3.5* for this full cast performance of the play based on an abridged edition of the French classic epistolary novel. Now I need to read the original book!!

I don't know who the translator of this was - perhaps it was mentioned at the beginning but if so, I didn't catch it. ( )

I vaguely remember this movie, and have wanted to read the book for a long time. I just couldn't get into it though. Not so with this adaptation / play. It will pull you in so quick, and won't let you go. Excellent, excellent production. All the acting/reading is right on. You really won't miss what was cut, this play is right on.

I'm not sure why Audible gave this to me, but it was an interesting twist on period romances. It would have been helpful had the cast of characters been introduced at the beginning. The villain of the plot took me a bit by surprise, the "punishment" even more so. Worth the less than 5 hours listening time. ( )

This was an audio dramatization of the well-known French novel, most likely based on Christopher Hampton's play of the same name. It features the main players who starred in the play on the London stage last year: Dominic West, Janet McTeer, and Elaine Cassidy. NTLive has been broadcasting the production--but unfortunately nowhere within thousands of miles from my home. If you've seen the excellent movie with John Malkovich and Glenn Close (or the somewhat less excellent 'Valmont,' starring Colin Firth and Annette Benning), you already know the story: in pre-Revolutionary France, the Viscomte de Valmont and his one-time lover, the Marquise de Mertueil, use their formidable powers of seduction and manipulation for revenge and amusement at the expense of others.

I tried to read the novel, which is composed entirely of letters, a few years ago but found it dry in comparison to the play and film. This 2-hour audio dramatization is fine enough, but if you'd like to see what is perhaps Malkovich's best performance on film (as well as the decadent splendors of the French court), don't miss the 1988 movie.

I only wish I had been able to see Alan Rickman onstage as Valmont in the original Hampton production. ( )