There have been about a dozen film and television adaptations of Wuthering Heights since the famed 1939 movie, but one of the most interesting may be the 1992 movie that bills itself as Emily Bront. (Apparently they had to get around copyright issues, since rights to 'Wuthering Heights' were owned by the studio that did the 1939 film. Amazon.in - Buy Wuthering Heights at a low price; free delivery on qualified orders. See reviews & details on a wide selection of Blu-ray & DVDs. Wuthering Heights: Amazon.in: Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes, Janet McTeer, Sophie Ward, Simon Shepherd, Peter Kosminsky, Mary Selway, Chris Thompson: Movies & TV Shows.
- May 1, 2013 - Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche in Wuthering Heights (1992).
- Wuthering Heights Juliette Binoche Ralph Fiennes Janet McTeer (1993) Emily Bronte's Cathy (Juliette Binoche) and Heathcliff (Ralph Fiennes) fuel two generations of gothic romance on the Yorkshire moors.
- Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (1992) Review. Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is a close adaptation of the novel. It was released in 1992, starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche and Janet McTeer. Though not perfect, it is a very good adaptation of the text. It is also admittedly a personal favorite of mine. Cathy and Heathcliff.
Wuthering Heights
Film productions based on the novel by Emily Brontë:
Wuthering Heights (1939) [SHOW CREDITS]⟨
Director William Wyler; writers Charles MacArthur, Ben Hecht, John Huston; featuring Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon, David Niven, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1992) [SHOW CREDITS]⟨
Also called Wuthering Heights
Director Pewter Kosminsky; writer Anne Devlin; featuring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Janet McTeer, Jeremy Northam
Director Pewter Kosminsky; writer Anne Devlin; featuring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Janet McTeer, Jeremy Northam
COMMENTARY | MOVIES
Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fines are a surprisingly fine Catherine and Heathcliffe in 1992 film version.
The heights of torment
There have been about a dozen film and television adaptations of Wuthering Heights since the famed 1939 movie, but one of the most interesting may be the 1992 movie that bills itself as Emily Brontë. (Apparently they had to get around copyright issues, since rights to 'Wuthering Heights' were owned by the studio that did the 1939 film.
This retelling of the story keeps the narrative simplicity of the 1939 film, but has the story briefly introduced by Brontë herself (a cameo by singer Sinéad O'Connor). Otherwise this Wuthering Heights is relatively faithful to the novel.
In fact, it's better than the 1939 film, and—and here's a shocker—possibly better than the novel.
For one thing, it has Ralph Fines as Heathcliff. He's perfect—as a young man a rough-hewn but sensitive character we can well imagine Catherine committing herself to protect and love forever, and as an older man the profoundly tormented individual who is turned into a chillingly cold villain. The transformation is believable, as are his occasional relapses into obsessive love behaviour.
The same goes for Juliette Binoche as Catherine. She too is mesmerizing, in a manner not expected of this actress, perhaps better known for more off-beat roles. In some ways her character is more difficult to portray, as she must vacillate between expressing the deep bond with Heathcliff and being attracted to the advantages of the aristocratic life that she and Heathcliff appear to disdain.
And she pulls it off. In the scenes with Fines particularly, she's adorably compulsive watching. (The two actors would pair again a few years later in another romance, The English Patient, but not as each other's love interest.)
This version of Wuthering Heights does continue past Catherine's death and makes the next generation's events appear an integral part of the story. Using Binoche to play the younger Cathy however yields mixed results: she keeps reminding us (and Heathcliff, no doubt) of the late Catherine, which may be seen as either a good thing or a bad thing.
But overall this is a brilliant adaptation. A film that really deserves to be a 'classic' if critics—who generally gave the film negative reviews and had probably never read the book since school days—can get over the Olivier version that usually (and undeservedly, in my opinion) gets that honour.
It could even be renamed Better than Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights.
— Eric
COMMENTARY | MOVIES
Wuthering Heights | |
---|---|
Directed by | Peter Kosminsky |
Produced by | Simon Bosanquet Mary Selway Chris Thompson |
Written by | Anne Devlin |
Based on | Emily Brontë (book) |
Starring | |
Music by | Ryuichi Sakamoto |
Cinematography | Mike Southon |
Edited by | Tony Lawson |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
1992 | |
Running time | 105 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights is a 1992 feature film adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel Wuthering Heights directed by Peter Kosminsky. This was Ralph Fiennes's film debut.
This particular film is notable for including the oft-omitted second generation story of the children of Cathy, Hindley, and Heathcliff.[1]
Plot[edit]
The movie revolves around the lives of the Earnshaws and the Lintons. It portrays the role of suffering, revenge, and unrequited love in society.
Cast[edit]
- Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff
- Juliette Binoche as Catherine Earnshaw and Catherine Linton
- Jeremy Northam as Hindley Earnshaw
- Simon Shepherd as Edgar Linton
- Sophie Ward as Isabella Linton
- Janet McTeer as Nelly Dean
- Jason Riddington as Hareton Earnshaw
- Simon Ward as Mr. Linton
- Jennifer Daniel as Mrs. Linton
- Paul Geoffrey as Mr. Lockwood
- John Woodvine as Thomas Earnshaw
- Jonathan Firth as Linton Heathcliff
- Sinéad O'Connor as Emily Brontë
Production[edit]
Paramount Pictures was forced to use the author's name in the title of the film as Samuel Goldwyn Studio (later sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) owned the rights to the simple title Wuthering Heights due to the copyright on their 1939 film version of the novel.
The film stars Ralph Fiennes as the tortured Heathcliff and Juliette Binoche as the free-spirited Catherine Earnshaw, in a precursor to their later, successful collaboration on The English Patient.
The role of Heathcliff opened up doors for Ralph Fiennes to play Amon Goeth in Schindler's List. American director Steven Spielberg claimed he liked Fiennes for Goeth because of his 'dark sexuality.'
Critical response[edit]
The film received mostly negative reviews from film critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 25% based on 8 reviews, with a rating average of 4.5 out of 10.[2]
References[edit]
- ^French, Philip (13 November 2011). 'Wuthering Heights – review'. The Observer. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
- ^Wuthering Heights (1992). Rotten Tomatoes. Flixter. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
External links[edit]
- Wuthering Heights on IMDb
Ralph Fiennes Movies
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