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Wuthering Heights: Filmic Adaptations (Wyler&Kosminsky)
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| 電影導演 / William Wyler 威廉•惠勒 |
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Wuthering Heights
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 Introduction
Heathcliff
Versions available on DVD
Classic 1939 version
Fiennes-Binoche version
Television version
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Introduction |
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Emily Bronte's 1847 novel Wuthering Heights has become a perennial favorite for the screen. The love story of Heathcliff and Cathy has been filmed at least thirteen times. And on many levels, fans of the book are still waiting for the definitive film version. While some versions are works of art in their own right, the book has so-far proved too difficult to film satisfactorily.
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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Heathcliff |
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Heathcliff is not the kind of man you want to be bringing home. At best, he's a brute, and at worst, he's a sociopath. And it's not just his terrible temper and the mental cruelty he afflicts on those around him. He beats and even kills animals; he beats women; and there's a good chance he's a murderer. (See James Sutherland's essay “Is Heathcliff a Murderer” in Is Heathcliff a Murderer ?).
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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Versions available on DVD |
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Before I go on to discuss the films in more details, I want to list the five versions that are
available on DVD today. Although there are a number of film versions, many are no longer available. I have not seen the French version or the two latest TV versions, and any comments here are based on information from IMDB and the Amazon.com customer comments sections, places I find are usually quite reliable sources of information.
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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Classic 1939 version |
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The first major Wuthering Heights is the 1939 version directed by William Wyler and starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon as Heathcliff and Cathy. Most critics and fans of the book are quite fond of this version, and on one hand, the film has stood the test of time. I find Olivier's Heathcliff far too sympathetic, and many critics have complained that the film ends before the end of the novel. In fact, the film covers roughly the first 16 of the novel's 34 chapters. Our last shot of the lovers is of their ghosts peacefully walking over the moors.
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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Fiennes-Binoche version |
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| Video cover to the Fiennes-Binoche version. |
The next major production of the novel starred Ralph Fiennes in his film debut and Juliette Binoche as the thwarted lovers. Directed by Peter Kosminsky in 1992, this version has been universally panned by critics, many viewers enjoy it. The particularly love the passionate scenes between the dark, brooding Fiennes and the hauntingly beautiful Binoche.
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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Television version |
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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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Works Cited
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Dirks, Tim. “Wuthering Heights, 1939” Filmsite.org, (July 6, 2005) http://www.filmsite.org/wuth.html
"Wuthering Heights" Film Review. Time-Out. (July 6, 2005) http://www.timeout.com/film/64850.html
Nuggehalli, Nigam. “Wuthering Heights” review, CultureVulture.net (July 6, 2005) http://www.culturevulture.net/Movies5/WutheringHeights.htm |
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