The Scarlet Letter (1995)
- Starring:
- Demi Moore, Gary Oldman, (more)
- Director(s):
- Roland Joffé
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
- Category:
- Romance
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Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel of hypocrisy among America's pilgrims was brought to the screen by director Roland Joffe in this 1995 feature. Demi Moore stars as Hester Prynne, a new arrival to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1666. Prynne, who interacts freely with slaves and Quakers and wears revealing garb, is something of a free thinker and off-putting to the uptight locals. She awaits the arrival of her husband, Roger (Robert Duvall), but he is reported killed. One person who does not find Prynne unsettling is the new preacher, Arthur Dimmesdale (Gary Oldman). A torrid encounter between them produces a child, Pearl, and Hester is condemned by the colony, forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" (for "adultery"). Roger reappears; he had been living with a native tribe -- an experience that has driven him mad. He masquerades as "Roger Chillingsworth," trying to discover the identity of Pearl's father. When Hester is about to be executed, Dimmesdale confesses, but a timely Indian raid intervenes, saving him and Hester. The Scarlet Letter was widely derided by critics for sexualizing and changing Hawthorne's novel to an absurd degree. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 135 mins
Complete Cast:
- Demi Moore - Hester Prynne
- Robert Duvall - Roger Chillingworth
- Edward Hardwicke - John Bellingham
- George Aguilar - Johnny Sassamon
- Roy Dotrice - Thomas Cheever
- Malcolm Storry - Major Dunsmuir
- Amy Wright - Goody Gotwick
- Marguerite McNeil - Widow Wormser
- Lisa Jolliff-Andoh - Mituba
- Tim Woodward - Brewster Stonehall
- Eric Schweig - Metacomet
- Judd Jones - Mr. Bobbin
- Gary Oldman - Arthur Dimmesdale
- Robert Prosky - Horace Stonehall
- Joan Plowright - Harriet Hibbons
- Sarah Campbell - Prudence Stonehall
- Diane Salinger - Margaret Bellingham
- Sheldon Peters Wolfchild - Moskeegee
- Nicholas Rice - The Clerk
- Len Doncheff - Trader
- Jim Bearden - Goodman Mortimer
- Francie Swift - Sally Short
- Dana Ivey - Meredith Stonehall
- Jodhi May - Pearl
- Director(s):
- Roland Joffé
- Writer(s):
- Douglas Day Stewart
- Producer(s):
- Andrew G. Vajna, Roland Joffé
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Violence, Sexual Situations)
- Categories:
- Romance
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- Subtitles:
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