★ 8 / 10
I venture to suggest that this wonderfully evocative
CinemaSerf
I venture to suggest that this wonderfully evocative adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic story will never be surpassed. The novel is essentially a tale of…
I venture to suggest that this wonderfully evocative adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic story will never be surpassed. The novel is essentially a tale of lost love and the trio of Merle Oberon ("Cathy"), Laurence Olivier ("Heathcliffe") and David Niven ("Edgar") manage to encapsulate all the emotions of sadness, of bitterness and of despair superbly. "Heathcliffe" is the abandoned boy brought to the home of the wealthy "Earnshaw" family by Cecil Kellaway where he gradually falls in love with daughter "Cathy". When the old man dies, his son "Hindley" (Hugh Williams) inherits, treating "Heathcliffe" as little better than a servant before he eventually drives him away. When he returns wealthy, many years later, he discovers "Cathy" now married to the debonair, if rather dull, Niven. What happens now is the stuff of English literature at it's most enigmatically dramatic. Whilst the screenplay does skim over much of the detailed characterisations, and some of the sub-plot from the book, it nonetheless captures the spirit of the story in both an atmospheric and charismatic fashion - with Flora Robson at her melancholic best as the recounter of our tale. Oberon and Olivier are excellent at conveying the sense of distress and longing and the cinematography of the bleak, but liberating, Yorkshire Moors all contribute to an engrossing, really rather sad story.
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★ 9 / 10
Cathy, Cathy, come in, Cathy come back to
John Chard
Cathy, Cathy, come in, Cathy come back to me. Wuthering Heights is directed by William Wyler and adapted to screenplay by Charles MacArthur & Ben Hecht from…
Cathy, Cathy, come in, Cathy come back to me.
Wuthering Heights is directed by William Wyler and adapted to screenplay by Charles MacArthur & Ben Hecht from the novel of the same name written by Emily Bronte. It stars Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Flora Robson. Music is scored by Alfred Newman and cinematography is by Gregg Toland.
OK, so it's only a part of Bronte's classic novel, and yes some liberties have been taken, but Wuthering Heights is still a wonderfully involving picture. Expertly played by the actors and directed with adroitness, it's a haunting tale of tragedy, love and passions never to be sated. Moodily photographed by Toland, who won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in the process, tale unfolds in flashback style that's aided by retrospect narration from Robson's wily house keeper Ellen Dean. Characters are perfectly formed as children, expanded upon into adulthood; with Olivier and Oberon coming into their own on the acting front, then the story reaches its denouement to leave the viewer flushed with emotion. All given dramatic impetus by Alfred Newman's sweeping score.
1939 was a stellar year for classic cinema, Wuthering Heights is deservedly a part of that upper echelon number. Brilliant. 9/10
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★ 7 / 10
"I cannot live without my life! I cannot die without my soul!"
bigticket-36199
"Wuthering Heights" is a tragic romantic drama and an adaptation of Emily Brontë's novel of the same name, with a screenplay based solely on the first part of…
"Wuthering Heights" is a tragic romantic drama and an adaptation of Emily Brontë's novel of the same name, with a screenplay based solely on the first part of the book.We follow a traveler, lost in a snowstorm, who finds shelter at the estate of a cold and ruthless host named Heathcliff. Reluctantly, Heathcliff allows him to stay in an upstairs room. During the night, the traveler is awakened by a chilling draft that pushes open the window shutters. Just as he moves to close them, he feels an icy hand grasp his own and hears the ghostly voice of a woman calling Heathcliff's name. Shaken, he calls for his host and recounts the eerie experience. Heathcliff, suddenly enraged and agitated, rushes out into the blizzard, shouting a woman's name into the snowy void. Ellen, the housekeeper, tells the stunned guest that he has heard and felt the presence of Catherine "Cathy" Earnshaw's spirit - Heathcliff's great love, who died many years ago...Director William Wyler crafts an intense yet somber melodrama of deliberate pacing, one that faithfully captures the atmosphere of the novel's portion on which the screenplay is based. The film's bleak, wintry tone can stir melancholy, even depressive feelings in its audience. Dynamic twists or humor remain overshadowed by the overpowering emotional currents endured by the protagonists. Love, hatred, betrayal, pride, and revenge pulse through nearly every scene.The production design is lavish and perfectly aligned with the characters' inner states. Long takes of the harsh, wind-swept Yorkshire moors and marshes are striking, while mist and shadow reveal the darkest corners of the main characters' souls. The interior of the house resembles a cold prison, burdened with words and secrets from the past that no one can escape. Dialogue is often heated and fierce, heightening the melodramatic atmosphere.Thematically, the film explores impossible love across rigid class divisions, destructive passion steeped in moral ambiguity, and the inability of young people to temper pride and ego in pursuit of happiness. It asks the question: can love truly be a curse that destroys lives and leaves only despair, even when a fleeting ray of sunlight appears on the horizon?Laurence Olivier plays Heathcliff with an icy, almost demonic energy. His character is wounded, yet every scar fuels his drive for revenge, beneath which smolder deep sorrow and bitterness. Heathcliff is not merely a man tormented by unrequited love - he is also a manipulator and an avenger. Merle Oberon portrays Catherine "Cathy" Earnshaw Linton as a blend of wild cruelty and childlike innocence - unpredictable, passionate, and unwilling to give up "the game" regardless of the consequences.David Niven embodies Edgar Linton, a kind and well-mannered gentleman swept up by the stormy passions between Heathcliff and Cathy, fully aware that his love will never be returned in equal measure. Geraldine Fitzgerald gives life to Isabella Linton, a naïve young woman who becomes a victim of the infernal whirlwind from which there is no escape, carrying the scars of her own idealism.Flora Robson, as Ellen Dean, serves as the moral backbone of the film - a quiet storyteller trying to bring a touch of warmth to the coldness of Wuthering Heights. Hugh Williams imbues Hindley Earnshaw with a bitter, self-destructive nature tainted by envy and malice."Wuthering Heights" is an intensely charged melodrama that faithfully conveys the spirit of Emily Brontë's novel. Its twists and turns can both freeze and burn the heart. I believe it to be a remarkable experience for every true lover of the genre.
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