Wuthering Heights

 Introduction

 Heathcliff

 Versions available on DVD

 Classic 1939 version

 Fiennes-Binoche version

 Television version

Searching for Cathy's ghost. Source: Laurence Olivier Pages at Murphs Place. http://www.murphsplace.com/olivier/wh.html

I must admit that I have a strong prejudice against most filmic versions of the novel for I believe that they romanticize Heathcliff far too much. Whenever my female students “ooh” and “ahh” over how romantic and lovely Heathcliff is, I want to yell at them. And frankly, I usually do. And the character of Heathcliff, as written by Bronte, is probably one of the largest problems for directors and screenplay writers.

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I understand that he was a poor orphan child and that his life was made miserable by Hindley Earnshaw. And I feel sorry for him; I really do. But I still think he's become damaged goods. He purportedly loves Cathy Earnshaw above all else on earth, but he horribly mistreats and even hits her daughter, Catherine. That's not love.

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Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon as Heathcliff and Cathy. Source: Laurence Olivier Pages at Murphs Place. http://www.murphsplace.com/olivier/wh.html

1939 version starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. This is usually the overwhelming favorite of film critics

1970 version starring Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall.

1985 version, in French, originally titled Hurlevant, starring Lucas Balvaux and Fabienne Babe. I include this for the sake of thoroughness. I have not seen it, and almost all reviews I find are highly negative.

1992 version starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche

1998 TV version starring Robert Cavanagh and Orla Brady

2003 version titled MTV's Wuthering Heights, CA starring Mike Vogel and Erica Christiansen Filmed for MTV Television, updated and set in California , and according to one reviewer, it's "pretty grisly unless you're 14 years old”. Although it sounds like a rather broad adaptation, it does have a large number of fans.

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Poster of the 1939 film. Source: Filmsite.org, http://www.filmsite.org/wuth.html

The ending was controversial in its time: “Heathcliff is unable to unite with Cathy, but in a departure from the book, Heathcliff and Cathy are shown walking hand in hand in their afterlife, visiting their favorite place, Penistone Crag. There was some controversy over this scene. Wyler did not want it but Sam Goldwyn (the producer) insisted on it. This innovation was one of numerous interventions by Goldwyn to ensure that the movie would not be a commercial failure. In fact, after the movie became a big hit, Goldwyn is said to have quipped “I made Wuthering Heights, Wyler only directed it.” (Nuggehalli)

The film was a critical success, earning eight Academy Award nominations, including, Best Picture, Best Actor for Laurence Olivier, Best Supporting Actress for Geraldine Fitzgerald (playing Isabella Linton), Best Director for William Wyler, Best Cinematography for Gregg Toland (who was the only winner of all the nominees), Best Screenplay for Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht, Best Interior Decoration for James Basevi, and Best Original Score for Alfred Newman.

The fact that the film only won in one category needs to be contextualized. That year, other films nominated for best picture included the now-classic films The Wizard of Oz, Dark Victory, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Stagecoach, and Goodbye, Mr. Chips. That year's winner was Gone with the Wind , which also took top honors for best director, best writing, and best interior decoration (now called art direction). Best actor went to Robert Donat in Goodbye, Mr. Chips , and best supporting actress that year was the historic win for Gone with the Wind's Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win an Academy Award, and the first African American to attend the awards ceremony as a guest, not a servant.

The year 1939 has gone on to become a famous one in film history for the sheer number of quality films that opened then. Wuthering Heights was one of them.

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Video cover to the Fiennes-Binoche version.

One example of the criticism comes from Time-Out : "Restoring the dangerous passion and morbid obsession crucial to Emily Bronte's novel, Kosminsky's debut feature eschews melodrama in favour of Gothic romance, with Anne Devlin's skilful screenplay delving deep into the swirling currents of Cathy's forbidden love for the gypsy foundling Heathcliff, whom she later abandons for sensitive, refined Mr Linton. Where the film falls down is in confining itself too much to gloomy rooms, thus failing to point up the contrast between imprisoning social conventions and the pagan pleasures of the moors.”

The Kominsky version is praised for including the final chapters of the book and daring to end on a negative note.

This version also adds a framing device to the beginning and end of the film, casting Irish singer Sinead O'Connor as Emily Bronte.

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The most recent Wuthering Heights was an English made-for-television version starring Robert Cavanah and Orla Brady. According to most critics and regular viewers, this is the closest in feel to the original novel.

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