From scandalous novel to cult classic film, "Cruel Intentions" keeps captivating audiences with its timeless tale of seduction and betrayal. Join us as we explore the sordid history of this provocative story, from its 18th-century origins to its latest adaptation on Amazon Prime. Discover why rich, backstabbing lovers never go out of style!
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00:00Oh, Sebastian, could you come here for a second?"
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're uncovering the sordid history
00:10of Cruel Intentions, from its controversial source material
00:13to its 2024 reboot on Amazon Prime.
00:16You know that there are no lines between us, dear brother.
00:21That's what makes it so fun.
00:24The 90s. In 1999, film critics were divided over a teen thriller
00:28adapted from an unlikely source.
00:30A 90s-tastic classic, Cruel Intentions made waves
00:33for its hot cast, dark comedic tone,
00:36and the revelation that it's based on an 18th-century novel.
00:39Anything interesting?
00:42Yes, actually, it's quite intriguing.
00:43Despite mixed reviews at the time, its blend of scandal,
00:46betrayal, and high-society drama has since captivated audiences
00:50and solidified its cult status.
00:52The 2024 TV reboot is just the latest in a long string of adaptations,
00:56proving that, if there's one thing we can't get enough of,
00:59it's rich, backstabbing lovers.
01:01You have quite the reputation.
01:06You haven't completely closed the door on me yet.
01:09The book that shocked Europe.
01:10The story was first penned by Pierre Chauderlot de Laclos
01:13in his novel titled Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
01:16Would you come and read it after I finish?
01:18Tell me if it's alright.
01:19Well, why don't you ask Monsieur de Valmont?
01:23He knows what men like to hear.
01:25Known in English as dangerous liaisons.
01:28Told in epistolary form, Laclos's most famous work tells of
01:31aristocrats locked in a diabolical game of seduction and obsession.
01:35Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont are two nobles
01:38whose mutually beneficial plans to sexually corrupt two young women
01:42end up ruining their lives and reputations.
01:44I want the excitement of watching her betray everything
01:47that's most important to her.
01:49Surely you understand that.
01:51I thought betrayal was your favorite word.
01:53No, no.
01:56Cruelty.
01:58I always think that has a nobler ring to it.
02:01Laclos's book was released to a public furor in the early 1780s.
02:05It's said that Marie Antoinette's copy of the book
02:07was bound with a blank cover so no one could identify it.
02:10Naturally, its scandalousness only meant that
02:12more people wanted to consume it in any form.
02:15You're the only one who can help me.
02:18Do you want me to challenge him to a duel?
02:20Vicomte, for what I have in mind, I need you very much alive.
02:26From scandalous novel to prestigious drama,
02:29Dangerous Liaisons may be a literary classic,
02:32but its themes of sexual domination and manipulation
02:34would be hard to sugarcoat even in the most censored retelling.
02:38Do you think a man can change?
02:43Yes.
02:44For the worse.
02:48I think you're as awful as I am.
02:53I am.
02:54Only a few film adaptations were made before the 1980s.
02:57One of these was helmed by boundary-pushing French director Roger Vadim,
03:00who updated the story to fit 1950s France.
03:03You dancing?
03:04Oh no, I'm not in the mood tonight.
03:07You're not in the mood?
03:08I'm not in the mood.
03:09You're not in the mood?
03:10I'm not in the mood.
03:11I'm not in the mood.
03:12I'm not in the mood.
03:13C'est une raison de plus pour accepter.
03:17Je vous promets d'être amusant.
03:19Murtoy and Valmont's sadistic plans gained new life in the mid-1980s.
03:23Playwright Christopher Hampton's English-language theatrical adaptation
03:26opened on the West End in 1986 and transferred to Broadway the next year.
03:31Actress Lindsay Duncan and future Severus Snape actor Alan Rickman
03:34were featured in the lead roles.
03:36Hopes and fears, passion and suspense,
03:39even if you're in the theater, what more could you ask?
