Tess is a 1979 film which tells the story of a young peasant woman who is seduced by her wealthy aristocratic cousin, whose right to the family title may not be as strong as he claims. It stars Nastassja Kinski, Peter Firth, Leigh Lawson , John Collin , Rosemary Martin and Carolyn Pickles .

The movie was adapted by Gérard Brach, John Brownjohn and Roman Polanski from the novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. It was directed by Polanski.

It won Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design. It was nominated for Best Director, Best Music, Original Score and Best Picture.

The last time Polanski saw his late wife Sharon Tate alive (before she was murdered by Charles Manson's gang), she had given her husband a copy of the book Tess of the D'Urbervilles convinced that Polanski would someday make a great movie based on it. The dedication at the movie's beginning reads simply: For Sharon.

Although the film is set in England, it was filmed in France. This is because director Roman Polanski was wanted for statutory rape charges in the United States, and could have been extradited from the United Kingdom.

The word Tess itself is a diminutive form of the girl's name of Persian origin Esther.