Product Details

• Actors: William Hurt, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Joan Plowright, Anna Paquin, Elle MacPherson
• Directors: Franco Zeffirelli
• Writers: Charlotte Brontë, Hugh Whitemore
• Producers: Dyson Lovell
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Miramax
• DVD Release Date: February 4, 2003
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (232 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00007K02F
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,098 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Jane Eyre" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Franco Zeffirelli (Romeo and Juliet) and screenwriter Hugh Whitemore strip away a bit of the familiar romanticism of Charlotte Brontë's novel and come up with a more plain but somehow quite interesting film adaptation. Charlotte Gainsbourg (The Cement Garden) makes for an oddly appealing but deliberately unlovely version of Jane (previous actresses have included Susannah York and Joan Fontaine), and William Hurt is excellent as an equally revised Rochester, brusque and self-involved but not the totem of torment and charisma we've seen before. The story clings to the usual chapters in the book, but with Zeffirelli shaping the principal characters to reflect their cautious perceptions of one another--rather than to a Hollywood notion of grand passion--the film has a wonderful accessibility. Great support from Joan Plowright, Billie Whitelaw, Anna Paquin, and the rest of the cast. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Academy Award(R)-winner William Hurt (1985 Best Actor -- KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN; SMOKE) leads an all-star cast in this story of passion and intrigue! Jane Eyre (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is a young woman whose will to overcome a life of hardship leads her into a passionate romance with a handsome -- and mysterious -- gentleman (Hurt). Swept up in the possibility of a happy new life, Jane is shattered when terrible, untold secrets from his past are revealed, threatening to tear her and her lover apart forever! Also featuring the talents of Anna Paquin (THE PIANO), Joan Plowright (ENCHANTED APRIL), and sexy Elle MacPherson (SIRENS), this enduring tale has captivated moviegoers everywhere, just as Charlotte Bronte's classic best-seller has entertained for generations!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Moody, Evocative JANE EYRE October 29, 2006

By Grady Harp HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Oddly enough the Charlotte Brontë's classic novel 'Jane Eyre' has had more cinematic transitions than almost any of the old novels. The story is powerful but with the frequency of film adaptations, even the story grows tired, unless someone breathes new life into the interpretation. In this case that breath comes from director Franco Zeffirelli who has engaged Hugh Whitemore to open the story as a screenplay. The results give a different emphasis to the story and one that for this viewer works well.

In this particular incarnation the rags to riches heroine Jane Eyre is played with subtlety by the beautiful Charlotte Gainsbourg (with Anna Paquin as the younger version) and Rochester the master of the manor is a William Hurt, playing his character more for life and flesh than the usual darkly sinister keeper of secrets. What results from the combination of cast and crew is a film that is far more a romance than a vapid mystery: the fire between Jane and Rochester is palpable and is given more space and time than the other versions which elect to dwell on the mad 'wife' upstairs finally destroyed in the fire that brings Rochester down to Jane's initial stance on the social scale.

The cinematography by David Watkin captures the period beautifully as does the musical score by Claudio Capponi and Alessio Vlad. As with all period pieces the cast of supporting characters paint the various aspects of the novel and here such luminous actors as Joan Plowright, Geraldine Chaplin, Joséphine Serre, Maria Schneider, Elle Macpherson, and John Wood among many others offer fully realized portraits of the class distinctions that ruled the era. This is a fine film version of the Brontë novel and one well worth watching repeatedly. Grady Harp, October 06

79 of 90 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Well Done October 20, 2001

By K. Dickson

Format:VHS Tape

The sets and costumes are really really great, but the highlight of this film is the truly wonderful acting on the part of William Hurt. He plays the elusive, eccentric country noble Mr. Rochester exactly the way he should be played. He's quietly passionate, sexy, and smoldering, while still exhibiting signs of being a real stuffy gentleman. Inwardly tormented, Rochester is perfect.

