Taglines: When intimacy is forbidden and passion is a sin, love is the most defiant crime of all.
The Scarlet Letter movie storyline. In 1666 in the Massachusetts Bay colony, Puritans and Algonquian have an uneasy truce. Hester arrives from England, seeking independence. Awaiting her husband, she establishes independence, fixing up a house, befriending Quakers and other outsiders. Passion draws her to a young pastor.
He feels the same; when they learn her husband has probably died at the hands of Indians, they consummate their love. A child is born, and on the day Hester is publicly humiliated and made to wear a scarlet letter, her husband appears after a year with Indians. Calling himself Chillingworth, he seeks revenge, searching out Hester’s lover and stirring fears of witchcraft. Will his murderous plot succeed?
The Scarlet Letter is a 1995 American romantic drama film. It is a film adaptation of the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel of the same name. It was directed by Roland Joffé and stars Demi Moore, Gary Oldman, and Robert Duvall. This version was “freely adapted” from Hawthorne[2] and deviated from the original story. It was nominated for seven Golden Raspberry Awards at the 1995 ceremony, winning “Worst Remake or Sequel.”
The film was shot in British Columbia on Vancouver Island, in and around Campbell River (Beaverlodge Lands—now Rockland Road and North Island College/Timberline Secondary, Lupin Falls and Myra Falls in Strathcona Provincial Park, Little Oyster River, and White River), and in the Nova Scotia towns of Yarmouth, Shelburne, and in the small village of Saint Alphonse in Clare in 1994. In Shelburne, the waterfront area was substantially altered to resemble a Puritan New England town in the mid-17th century. Some of the buildings on Dock Street retain the grey-tone paint finishes used for the film.
Three original scores were written for this film. The first score was composed by Ennio Morricone and was quickly rejected. A second score was composed by Elmer Bernstein, but his music was set aside in lieu of the final score, composed by John Barry. Reportedly, star Demi Moore wanted a score by Barry from the start, so Morricone’s and Bernstein’s music were not going to be accepted, regardless of quality.
Barry’s score was released on CD by Sony Records upon the film’s release in 1995. A CD of Bernstein’s rejected score was released by Varèse Sarabande in 2008. No recordings of Morricone’s score have been released to the public.
The Scarlet Letter (1995)
Directed by: Roland Joffé
Starring: Demi Moore, Gary Oldman, Robert Duvall, Robert Prosky, Edward Hardwicke, Joan Plowright, Malcolm Storry, Larissa Laskin, Amy Wright, Diane Salinger
Screenplay by: Douglas Day Stewart
Production Design by: Roy Walker
Cinematography by: Alex Thomson
Film Editing by: Thom Noble
Costume Design by: Gabriella Pescucci
Set Decoration by: Rosalind Shingleton
Art Direction by: Tony Woollard
Music by: John Barry
MPAA Rating: R for violence and sexuality.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: October 13, 1995
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