Wuthering Heights [DVD]

Love

Juliette Binoche as Cathy and Ralph Fienes as Heathcliff are perfectly cast in this 1994 version of Wuthering Heights.Passion, betrayal, conniving and romance combine to create a marvelous piece of film that stays true to Emily Brontë’s classic

The performance of Binoche and Finness in Wuthering Heights was amazingly powerful. People often criticize the movie, but, I believe, the director was extraordinarily faithful to the original story. All criticism was directed at how sadistic Heathcliff(Ralph Fiennes) was towards everybody. It is the director's right to add or omit whatever he finds necessary to make a movie version of the book. In this case, the director's choice was to have the characters semi identical to the book's original ones.It's very simple, if you loved the novel, you would love the movie and forgive the portions that were omitted, and admire the total focus on Heathcliff's anger, and evil side. It's not the movie/director/actors' fault that the novel original characters are actually defected, imperfect human beings.Even though Wuthering Heights is a great piece of literature, a wild emotional story that is written in a fascinating way, the characters always puzzled me. If everybody is calling Heathcliff a sadistic crazy man, what then is Catherine? I believe that Catherine is even more sadistic and cruel than any other character in the novel.Catharine was completely engaged in self worship and didn't care about any other human being. The only thing she loved about Heathcliff was his love and devotion to her. She enjoyed breaking his heart, breaking her husband's heart, and enjoyed torturing Edgar's sister with her sense of entitlement to Heathcliff and his love."..Why did you betray your heart Catherine?....I forgive my murderer, but yours, I will never forgive..." yeah, Fiennes got to me saying these words, but for the love of God, how delusional can people be? Nobody broke Heathcliff's heart but his Catherine, and no one killed Catherine.Five stars, to Wuthering Heights for its timeless depiction of human dark side, and when I say dark side, I mean every character in the movie except Catharine the daughter. To me, Catharine the daughter is the only character with some common sense and virtue. I would give more than five stars to the movie if possible, simply because Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche captured so well, the darkest side of love and selfishness as the stars of a great novel.

Very well done. Less Hollywood and truer to the book than the 1939 version. Just a great performance by all the actors. Loved all the settings and background. Can't say enough good about this offering.

It's been awhile since I've seen a film version of Wuthering Heights. There are so many out there----earlier 1930s versions and more recent films. This one really captured the essence of life on the moors as most British productions do as well as life in the day of Emily Bronte. Even the wealthy in this part of Britain were far from any sort of civilization. Just the local village folk, very isolated and a non forgiving place of bad weather, lots of storms, and the windswept drama that really makes these stories come to life.Everyone who's read the Bronte novels is familiar with the very romantic stories of forbidden love, lost love, along with rogue type men and vulnerable women. This story is no different with a brooding, angry Heathcliff who carries a lifelong passion for Cathy, his stepsister. There's also the same share of drunk despondent relatives, like Cathy's brother who just can't seem to get it all together and even shuns his newborn son blaming him for the death of his wife in childbirth. So that part comes up again as in a lot of these Gothic romances. Women die in childbirth or are left scarred forever because of it.As to the character roles. Ralph Fiennes is a very talented actor and has been in a variety of roles---like the English Patient, and the one about a guy on a quiz show. He really can throw himself into parts and he doesn't disappoint in his role of Heathcliff. Or should I say, Heathcliff on steroids----the guy sometimes is over the top angry, cruel, and abusive to the women in his life no less! His passion for Cathy is one that if I were in her place, I would probably run far away from that man---he's scary!Juliet Binoche is another talent who also played in the English Patient as a young nurse. My favorite was her role as Vianne in Chocolat----the free spirited woman who runs a chocolate shop. In this part of Cathy as well as the young offspring Catherine, I was not as impressed. I found her to be almost too flippant, giggly, and without any substance. But I may be wrong---maybe that's as she's supposed to be and I confess it's been many years since I read Wuthering Heights. I don't think I've ever seen a version of Wuthering Heights where one actress played both parts.I also enjoyed watching the supporting cast. They all played the parts well. I especially liked the nanny character who played a very diplomatic role in her dealings with both Heathcliff and Cathy. And the rest who portrayed servants and staff at both houses were realistically cast. Again the harsh environment and the details pertaining to that. The scene where the milk is frozen in the pail, the branches breaking through the window in the storm, and the whole other aspect of making a ghost story within a story.

Keeping my review vague to avoid spoilers, this version of Wuthering Heights is one of the few that closely follows the book by showing both generations of the story and keeping many key elements in. The characters are well acted and written although some elements that I feel helped the book are missing in this film such as the dogs at the beginning or the added lines when the man is first started by the ghost. Picture and video quality are really good for being a 90s film but would greatly benefit from a blu ray release if ever there was one. Overall this adaptation of Wuthering Heights has haunted me in a good way ever since I watched it in the way that its very well written with a story that truly impacts you with a phenomenal music score. I highly recommend this version as it so far is both the most enjoyable and most accurate. I find myself thinking about it even months after watching it...