Charlotte Gainsbourg takes on the challenging role of the title character, petit and plain Jane Eyre. Gainsbourg's unearthly prettiness adds immeasurably to her character, but she represses some of Jane Eyre's passion that we find in the book. The chemistry between Gainsbourg and Hurt is tense and shaky - exactly how it should be.

Zeffirelli has created the best screen version of this book that I have ever seen!

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "Remember, The Shadows Are As Important As The Light" February 12, 2006

By Brian E. Erland HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

A somewhat slow but overall rewarding version of the Bronte classic , 'Jane Eyre.' Beautifully filmed as all Franco Zeffirelli films are, we are taken on a journey of contrasts as Zeffirelli explores the darker nature of human suffering, regret and memory as played out against the lush, natural beauty of the English countryside.

William Hurt and Charlotte Gainsbourg deliver wonderful, though rather subdued performances as the two star-crossed lovers and Anna Paquin is absolutely marvelous in her all too brief role as the young Jane Eyre.

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars My least favorite adaptation of the movie October 18, 2008

By shalliedaire

Format:DVD

I'm a huge Jane Eyre fan (both written and film/TV) so I was very excited to see this version. William Hurt is a terrific actor and I've enjoyed his other work, so I looked forward to his portrayal of Rochester.

I enjoyed the adaptation until halfway into the movie. Then everything went horribly wrong - Jane leaves right after the failed wedding to go to Gateshead? The Rivers family (minus one sister, I forget if it's Diana or Mary) live at Gateshead? She met St. John when her Aunt Reed died? Why take huge liberties with the storyline that are completely untrue to the story? I'm not a Jane Eyre purist, but the William Hurt/Charlotte Gainsbourg version was just as awful as the Ciaran Hinds/Samantha Morton version.

Bottom line:

1) If you've never read Jane Eyre, I would NOT recommend seeing this version before you read the book. Actually I wouldn't recommend this version on any level.

2) If you've never seen a film/TV adaptation of Jane Eyre, I'd recommend starting with the Timothy Dalton/Zelah Clarke version first and move on to the Toby Stephens/Ruth Wilson version afterward. The TD/ZC version is 6 hours and does a fantastic job of keeping the integrity of the novel in tact. The TS/RW is 4 hours, takes a few liberties with the novel, but the two leads' performances are absolutely electric and this version is very well done. Enjoy!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars All Dressed Up But Nowhere to Go March 28, 2007

By Laura Knight-Jadczyk VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'd better confess that I'm a Jane Eyre fan since I was a child, having read the book several times. I can practically recite passages by heart. I have a small collection of every version of this story I have found. I keep hoping that I will find the right combination of actors and script... I'm still waiting.

Zeffirelli obviously had some money to spend on this production, and managed to get some very good people to play the respective parts - they LOOKED like they were supposed to look - but even all dressed up in good costumes with great cinematography, the movie doesn't go where it should.

Of course, it would be impossible to condense Bronte's novel into 2 hours and convey the stark psychological drama that is the major theme of the work. The script is actually well done all things considered. A friend who watched it with me and didn't know the book liked it well enough. But there was a sad lack of passion in the grown up Jane and William Hurt just wasn't rakish enough.

I was also very disappointed with the "meet the mad wife" scene. I don't think I have ever seen this rendered as it ought to be, a descent into Hell and damnation and horror. Zeffirelli's rendering was even weaker than others. I suppose that the madness was supposed to be conveyed in the eyes or something, but it was lost on me just like Jane's passion and Rochester's recklessness was so absent due to under-acting.

As I said, Charlotte Gainsbourg and William Hurt really looked the parts, they just weren't up to playing them. Probably the best acting in the whole movie was by Geraldine Chaplin as Miss Scatcherd at Lowood school and John Wood as Mr. Brocklehurst. They were really fiendishly evil....

I just wish that with all the effort put into the arranging of the movie, they had put a bit more into ACTING! Read more ›