah Kerr [great team] as the hapless loves sabotaged by the daughter's love, with the various other inhabitants of the summer villa has quite a unique black and white prelude/conclusion and title sequence. Juliette Greco [icon!] sings demurely! Slightly soap-operaish, it holds attention, and is rather pretty - that French Postcard look. You'll need a kleenex or two for this one though......
Rating:
Summary: bonjour tristesse-c'est magnifique!
Review: i highly recommend this film for it's stunning locations, beautiful cast and wonderful theme song.anyone who loves films from this era and can appreciate the atmosphere will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Locations But lacks Good Acting And Substance
Review: I read and loved Francoise Sagan's novel Bonjour Tristesse (a true gem) and I do love this film for it's beautiful scenery. You can't go wrong with the Riviera as a backdrop. While Jean Seberg certainly looked the part of the spoiled and precocious teenager, her acting ability was still in early developing stages (she had just finished Preminger's Joan of Arc in which her acting ability was also painfully lacking). While I've always admired the wonderful Deborah Kerr, she seemd miscast here. It could have been a much better film. Still, I view it every few months or so (especially during the colder months) for its sheer summery beauty.
Rating:
Summary: Charming story with a good twist in the end
Review: I read the novel well over thirty years ago, in Europe, when I was fifteen, but did not get to watch the movie until tonight. I wanted to see it for a sit-down stroll through memory lane, and never expected to be touched by the story and its morale. You see, when I first read the novel, I did not care about it; I was then a fifteen-year old who was dealing with a much harsher existence than the seventeen-year old Cecile's (marvelously portrayed by Jean Seberg), who had the freedom and the money to drive her own car, to smoke, to dance, and hobnob between Paris and the French Riviera with her soft-hearted, caring, and still a child-at-heart, dad. Thus her poor little rich girl's woes, primarily consisting of keeping her dad's love to herself, was boring as well as infuriating. I realize now that I got to read the novel again to reexperience the characters in the manner originally presented by Francoise Sagan.
From the film version I watched tonight, I did not get the sense that it's >>>an accurate account of the empty, amoral, flamboyant and insensitive life in the French "high-life" during the late 50's/early 60's.<<<<
The core of the story is a father (debonair David Niven) and teenage daughter (beautiful imp, Jean Seberg), who lead charming lives and have the good fortune of being each other's friend and confidante. I can't recall a reference as to the manner of the mother's death (re-reading the novel ought to help in that), but neither the father nor the daughter seem to mourn her loss. However one may easily surmise that the father's affectionate and tolerant treatment of his daughter is his way of filling the void of a mother in her life. Although a charming and prolific playboy, he always makes sure that his daughter knows she is number one in his heart, and Cecile never feels threatened by any of his short-lived paramours.
So, on that fateful summer, father and daughter land on the French Riviera for their customary fun-filled R & R. But then a dark cloud appears on Cecile's sunny skies: Anne (portrayed by Deborah Kerr), beautiful, intelligent, elegant, a successful career woman willing to leave her profession (she is a respected fashion designer) to be a perfect wife and astute stepmother; much to Cecile's chagrin her father falls for Anne's charms, pops the question and Anne answers in the affirmative. Overcome by jealousy and the fear of losing her careless butterfly lifestyle, Cecile hatches a diabolic plot to prevent their marriage from occurring. And unfortunately, she succeeds, with tragic consequences.
The morale, of course, is: don't mess with Fate! On the other hand, Cecile, having faced her darker side, builds a wall around her heart to keep herself from feeling pain and sorrow, yet as you watch the closing scene, you will understand that the wall is transparent, letting us look into Cecile's soul as she sits in front of her mirror, taking off her make-up with cream, and by now the scene has reverted to black/silver/white...tears are running down her cheeks... and, ah, tristesse.... bonjur, and bonnuit, always.
The cinematography is superb, the opening and closing scenes are various shades of gray and silver, and then as the story flashes back the French Riviera comes alive in glorious colors, Jean Seberg is just beautiful,her portrayal of Cecile deserving of respect, David Niven sophisticated in an easy-going, warm-hearted way, Deborah Kerr's Anne is perfection, and Juliette Greco, playing herself as the night club singer crooning Bonjour Tristesse in her unique style, a real treat. Be prepared to be surprised at how much you will feel touched, and enjoy.
PS: French author Francoise Sagan, had made international headlines when she was a teenager with her first novel, "Bonjour Tristesse". Her background was privileged, a la her heroine, Cecile's; born Francoise Quoirez to a wealthy family in Cajarc in southwestern France, Sagan - who took her pseudonym from a character in Marcel Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" - was educated in private and convent schools at home and in Switzerland. She wrote "Bonjour Tristesse" ("Hello Sadness") in 1953 while on a summer holiday from her studies at the Sorbonne. Sagan, then 18, completed the manuscript in just six weeks.
