Product Details

• Actors: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Flora Robson, Donald Crisp
• Directors: William Wyler
• Writers: Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur, Emily Brontė, John Huston
• Producers: Samuel Goldwyn
• Format: PAL
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: MGM
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (141 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00028HCEW
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,646 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Wuthering Heights (1939) [Region 2]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), French ( Mono ), German ( Mono ), Italian ( Mono ), Spanish ( Mono ), Danish ( Subtitles ), Dutch ( Subtitles ), Finnish ( Subtitles ), French ( Subtitles ), Greek ( Subtitles ), Norwegian ( Subtitles ), Swedish ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: William Wyler's Wuthering Heights is one of the earliest screen adaptations of the classic Emily Brontė novel. A traveler named Lockwood (Miles Mander) is caught in the snow and stays at the estate of Wuthering Heights, where the housekeeper, Ellen Dean (Flora Robson), sits down to tell him the story in flashback. In the early 19th century, the original owner of Wuthering Heights, Mr. Earnshaw (Leo G. Carroll), brings home an orphan from Liverpool named Heathcliff (Rex Downing). Though son Hindley Earnshaw despises the boy, daughter Catherine develops a close kinship with Heathcliff that blossoms into love. When Mr. Earnshaw dies, Cathy and Heathcliff grow up together on the Moors and seem destined for happiness, even though Hindley forces Heathcliff to work as a stable boy. When Cathy (Merle Oberon) meets wealthy neighbor Edgar Linton (David Niven), Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier) gets jealous and leaves. Cathy marries Edgar, and Heathcliff returns with his own wealth and sophistication. He buys Wuthering Heights from the alcoholic Hindley (Hugh Williams) and marries Edgar's sister, Isabella Linton (Geraldine Fitzgerald), out of spite. Still obsessively in love with each other, Cathy gets deathly ill while Heathcliff grows into a bitter old man. Ellen continues telling Lockwood the story as Dr. Kenneth (Donald Crisp) enters and reveals the fateful ending. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Oscar Academy Awards, ...Wuthering Heights

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Incomparable Feat of Cinematic Storytelling, May 25, 2000

By 

Bruce Kendall "BEK" (Southern Pines, NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wuthering Heights [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I had the good fortune of seeing this film on a big screen at a New York cinema in the early seventies. Viewing a master print in a darkened theatre was one of the all-time highlights of my movie-going experiences. Yes, this is a truncated version of the novel, which I would urge anyone who hasn't already done so to read. It is on my personal top ten list for greatest novels ever. In my opinion this film is far superior to GWTW, which took home the oscar for best-picture in '39. Basically this is due to the source material. Wuthering Heights is great literature. GWTW was a best-seller, but not what one could call great literature. Catherine and Heathcliffe belong in the same literary company as Abelarde and Heloise, Dante's Paolo and Francessa, and Romeo and Juliet. I cant think of anyone who could have been better cast as Heathcliffe than Olivier. Merle Oberon also made for a highly believable Catherine. Flora Robeson also delivers a flawless performance. This is William Wyler's masterpiece. I didn't know until reading some of these reviews that this was filmed in California. I was certain it had to have been filmed on the English moors. If you want to see genius at work, by all means buy the video or the DVD. And if you ever get the chance to see it on a big screen, seize the opportunity. I'm not ordinarily the sentimental type. I can only recall two occasions when I openly wept at the conclusion of a movie. The first was when I saw "Old Yeller" at about eight-years-of-age, the second when I saw Wuthering Heights. I have seen it about five times since and I'll be damned if it doesn't always have the same impact.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great cast, great movie, July 14, 2003

By 

L. Martin "marty-martin" (ST LOUIS, MO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wuthering Heights [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Wuthering Heights had the misfortune to be released the same year as Gone With The Wind, so was probably not given the attention at the time it deserved. The movie is only adapted from part of the book, focusing on the story of Heathcliff and Cathy. Of course creating a flawless movie from such great literature is almost impossible; there will always be critics who insist the book should be followed to the letter. But the movie is quite overwhelming; the acting is first-rate. Olivier makes a perfect Heathcliff, perhaps a little prettier than Emily Bronte imagined him, but it isn't Olivier's fault he was born beautiful. It's hard to believe this movie wasn't actually filmed in England, the scenery is quite authentic. Anyone who has ever loved someone they felt was a little out of their league can relate to this tale of love, jealousy and revenge.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Can You NOT Like This Movie?!, June 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Wuthering Heights [VHS] (VHS Tape)

You can never compare the movie to the book since a movie can't possibly incorporate ALL of the text from the author! William Wyler put together an excellent cast, fantastic, dark, moody scenes and beautiful music to turn out this brilliant film. The handsome and brooding Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier), the ravishing and haughty Cathy (Merle Oberon) along with the stoic, dull Edgar (David Niven)and the rebellious and pathetic Isabel (Geraldine Fitzgerald) turn this into one of the most romantic, haunting love stories ever.

This movie will forever be considered, for me, the epitome of the romantic film. When Heathcliff carries Cathy to the window to look upon the moors one last time as she's dying, my heart swells and tears fill my eyes. It's simply stunning!