O Morro dos Ventos Uivantes

Great literature enriches the soul. The Brontes created great literature because they invented so much of what it means. They invented ways of observing the soul that hadn't already been mined by Shakespeare. If you want a great film that celebrates, explores, exploits Bronte, you can't escape the reality that you'd have to stretch film the same way Charlotte stretched perspective.

Didn't happen here. Olivier seemed good enough at what he knew (stage acting) but that isn't bendable to great experiences in film. Never was.

But you might want to watch this for another reason. The dialog and acting are ordinarily conceived. But the cinematography is extraordinary, from the very special Greg Toland. Greg DID stretch cinema in the way we mentioned. His greys have depth. When he photographs the heath, we feel the atmosphere as if the mist had emotion.

The interiors of the house are magnificent in design. And Toland's lighting and framing are so haunting.

This film is why Orson Welles wanted him on "Citizen Kane." You need to watch it to see where much of the disembodied ghost-observer comes from. With Toland, Cathy defines what we see and how.

But the actual story? Go read it instead.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

"Wuthering Heights", based on the novel by Emily Bronte, gets a first rate treatment from its director, the genial William Wyler. The adaptation was done by Charles McArthur and Ben Hecht, two of the best writers working in the Hollywood of that era. The great cinematography by Gregg Toland makes it visually stunning. Alfred Newman's music score plays in the background, making this film a classic that will be cherished by movie lovers.

Some comments to this forum express their displeasure in the adaptation one sees on the screen. Most people forget what a task it must have been to get the essence of the Bronte novel in a cinematic form, something the adapters did with elegance and charm.

The cast that was assembled for "Wuthering Heights" is a dream come true. Presenting the young Merle Oberon in all her beauty makes one almost fall instantly in love with her. Ms. Oberon had a fantastic presence, which translated in probably her best work in films.

The dashingly handsome Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff, creates the right chemistry against Ms. Oberon's Cathy. Mr. Olivier was at the pinnacle of his career. He responds well to Mr. Wyler's direction. His Heathcliff shows a mean streak, but over all, Olivier gives an impressive performance.

David Niven is excellent as Edgar Linton, the man who wins Cathy's heart with his kindness. Flora Robson does also an outstanding job as Ellen, the housekeeper, who serves as the narrator. The young and beautiful Geraldine Fitzgerald makes a brilliant Isabella.

The rest of the players are equally wonderful, Donald Crisp, Hugh Willimas, Leo G. Carroll, Cecil Kellaway, made contributions to the movie.

Ultimately, this film is a love story doomed from the beginning. This tale of the passion between the lovers in the moors is a perfect way to lose oneself in the magic of the movies.

SPOILERS Out of the cinematic versions of Emily Bronte's incredible tale, this 1939 version is one of the furthest from it. However, as a piece of cinematic art, it is the finest, a shining example of Hollywood craftmanship made at a time when so many classic movies were being churned out. Producer Sam Goldwyn said it was the best movie he ever made. It's certainly director William Wyler's best film, and that includes Ben Hur. While Bronte's novel is a lot more than just a love story, this almost reduces it to being just a love story. Never mind, because as a love story, this film works wonderfully. Like almost all great love stories, it's gloriously romantic, emotionally intense and ultimately incredibly moving.

The controversial decision to miss out almost the entire second half of the book allowed the filmmakers to concentrate on the Heathcliff/Cathy love story, and Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon both have incredible chemistry and strengh in their performances. No, they are not Bronte's characters, especially the film's version of Heathcliff, who here is FAR too nice, but are definitely one of the greatest of Hollywood's cinematic couples. This is especially notable in the scenes set on the moors, where we are definitely in that Olde Hollywood romantic never never land where the music soars and passion had to be, and was, encapsulated in a kiss. Olivier is impressive delivering some of Bronte's lines, of which there are a surprising amount, and the film does follow the book's plot very closely, it just tones down the darkness.

There are many superbly done sequences- the incredibly atmospheric opening where a traveller arrives at Heathcliff's house, all the scenes on the moors, Cathy's speech to Nelly "I AM Heathcliff", and of course, more than any other scene, the death of Cathy. As Heathcliff takes the dying Cathy to the window to see the moors once more and she finally dies virtually standing up, all the while while Alfred Newman's love theme plays and plays. This is one of the moving and also one of the most beautiful and artistic deaths in Hollywood history, all the more powerful for actually being comparatively understated by Hollywood standards of the time. Only those who had read the book or knew of the missing second half would know there was more in the story to come, in the context of the film the tale seems complete. Some don't like the final scene of Heathcliff and Cathy's ghosts wondering in the snow, but it is actually closer to the book's actual ending than most seem to admit. It's also one of the best tearjerkers ever, period.

Most people read the book and are than disappointed when they see this. It's therefore best to see this first, and to appreciate it as one of the great Hollywood love stories, before THAN reading the book. Yes, the book is still better, but than most books are.

I have not read the Emily Bronte novel on which this film is based so obviously I cannot comment on the effectiveness of it as an adaptation (I understand that almost the entire second half of the book was excised). However, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Oberon and especially Olivier, one of my favorites, are very convincing and moving as the doomed lovers Cathy and Heathcliff (according to my friend, Heathcliff is written as being much more likeable in the film than in the book). The supporting cast was also very good. Wuthering Heights just deals very poignantly with the effect that birth and status have on people's lives. Yet another winner from Wyler. My score 9/10.

One of the finest romantic films ever filmed, this 1939 Samuel Goldwyn production rates with many - including myself - as being the most beloved version of Emily Bronte's haunting novel. Although it stops at chapter seventeen and the ending is seen as a bit trite by some, it's a brilliantly enacted, finely mounted production with beautiful photography and authentic period detail set-wise. Merle Oberon is well-cast as the selfish, vain and rather shallow Cathy. What makes her character so intriguing and interesting is that no matter what happens to her materially, she has an undying love for the gypsy-blooded heathen named Heathcliff. Laurence Olivier, never a great success in films prior to this, gives a brutally honest account of everything Bronte's Heathcliff should be: proud, bold, vengeful & darkly brooding -a tortured soul in general. Wyler's guiding hand is patent throughout: it was Olivier himself who gave credit to the meticulous director in teaching him the particular ropes of screen acting: it shows! Lady-like Isabella is well-played by the Irish Geraldine Page, while Ellen, the long-suffering servant is played sympathetically by the fine character actress Flora Robson. David Niven, ideally cast as the milquetoasty Edgar Linton, actually had a clause in his contract which freed him from having to do crying scenes! A timeless masterpiece of the "haunting" love story genre, this was Goldwyn's personal favourite of all his films.