03:42An audience?
03:44Liaisons in Hollywood.
03:46After the play reintroduced the story to an English-language audience,
03:49it was only natural that a film would come along.
03:52In the late 80s, we got two.
03:54Well.
03:54Yes, love and revenge.
03:58Two of your favorites.
04:00Hampton's play was adapted into 1988's Dangerous Liaisons
04:04and maintained much of his script.
04:06Starring John Malkovich, Glenn Close, and Michelle Pfeiffer,
04:08the movie was a hit with critics and audiences alike.
04:12It even won three Oscars out of a total of seven nominations.
04:15Win or die.
04:20So you're infallible, are you?
04:22Only a year later, Miloš Forman, the Czech director behind Amadeus
04:26and When Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, released his own version titled Valmont.
04:29Despite featuring early performances from Colin Firth and Annette Bening,
04:33the movie didn't do nearly as well as its award-winning predecessor.
04:37Does that mean you don't love me?
04:42Of course I don't love you.
04:49A modern update.
04:50A decade later, Cruel Intentions would retool the story for a modern age.
04:54Although set in modern-day New York and played against a hip new soundtrack,
04:58it's still a tale as old as time.
05:00You don't stand a chance.
05:03Even this is out of your league.
05:07Care to make a wager on that?
05:08The two leads are rewritten as spoiled prep school teens who are every bit as rich,
05:12hedonistic, and calculating as ever.
05:14Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar plays Catherine,
05:17who's more cunning and ruthless than any vampire she's laid on the WB.
05:21Ryan Phillippe plays Sebastian,
05:22the libertine who leaves a trail of discarded lovers in his wake.
05:26Even more treacherous than he is attractive,
05:29he has never uttered a single word without some dishonorable intention.
05:33Every woman he has successfully pursued has regretted it.
05:38Just stay away from him.
05:39Phillippe acting alongside his then-fiancée and later wife Reese Witherspoon gives many
05:44of their scenes a very palpable tension.
05:46Selma Blair, Sean Patrick Thomas, and Joshua Jackson help round out the young cast, too.
05:51Outstanding.
05:52But I don't think this one's not gonna cost you.
05:56Just make sure your front door is unlocked.
05:59The discourse.
06:00From the start, critics were skeptical.
06:02Modern updates of beloved stories can be hit or miss,
06:05but the way Cruel Intentions amps up the provocativeness rubbed many the wrong way.
06:10Even Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon took a public swipe at the film,
06:14despite Gellar's involvement.
06:15God forbid I exude confidence and enjoy sex.
06:19It didn't help that Dangerous Liaisons was so respected.
06:22Meanwhile, this update gave the impression of being gratuitous and a vulgar cash grab.
06:26Who the hell do you think you are?
06:29Excuse me?
06:30I'm paying you to give cello lessons, not to pervert my child.
06:34Ironically, that's how a lot of critics felt about the original novel, too.
06:38And like the book, Cruel Intentions was just too exciting to look away from.
06:42It made a lot of money on a small budget, made bigger stars out of its leads,
06:46and its soundtrack is still considered an all-time classic.
06:50I'm impressed.
06:54Well, I'm in love.
06:56Why it was so different.
07:02The teen movies of the late 90s were often cynical Gen-X coming-of-age stories,
07:07bright rom-coms, or slasher movies.
07:09I have a reputation to uphold.
07:11Oh, but diddling the therapist's daughter's a challenge.
07:14She was overcharging.
07:18This is a challenge.
07:21Clearly, this thriller about wealthy sadists using people as game pieces
07:25in their romantic conquests borrowed a little from all three.
07:28And watching its star-studded young cast revel in being bad
07:31was just too enticing for audiences.
07:33That's not even to mention the infamous lingering kiss
07:36between Gellar and co-star Selma Blair.
07:38And I'll just always hear Selma's mother going to Selma,
07:40did you have to use so much tongue?
