Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > Quills (2000)
Quills
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Photos (see all 39 | slideshow) Videos (see all 2)
Quills (2000) -- In a Napoleonic era insane asylum, an inmate, the irrepressible Marquis De Sade, fights a battle of wills against a tyrannically prudish doctor.
Quills (2000) -- hv post

Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   20,073 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 1% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Philip Kaufman
Writers (WGA):
Doug Wright (play)
Doug Wright (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Quills on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 December 2000 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | History | Romance more
Tagline:
There are no bad words... only bad deeds. more
Plot:
In a Napoleonic era insane asylum, an inmate, the irrepressible Marquis De Sade, fights a battle of wills against a tyrannically prudish doctor. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 33 nominations more
User Comments:
The first rule of politics: The man who orders the execution NEVER DROPS THE BLADE. more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Geoffrey Rush ... The Marquis de Sade

Kate Winslet ... Madeleine 'Maddy' LeClerc

Joaquin Phoenix ... The Abbe du Coulmier

Michael Caine ... Dr. Royer-Collard
Billie Whitelaw ... Madame LeClerc

Patrick Malahide ... Delbené

Amelia Warner ... Simone
Jane Menelaus ... Renee Pelagie

Stephen Moyer ... Prouix, the Architect
Tony Pritchard ... Valcour
Michael Jenn ... Cleante
Danny Babington ... Pitou
George Yiasoumi ... Dauphin

Stephen Marcus ... Bouchon
Elizabeth Berrington ... Charlotte
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Quills - Macht der Besessenheit (Germany)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for strong sexual content including dialogue, violence and language.
Runtime:
124 min
Country:
USA | Germany | UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
London, England, UK more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Every single line from the script that was cut made it into the film either written on de Sade's clothing, the bed sheets or in his prison cell at the end. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Madeleine is putting on her dress after getting her wounds clean, she slips her arm into the sleeve twice. more
Quotes:
Marquis de Sade: Prepare yourself for the most impure tale ever to spring from the mind of man. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Quills: Creating Charenton (2001) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Au clair de la lune more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
56 out of 65 people found the following comment useful:-
The first rule of politics: The man who orders the execution NEVER DROPS THE BLADE., 17 December 2004
10/10
Author: Michael DeZubiria (miked32@hotmail.com) from Luoyang, China

Quills is the modernized story of the Marquis de Sade, whose steamy writings whipped France into a sexual fury in the late 18th Century. And by modernized I mean that it has been told through the experiences of a lot of French people who speak English and with British accents. But no matter, I'm willing to accept that everyone in France in 1800 spoke perfect British even if only because of Geoffrey Rush's brilliant performance. With every movie that he comes out with I become more and more convinced that there is nothing he can't do.

In order to know virtue, as the Marquis explains, one must first understand vice. In Philip Kaufman's Quills, the focus is on the Marquis de Sade after his writing has taken him beyond the artistic freedom generally accepted in the 18th and 19th centuries, even to elite aristocracy like himself. It is a detailed exploration of the events that led from him being a social elitist to living almost three decades in prison, writing things that caused his keepers to make it so difficult for him to write that he ultimately uses his own blood and excrement for ink, and his clothing, the walls of his cell, and his own skin as parchment.

Luckily for the Marquis, at first anyway, is that there is something of an understanding priest in the Abbe du Coulmier, another wonderful performance from Joaquin Phoenix. An intensely religious man, Coulmier believes that the Marquis should be allowed to write, if only to purge himself of the sadism with which his head is filled and which would later be named after him.

Kate Winslet plays Madeleine, a laundry maid who smuggles the Marquis' writing out of the asylum so that it can be published, for which many people are not happy, but many others are. The Marquis dips into the extensive world of the forbidden sexual taboos of the 18th and 19th centuries, writing extensively about them without a care in the world for propriety. One may wonder to what extent the Marquis' writings were such a hit because they were forbidden, or because of their lewd content, which may euphemistically be described as guilty pleasures for the masses. Indeed, Larry Flynt was not working, so graphic pornography was something of a rarity.

There is a curious relationship between the Marquis and a physician named Royer-Collard, played by Michael Caine, who is assigned to law down the law with the Marquis and prevent him from writing anymore. The glee with which the Marquis mocks and taunts him are some of the best parts of this outstanding film. There is a great parallel between the two characters, as well. Royer-Collard pretends to be a moral role model, at the same time taking a wife who is young enough to be his daughter, possibly even his granddaughter, and treats the Marquis with exactly the same sadistic (if I can again use the term for the behavior for which the Marquis would later be named) behavior that he condemns that Marquis for writing about. Both men engage in many of the same practices, it's just that the Marquis makes no attempt and has no interest in hiding his interests in the pleasures of the flesh.

I think that the most important thing to remember about this movie is that it is able to deal with a person who's beliefs are, I like to think, below the moral compasses of most of the people who will watch the movie, but it's not about what he was writing, it's about the fact that he was writing at all. It's about his defiance in the face of a corrupt moral authority, his insistence on maintaining an artistic expression that was not well received but that was certainly therapeutic to him. Sure, his sanity is in question, to say the least, but as they say, genius is often associated with madness.

What a great coincidence, too, because so is Geoffrey Rush.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Quills (2000)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
what books have you read? Lucky_Starr
Madeleine was 13, De Sade was 70 stickyickeyooeygooey
Question about Maddy and her ... SPOILERS breinhardt-1
How Old.. AmadeusGirl
scene with Joaquin and Rush coldplaying_pyro06
Alan Rickman joyvaleria
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Caligola Flesh+Blood Novecento Marat/Sade Chik loh go yeung
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Drama section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.