1998, directed by Des McAnuff. Jessica Lange starred in the title role, joined by Bob Hoskins as Crevel, and Elisabeth Shue as the singer Jenny Cadine. Screenwriters Lynn Siefert and Susan Tarr changed the story significantly, and eliminated Valérie. The 1998 film was panned by critics for its generally poor acting and awkward dialogue. Stephen Holden of The New York Times commented that the movie "treats the novel as a thoroughly modern social comedy peopled with raging narcissists, opportunists and flat-out fools". The 1998 film changed the novel quite drastically, retaining the basic idea of Bette avenging herself on her enemies, and not only eliminating Valerie, but letting Bette survive at the end. La Cousine Bette was adapted for the stage by Jeffrey Hatcher, best known for his screenplay Stage Beauty (based on his stage play Compleat Female Stage Beauty). The Antaeus Company in North Hollywood produced a workshop in 2008 and presented the world premiere of Cousin Bette in early 2010 in North Hollywood, California. The adaptation retains many of the main characters but places Bette as the story's narrator. Notes References Affron, Charles. Patterns of Failure in La Comédie Humaine. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966. . Balzac, Honoré de. The Works of Honoré de Balzac. Vol XI. Poor Relations: Cousin Betty and Cousin Pons. Trans. James Waring. Philadelphia: Avil Publishing Company, 1901. . Bellos, David. Balzac Criticism in France, 1850–1900: The Making of a Reputation. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976. . Bellos, David. Balzac: La Cousine Bette. Critical Guides to French Texts. 1. London: Grant & Cutler Ltd, 1980. . Bertault, Philippe. Balzac and the Human Comedy. Trans. Richard Monges. New York: New York University Press, 1963. . Besser, Gretchen R. Balzac's Concept of Genius: The Theme of Superiority in the "Comédie humaine". Geneva: Librairie Droz-Genève, 1969. . Floyd, Juanita Helm. Women in the Life of Honoré de Balzac. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1921. . Gerson, Noel B. The Prodigal Genius: The Life and Times of Honoré de Balzac. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1972. . Gilroy, James P. "The Theme of Women in Balzac's La Cousine Bette". Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature 34.2 (Spring 1980): 101–115. Hunt, Herbert J. Balzac's Comédie Humaine. London: University of London Athlone Press, 1959. . Jameson, Fredric. "La Cousine Bette and Allegorical Realism". PMLA 86.2 (March 1971): 241–254. Madden, James C. Weaving Balzac's Web: Spinning Tales