Wuthering Heights

Being an avid Bronte fan, especially Emily, I have seen every single adaptation of their novels. While most screen adaptations prove to be rather disgraceful, there are some "gems" which, though not equaling the original source, turn out to be masterpieces in their own right. Such is the case with this wonderful TV adaptation of Wuthering Heights. It follows as closely to the book as possible, and takes great pains to bring the characters and their world to life, and succeeds with flying colours. Robert Cavannah and Orla Brady are near perfect in their portrayal of the two star-crossed lovers Cathy and Heathcliff, and David Skynner, the director, does his best to emulate the chaotic atmosphere in which their love blossoms in the novel. But the most enjoyable part of the movie - and indeed of the novel - is the allusion to the post-Heathcliff Wuthering Heights epitomised by the union of Hareton and Catherine Linton.

This is a dark, dreary, passionate and compelling adaptation - probably the most stirring, and definitely the most faithful to the original - for it shows why we love and continue to love Emily Jane Bronte's masterpiece! I most strenuously recommend it to every Bronte fan - Victorian world doesn't get bleaker than this!

A wonderful, faithful adaptation, the 1998 version of Wuthering Heights captures all the romance, brutality and passion of the novel. Orla Brady is stunning as Cathy and truly captures the character, particularly towards the end of the story. Robert Cavanah is also wonderful as Heathcliff, the story's complex (and challenging to play, I'm sure) antihero. The rest of the performances are emotionally charged as well, and no one seems to fall short. One of the great things about this story is how real and complex its characters are. No one is totally angelic or demonic, -good people are driven to do terrible things, and the worst of people love more passionately than all the others. It is a dark, beautiful story, filled with romance and suffering. For fans of the novel, this is the most faithful adaptation I have found, and for those of you who have not read the book, it is a beautiful, moving film.

Out of the four versions of Wuthering Heights available on DVD {1939, 1971 and 1992 being the others}, this is the closest to the book. It's far from being a perfect adaptation, the definitive version is still to come. Of course the 1939 version is artistically far superior to any of the others, but it's the least faithful adaptation. Both this version and the 1971 version stopped virtually half way through the story. The 1993 one did attempt to tell the whole story, but was somewhat stuffy and lacking in the intense emotion required. This TV movie, shown in two parts, is far more successful in telling the whole story, and certainly does not lack for emotion.

There are a few changes {maybe one day we will be able to see Heathcliff and Cathy first meet the Lintons as children rather than adults} and the first part of the story is rushed. There is the odd unnecessary touch, such as seeing Heathcliff semi-rape his wife. Generally,though,it's pretty faithful, does most of the great scenes in the book well and even adds a few details from the book that were not in the other mentioned versions at at all, such as Heathcliff tying up Isabelle's dog, or Heathcliff throwing a knife at her. Orla Brady is as close to the Cathy from the book as one can get, and while Robert Cavanagh is visually not an ideal Heathcliff, he really shows the evil of the character like few others.

Despite all this, this modestly produced version still manages to have a great deal of the required emotion, and despite Heathcliff's nastiness the filmmakers still manage to make one almost feel his pain and torment. The ending is beautifully done, aided by some very John Barry-like music.

It's not the perfect adaptation, but it will certainly do. However, a message for the next person to film Wuthering Heights- make it a lot LONGER!

Wuthering Heights is one of the literary masterpieces with complex characters(especially Heathcliff, a character that makes Mr Rochester, another tormented character, seem tame in comparison) and a truly dark, moving story that is full to the brim with atmosphere. Like the work of Charles Dickens and George Eliot as examples Wuthering Heights is one of the most difficult books to adapt and is almost unfilmable as well. Every adaptation of Wuthering Heights is worth the look though some work better than others. This was a fine version of Wuthering Heights, along with the Laurence Olivier film it is the best adaptation. True it could have done with a longer length especially for a book as lengthy and complex as Wuthering Heights, and the sections with the youngsters seemed on the rushed side(they also age a bit too quickly). It is however one of- perhaps THE- most faithful adaptation, there are omissions of course as you'd expect from a film compressed into a shorter running time but in detail and spirit with all the major details and characters intact it is to the extent that if she were alive Emily Bronte herself would recognise it. The adaptation is even better on its own, the locations are breath-taking and remarkably vivid in a way where you can literally smell and feel the atmosphere being conveyed.

The photography is not too flashy or studio-bound, it has a sense of freedom but allows the story to resonate. While the costumes are richly evocative, if you had a time machine and had travelled to this period it is very likely to be as rendered here. The music score is hauntingly beautiful and melancholic, particularly at the end and the ending here is poignant beyond words (none of the other adaptations of the book have done it as emotionally as here). The writing is very thoughtfully adapted with a great deal of intimacy and very true to Bronte's prose, and the story is still the dark, brooding and passionate tale of the book with as said already the major scenes all here and with the impact they should. The direction is strong throughout as is the acting. Not all the actors are age-appropriate but for me the performances themselves are what matter more and the adaptation delivers on that front. Robert Cavannah is a Heathcliff that is brutish and brooding yet tormented and pained, rightfully allowing us to be terrified of Heathcliff and later go on to pity him too. Orla Brady is a spirited and feisty Cathy, also very affecting, her delirium scene is beautifully played and genuinely disturbing. Matthew McFadyen's Hareton is very charming, while Crispin Bonham-Carter's Edgar is very well-read and humane in a role that can easily be weak and the Hindley of Ian Shaw is appropriately tragic, a tormenter at first but later he is almost(if not quite to that extent) as pained as Heathcliff. Polly Hemmingway and Tom Georgeson are equally engaging. Overall, one of the better Wuthering Heights adaptations and recommended. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I came across this on DVD last weekend. I had been looking for the mini-series I had seen on TV a good 25 years or so earlier and mistook this one for it. (I had no idea who was in the mini-series; and bad eyesight prevented me from reading the small print on the box.)

Well I had no regrets. As a hater of the half told stories of a couple of previous versions I had seen, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'll agree with everyone else that Cathy and Heathcliff aged faster than in the book and that Nelly Dean should have been younger, but that did not detract from the story.

And Heathcliff was depicted as a rogue, not a romantic hero; and Cathy was a twit. I felt no sympathy for her because she made her choice and got what she deserved.

I do wish they had done more with Cathy 2 and Linton though. Their rather grating personalities were all but lost in this version. But at least they were IN this version.

I had to watch it on a portable mini DVD player because my big telly is in for repairs, but this will be the first thing I watch when I get it back.