Enjoyed this dvd

Have read this book around 20 times over a 50 year period. Bought the DVD after wartching Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon on a steaming service. Only problem is forgot none of my computers have a Dvd slot anymore nor the home entertainment systems.Almost ceratoainly a must watch for those who have kept onto their old tech.

jedenfalls ging es mir so. Manche Filme, speziell Verfilmungen von Büchern, sind so, naja - ich will nicht sagen primitiv, aber halt eben ohne Tiefgang verfilmt, dass man sie anschaut und gleich danach abhakt. Nach dem Motto : gesehen, ist ok, mehr aber auch nicht. In Unkenntnis des Buches - das muss ich hier einschränkend erwähnen - habe ich mir u.a. aus Gründen des englisch-Lernens diese DVD gekauft und keine Sekunde gezweifelt, dass es eine gute Kaufentscheidung war ! Man kann prima mit den Untertiteln dem Film folgen, auch mit rudimentären Englisch-Kenntnissen, denn die Gestik und Mimik der Schauspieler hilft über so manch unbekanntes Wort. Von Emily Brontë habe ich bisher noch kein Buch gelesen (ich denke, das werde ich unverzüglich nachholen ! ) mir ist die DVD über Rezensionen aufgefallen und das Thema hat mich interessiert, von daher bin ich ganz unbefangen an den Film herangegangen. Ich muss sagen: SUPER !!! Ralph Fiennes ist natürlich untoppbar - superklasse mit der Rolle des Heathcliff besetzt und gespielt, der Mann ist ja ganz nebenbei sowieso eine Augenweide !!! Hm, hm... Und auch Juliette Binoche fand ich in ihrer Doppelrolle sehr gut, in ganz kurzen Momenten kam sie manchmal etwas farblos daher, aber das ist vernachlässigbar im Gesamteindruck des Filmes. Wunderschöne Bilder, Landschaftsaufnahmen, DIE Musik !! und die leise, eindringliche Stimme der Erzählerin, die Anfang, Mitte und Ende beschreibt. Da bekommt man echt Gänsehaut. Den Film habe ich mir schon mehrfach angesehen und jedes Mal wird er besser. Ich unterlasse hier jegliche Äußerung zum literarischen Wert, den tieferen Aspekt des damaligen gesellschaftlichen Abbildes etc. etc., dafür bin ich nicht so der Experte, das überlasse ich anderen. Für mich war es einfach ein wunderschöner Film und hier beim Schreiben bekomme ich schon wieder Lust, ihn mir ein weiteres Mal anzusehen, er ist einfach nur megafaszinierend.... Wenn ich also eine Empfehlung aussprechen darf .... schauen Sie ihn sich an, Sie werden es nicht bereuen!

Je ne ferai pas ici la critique de cette adaptation, certains aiment ou détestent, mais de la qualité de ce dvd qui m'a agréablement surprise :Image presqu'aussi bonne qu'avec un bluray et service toujours aussiImpeccable de Zoverstocks chez qui je commande souvent.

This is a serious attempt at a cinematic rendering of Emily Bronte's actual novel rather than the usual simple lifting of the romantic aspects of the plot. The Yorkshire moors are seen as a dark, disturbing, threatening presence, echoing or contributing to the natures of Cathy and Heathcliff. The haunting, sparse musical score underlines the mood of sadness and unease. I would not have thought of Juliette Binoche for Cathy, but not only does she look much the way I always imaged Cathy, she perfectly captures the character's mix of wildness, mischievousness and cruelty at conflict with her bourgeois origins. Her take on Cathy's daughter is also clever, accentuating the similarites of appearance and gestures while lacking the mother's passion and wildness so that Heathcliff subjects himself to constant self-torture, reminded of his love and that she is lost forever. Fiennes, who looks far from my imagined Heathcliff, does a superb job with a difficult, complex character, balancing his obsessive nature and innate cruelty to allow for sympathy while understanding how his hurt and hate bring about his bizarre plan for revenge.The movie is not without its flaws, principally the strange choice of making Bronte a character and narrator. Whatever the motive, the occasional voice over merging Emily's words with the character's speech serves no purpose other than to annoy. Maybe the idea was tto back up the title claim of "Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights;" or maybe they were trying to echo the book's narrator, but the dual narrators of the novel serve a purpose, providing a frame and also as two opposing views, one accepting the supernatural while the other debunks it (a bit like Mulder and Scully). On the same note, I'm not sure the movie really handles the supernatural element of the story very well. However, it is a fine movie and definitely the one to get if you want a picture that reflects the actual novel. If you prefer a straight period romance go with the excellent 1939 version.

Cumbres Borrascosas es mi novela favorita. Cuando vi esta película me pareció que era una brillante adaptación del libro y en definitiva me encantó, sobre todo la magistral actuación de Ralph Fiennes como Heathcliff, sencillamente insuperable. Por ello, es que tenía que hacerme con el DVD, pero me resultó complicado encontrarlo, sobre todo con los subtítulos en español, hasta que encontré éste. En general he quedado muy satisfecha, tanto con el proceso de compra (llegó dentro del plazo previsto, etc) como con el DVD en sí. Se ve fenomenal y el sonido es fantástico. La única pega es que si estás en Europa, tendrás que tener un reproductor de DVD multi región, ya que es región 4. Totalmente recomendable, un clásico para ver una y otra vez.