Les hauts de Hurlevent

Like most of Bunuel's works, the main (and also the most interesting) layer of this film is the mental one. Yes, there are lots of dialogs, but it can be easily watched without hearing a word, due to Bunuel incredible talent of telling stories, feelings, fears, desires and lust exclusively through images. Only a bunch of directors are capable of achieving such a purity in visualization.

Abismos de pasiòn is a very classical story, filtered through Bunuel's will to further inspect desire (both sexual and mental). Alejandro is clearly ruled by his passion and instincts; characteristic which is praised by Bunuel, envying it.

I just discovered, watched and reviewed this movie all in one day! I like the way Bunuel took the story of "Wuthering Heights" and made it his own, and I for one didn't miss the (drab and depressing) moors. This version went more for melodrama than a gothic atmosphere, and I enjoyed the difference. In this rendition, Catalina and Alejandro were separated more through family interference than her desire to join the world of the upper class, which makes her more sympathetic than Cathy. I can't say I approve of the way Alejandro treated Isabella, but his attitude seemed less cold and harsh than that of Heathcliff, at least to me.

The last scene was really powerful!

I could have done without all those dead butterflies, however.

Unlike William Wyler's movie in which Sir OlIvier shone as Heathcliff, Luis Bunuel 's adaptation of Emily Bronte's masterwork does not show Heathcliff's and Cathy's first years ;it begins when Catalina ( Catherine.) has married Eduardo (Edgar) and is pregnant by him ; the return of a wealthy Alejandro (Heathcliff )rekindles a passion that destroys everything ,knows no bounds ; they are characters of flesh and blood,following their instinct , with a love which verges on hate ; in direct contrast with that is Eduardo 's bourgeois love ,as alive as his collection of butterflies .

Bunuel's touch can be felt in this symbolism : one finds it again in Isabel's arrival in the lugubrious Alejandro's mansion -particularly faithful to the book-,where Riccardo (Hareton) catches a fly and gives it to a spider ; a pagan wedding even though he took place in the church ,even sacrilege :"I love Alejandro more than my soul"says Catalina before a shocked servant invoking Jesus and Maria ; "you'll awake in Hell " says Alejandro to Catalina. The ending takes amour fou to new limits , to the accents of Wagnerian music.

The moor -which Wyler filmed in studio - is replaced by the Mexican landscapes ,but it does not matter for the pictures are visually stunning ; the lovers' past is told in a very succint style. Bunuel focuses on lovers carried away by passion,which led them to cruelty toward the others : and eventually aren't the living in the tomb?

A 1954 Mexican feature film version of Emily Brontë's literary classic ,transfering the romantic tragedy from the Yorkshire Moors to the haciendas and farmland of Mexico. Alejandro returns to his adopted home to find the love of his life Catalina has married the wealthy Eduardo. This sets in motion a series of tragic events. Director Luis Bunuel's version of the tale is a simplified adaptation of the original source material ,and not as good as the 1930s film version with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon ,partly due to not being able to empathise as much with the characters in this film. It's just as theme rich as other versions ,dealing with cruelty ,pride ,jealousy and hatred ,and the legacy of cruel exploitation ,inhumanity ,and lack of love. Featuring several Bunuelisms ,and a prowler who hangs about in the dark and rain outside and smashes through windows and doors ,this is a film about the pain of passion.

Abismos de pasión (1954) is Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, directed and co-scripted by Luis Buñuel.

This film was produced in Mexico, where Buñuel lived for 20 years as an exile from Franco's Spain. Believe it or not, the film works. Colonial Mexico in 1800 probably had many similarities to the rigid, socially conscious society of England at the same period. Buñuel's film is set in rural Mexico, in an region as isolated as the English moors.

Jorge Mistral plays Alejandro (Heathcliff), Irasema Dilián plays Catalina (Catherine), and Ernesto Alonso is Eduardo (Edgar). These actors were apparently popular Mexican stars of the time, and they play their roles with a ferocious intensity that fits Brontë's writing style.

The whole effort has an over-the-top quality to it, but, when you think about it, so does Wuthering Heights. Abismos de pasión isn't a film for everyone, but it's a must for Buñuel buffs.