07:43She has very soft lips.
07:44Cruel Intentions demonstrated how the story could survive in the 21st century.
07:48Les Liaisons Dangereuses was no longer a story stuck in the past.
07:52Cheers.
08:00Tastes good.
08:02Liaisons goes direct to video.
08:05Seeing that there might be a chance to make a franchise,
08:07writer-director Roger Cumble tried to expand
08:10the Cruel Intentions universe into TV.
08:12Here's a prediction.
08:14A few weeks of hand-holding and chaste smooching,
08:16and you'll be so bored and horny you'll mess the whole thing up.
08:19Fox acquired the series, now titled Manchester Prep,
08:22before promptly dropping it after only a few episodes were shot.
08:25Cumble edited what they had and released Cruel Intentions 2 straight to video.
08:30More SAT vocabulary builders?
08:33For your information, this happens to be my orientation speech.
08:37Who are you orienting?
08:39Please, be more stupid.
08:41The sequel explores how Catherine Murtoy,
08:43now played by a pre-stardom Amy Adams,
08:45and Sebastian Valmont first met and began their vicious cycle
08:48of deceit and degradation.
08:50It was followed by another straight-to-video sequel,
08:53starring Dawson's Creek actor Kerr Smith.
08:55They weren't nearly as good as the first movie,
08:57but it was clear people wanted more.
08:59I have a proposition for you.
09:01I told you I'm out.
09:03Are you telling me you're satisfied?
09:05Sarah Michelle Gellar Returns
09:07Over 15 years after the movie was released,
09:09Roger Cumble once again attempted to get a TV sequel off the ground.
09:13This time, Sarah Michelle Gellar would reprise her role as Catherine Murtoy.
09:17I was able to make all of my men's, except one.
09:21Sebastian, you.
09:24Set in the present day,
09:26the pilot sees Catherine confronted by her step-nephew,
09:28with her past and her deceiving ways being brought back into the open.
09:32Unfortunately, NBC passed on the pilot.
09:34Gellar admitted she was somewhat relieved
09:36because she was unhappy with the network TV-friendly script.
09:39Imagine if Sebastian could see us now.
09:42He'd be laughing his ass off.
09:46I guess it's really time to let go of the past.
09:48With the pilot being shelved,
09:50Cumble had failed to bring the story to television a second time.
09:53But neither he nor the story could be kept down.
09:55It was also around this time that Cumble adapted the movie as a stage musical.
10:00I'll give you something you've been obsessing about ever since our parents got married.
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10:20Reboot of a Reboot
10:22After years of attempts, Cruel Intentions is finally making its small screen debut.
10:26It's about getting what we want. And trust me, I always get what I want.
10:31The new Amazon Prime series follows two step-siblings,
10:34seemingly modeled after Catherine and Sebastian,
10:37trying to save their reputation at their university.
10:39This plot includes seducing the daughter of the U.S. vice president.
10:43You know what they're not gonna do?
10:44Kick the vice president's daughter's sorority off campus.
10:47She's not even rich because her dad's on, like, a government salary.
10:50They're more important things than money, Cece.
10:52Since when?
10:53While neither a true sequel nor a remake,
10:56the series is clearly inspired by the themes of manipulation and power
10:59in the 1999 film adaptation and, of course, the original novel.
11:04In other words, it's a reboot of the reboot.
11:06Given how long the original story has survived,
11:09it's probably fair to say this won't be the last we hear of Valmont,
11:12Murtoy, and their dangerous liaisons.
11:15It's the only time I've ever been controlled by my desire.
11:22Single combat.
11:24Are you watching Cruel Intentions on Prime? Let us know in the comments.
11:28The kind of way a book dives deeper than the movie,
11:31a series in a similar way can dive deeper than a movie as well,
11:34so maybe there's more detail there to explore.
11:37Do you agree with our picks?
11:38Check out this other recent clip from MsMojo.
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