Wuthering Heights

Rating:
Summary: My name is Sarah and I am a romance-aholic . . .
Review: Oh, yes. This was the start of it all. I was ten or eleven and at home with the flu. I was a die-hard Vivien Leigh fan and had just watched That Hamilton Women with Leigh and Olivier and as it was Olivier's birthday, AMC showed this next. I fell in love with Olivier, I fell in love with Emily Bronte and I fell irrevocably in love with Yorkshire moors and brooding anti-heroes. (You, should see some of my ex-boyfriends . . ) As I got older, and began to explore the Bronte world more deeply, I came to realize what a gross interepretation of Emily's shattering novel this was. However, out of the five versions of this novel I have seen - only Olivier and Oberon have convinced me that they would traverse the nether regions to be together. Only Olivier has said "Take any form, drive me mad . . " and meant it. Now, of course, I know that the two actors despised each other - but in certain ways - so did Cathy and Heathcliff - at any rate - the intensity was there. The fine line between love and hate, and all of those cliches are definately applicable. And I have stood on the Bronte moors in Yorkshire and I am much happier with the cinematic qualities of the TNT and Masterpiece Theater versions. California deserts with imported heather isn't going to measure up to the savage Yorkshire moorlands, of course. And I agree that the oft applied term of "sacchrine" is highly appropriate. Olivier was a stage actor who had a horrid relationship with the leading lady and the director. His overexaggeration of the dark Heathcliff was often almost laughable - but it never was! That's the secret to this classic - the whole movie was at the same pitch of intensity - every one was caught up in the torrents of passions these two had. "Nelly, I AM Heathcliff!" (As the lightning crashes . . .) That is Gothic. People forget that Gothic literature Is melodramtic - it is sweeping and brooding and gut wrenching and soul ravaging. It is a style of writing. It doesn't appeal to everyone. It certainly doesn't appeal to today's average viewer in this day of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. But, this is a true Gothic tale and a true Gothic interpretation of that tale. Of course, I wish they had not chopped off the second half of the novel. Of course, I wish that the end had stayed with the orignally shot scene of the correct version of Heathcliff lying dead on the moor - frozen in the storm. Of course, I wish the accents hadn't been so polished and affluent but this version is when a girl runs out into the stormy night and the man makes deathbed vows of desperate passion. It isn't about love - it is about the forces of the universe - defying form to follow nature. That is what Emily Bronte wrote about and that is what this film, more than the others capture. One tortured soul in two bodies. Heathcliff, fill my arms with heather!

Rating:
Summary: This haunting tale . . .
Review: keenly vexed me for some time. It is a timeless classic with a heart-wrenching, bittersweet end. And yes, the movie does deviate from Bronte's book. However, after considering the depth of emotion that this film evokes, I do not mind the differences at all. In fact, I was so captivated by Whuthering Heights that it has since become my all-time favorite film. A gotta-own title for any classic movie fan.

Rating:
Summary: Simply the only version of Whuthering Heights you'll need
Review: This version of the Emily Bronte novel Whuthering heights is truly the only one you really need to see, all of the other versions are okay but are dull in comparison to this one. Merle Oberon is enchanting and Lawrence Oliver is moving, a five star movie and a must-have for any romantic!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful adaptation of classic book!
Review: There has been alot of negativism about this movie because it is not faithful to Emily Bronte's book. Well, Gone With The Wind omitted several characters, sub-plots and scenes from the book when they made that magnificent movie, it is not a crime. This movie is a wonderfully acted love story that makes me cry every time I watch it. Watch it for what it is--a movie, not a page by page adaptation of the book.

Rating:
Summary: A Romantic Masterpiece
Review: I don't care if this picture isn't faithful to the novel; accept it for what it is, a beautifully acted movie that tugs at your heart. I became an Olivier fan after seeing this performance, and I don't believe his performance is over-the-top, as some may say. The finale where Heathcliffe is at Cathy's deathbed gets to me EVERY time, and I never walk away dry-eyed. One of my all-time favorites.

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Summary: One of the great all time cinematic romances
Review: I have the video of this film and decided to get the DVD as well...the difference in picture/sound quality is outstanding. The DVD has a short interview with Geraldine Fitzgerald, who talked about her experinces making the movie. An excellent DVD to add to your library.

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Love Story of All Time
Review: Lawrence Oliver is magnificent in his role of the brooding, moody lover possessed with owning Merle Obern as his wife. Merle as Kathy was flamboyant and full of life but also held a mysterious bond toward Heathcliff. She was wonderful in her role of Kathy acting the part of a lover also possessed by Heathcliffs opposite personality. She goes and marries another and couldn't live with it when Heathcliff also marries another......The story touches something deep in the heart of all of us..It is absolutely fabulous and a must for anyone who has a romantic heart.

Rating:
Summary: Fair, but nothing compared to the book.
Review: It is decent in itself, but doesn't possess anywhere near the grandeur and power of the novel. The creators of the film turned it into a fairly conventional romance. Olivier's overly mannered performance tends to grate on the nerves.

Rating:
Summary: A MASTERPIECE!!!!!
Review: A truly wonderful movie full of love, rage, sadness, and the worst kind of heartbreak at the end! This is a kleenex movie at the end! Laurence Olivier plays a wonderfully driven stable boy in love like no man could ever love a woman more! Merle Oberon breaks his heart over and over again and he keeps on coming back because he knows deep down she has always loved him!

Rating:
Summary: The best epic love story of all time
Review: With epic love stories being such the rage in film these last few years (e.g. "Braveheart," "The English Patient," "Titanic"), I'm surprised I haven't heard more about the best one ever. From the first visit of Cathy's ghost (could you ever forget Olivier's voice crying out to her over the storm?) to the last glimpse of the ghosts climbing Penistone Crag, this film takes hold of you and doesn't let go. It's passionate, breathtaking, and utterly unforgettable. Olivier and Oberon are perfect, Wyler's directing is faultless, and the script is masterful. The music by Alfred Newman is also praiseworthy. While other versions may be more "faithful" to the book (one of my personal favorites, incidentally), they fail to capture its intensity and inner reality. But this isn't a film simply for the literary: my brother, who read the book for a college course and hated it, liked this film.