Film Still

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Philip Kaufman

United States

1988

172 minutes

Color

1.85:1

English

55

Synopsis

Philip Kaufman achieves a delicate, erotic balance with his screen version of Milan Kundera’s “unfilmable” novel. Adapted by Kaufman and Jean-Claude Carrière, the film follows a womanizing surgeon (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he struggles with his free-spirited mistress (Lena Olin) and his childlike wife (Juliette Binoche). An intimate epic, The Unbearable Lightness of Being charts the frontiers of relationships with wit, emotion, and devastating honesty.

Cast

TomasDaniel Day-Lewis
SabinaLena Olin
TerezaJuliette Binoche
FranzDerek de Lint
The ambassadorErland Josephson
PavelPavel Landovsky
Chief surgeonDonald Moffat
Interior ministry officialDaniel Olbrychski
The engineerStellan Skarsgård

Credits

DirectorPhilip Kaufman
ProducerSaul Zaentz
ScreenplayPhilip Kaufman and Jean-Claude Carrière
Based on the novel byMilan Kundera
CinematographySven Nykvist
Supervising film editorWalter Murch
Costume designAnn Roth
Production DesignPierre Guffroy

Disc Features

  • Beautiful widescreen transfer, enhanced for widescreen televisions
  • Audio commentary by director Philip Kaufman, co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière, editor Walter Murch, and actor Lena Olin
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
  • Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

From the Current

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

by Michael Sragow Nov 1, 1999

The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a profoundly beguiling movie about sex, love, and rebellion. Its lead characters caper through Prague Spring, Czechoslovakia’s 1968 version of the Summer of Love, and then try to withstand the effects of Soviet occupation...

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Available Editions

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DVD

1 Disc

SRP: $39.95