Interesting to note how the world has changed, since then... upon its release in 1954, Bonjour Tristesse created a furor in France. Some critics scorned it as a tale of "passionless hedonism" and Sagan was called immoral and was marked as symbolizing a generation of bored and blasé young adults. They could not have been more wrong....
Rating: 
Summary: If only for Juliette
Review: i've seen this movie several times on TV in the past...
Oh, it's a perfecly charming movie, especially for the not TOO young amongst us, who probably remember the older times in Paris and France best. For ME: I'd buy this film because it is one of those rare moments to see Juliette Gréco in action.
Gréco was extremely popular in the fifties as an avantgarde singer/ actress. Those were the days of the "existentialists" .I've met Miss Gréco personally and have been a fan of her art for years now.Where ever she's got a concert, you can hear a pin drop .....soooo different if you compare it too many concerts of todays artists. Miss Gréco you could call the true follow up of that other great French singer , PIAF !
so If you get the chance to see this movie, watch Juliette Gréco
in her small part and see if you're too under her spell....
Rating:
Summary: A nice, stylish period piece
Review: Jean Seabourg and David Niven co-star in this stylish uncoming-of-age drama about a carefree, swinging widower and his equally irresponsible daughter, Cecile, a cynical teenage flirt who acts as the film's narrator. They are on vacation on the French Riviera, along with Elke, an adorable, airheaded European party girl who is there as dad's date and Cecile's playmate, right up until she gets dumped in favor of a hotter prospect. Cecile thinks the new gal will be just another one of Dad's little conquests, the ones they laugh about between chic parties and social calls, but when the new relationship turns serious, with Niven about to settle down with a mature-minded woman who may force Cecile to take her own actions seriously, the girl rebels and determines to undo the tryst. In some ways, the plot seems somewhat simple and uneventful, although this seeming flatness is actually a reflection of the shallowness of the character's emotional lives. Directed by Otto Preminger, this flick is packed with stylish cinematography and equally chic clothes, arch dialogue and great on-location scenery... It may not be a real classic, or a soul-moving work of art, but it is quite entertaining and very nice to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Overlooked masterpiece.
Review: Premminger was a superb director who was greatly appreciated in his day but for some reason is relatively ignored today. Bonjour Tristesse is by far his best and most underrated film, it is a melodrama of sorts but if you're a fan of Douglas Sirk movies like Imitation of Life and Written On The wind then you will love this. Based on the novel of the same name by Francoise Sagan, (apparently regarded as the French`Catcher in the Rye') it's an intelligent and moving film about a daughter,(Seberg) jealous of her father's, (Niven) new lover, (Deborah Kerr.) There's much more to this movie than meets the eye. A black and white present day with the past in colour, the relationship between Seberg and Niven, dubiously close and intimate, the countryside and woods in front of the house, haunting and almost surreal in their depiction. Jean Luc Goddard was apparently a huge fan, Seberg's character in Tristesse was imagined as a continuation in A Bout De Souffle. Deeply moving, intelligent and beautiful, it's an absolute classic that will grow in stature, the Premminger reappraisal begins with this movie.
Rating:
Summary: An Impressive Film in all Aspects! Why?
Review: This film has several elements that are worth noting. First, it is an accurate account of the empty, amoral, flamboyant and insensitive life in the French "high-life" during the late 50's/early 60's. Told in flashback, the story shows the way the central characters behave, have fun, hurt people and get to a point when "have fun" is just a way of forgetting. The whole cast is excelent. David Niven is the most perfect "late life" bachelor who is cool about everything. Jean Seberg is absolutely beautiful as a teenager who practically lives as a woman... the chemistry of the two characters (father and daughter) is fantastic (and very puzzling). Deborah Kerr has also a great role as a sophisticated woman who doesn't get to understand the games going on between father and daughter. The film has a beautiful cinematography. It opens in a dark black and white while all the flashback scenes are in the most fantastic colors - a perfect example how cinematography serves to enhance the character's point of view and (also) tell the story at a visual level. The final scene is something that will stay in your memory for a long time as a great example of a great conclusion for a story that is rich and well written. This film is a serious study of aloofness, emptyness and amorality in a way that only Hollywood could tell. It shows that money can buy off some consciences while, deep inside, some consiences cannot be bought. A trully great cinematic experience!!!
This DVD edition has no extras (except for trailers). The image quality is first rate. So is sound quality. The opening titles (by Saul Bass, no less!) is gorgeous! The cinemascope cinematography by Georges Perinal begs to be viewd in a big screen. The music score by the great Georges Auric ("Rififi" and "La Bele et la Bête") is top.
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