Customer Reviews

Wuthering Heights [So. KOREAN Import / NTSC - ALL REGION Play]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Who cares about the book? This is a film masterpiece we are discussing, and this is surely one of the greatest. Across over half a century it still resonates in the hearts of men and women as it will continue IF it can be kept available. And THAT is MY peeve: you can't obtain a copy of the original at any reasonable price on DVD. Shame. The same is beginning to apply to other great films from the 30's. Hollywood would rather remake a film a dozen times than keep the original available. Of course if the original is not available, the new versions don't have to compete with it - which they seldom can. Again I say shame on the industry.

This is a classic masterpiece of (b/w) film-making that sadly isn't done anymore. Yes, it doesn't correspond word for word with the book, get over it, re-read the book. Still, the mood of the book is ever present and Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon and David Niven are all wonderful in their roles. Regretably, Wyler and studio didn't tackle the entire book. This was released the year of Gone With the Wind and won only one academy award (for best B/W cinematography). It was nominated for 8 including Best Picture, and for flics released in 1939, that says a lot.

With his distinctive visual style and a taste for solemn material, William Wyler gained a reputation as a meticulous, serious artist...

Earning eight Academy Award Nominations, 'Wuthering Heights' won its sole Academy Award for Gregg Toland's expressionistic, moody black-and-white cinematography... Also, the film's powerful musical score by Alfred Newman is unforgettable... But what about those star-crossed lovers, one of whom always dies, leaving the other with a few words and a lifetime of mourning? What more ill-fated love than that between Cathy (Merle Oberon) and Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier).

Heathcliff, a half-gypsy orphan, is adopted by Cathy's father, and the two grow up together, roaming across the moors... A deep and everlasting love grows between them, but Cathy obstinately and foolishly marries someone else (David Niven).

Heathcliff disappears - a penniless vagabond - but many years later returns with a fortune to torment her again... Their subsequent meetings are loaded with obsession and denial... She will not leave the gentle security of her husband for the fiery passion of Heathcliff...

Despite American script and settings, this widely romantic film makes a pretty fair stab at capturing the power of at least the first half of a classic Victorian novel, and in all respects it's superb Hollywood production of its day and a typical one, complete with ghostly finale and a first-rate cast...

Brooding and tempestuous, William Wyler's 1939 version of Emily Brontė's only novel, "Wuthering Heights", is a masterwork of doomed love, conflicting passions, and unbridled revenge, all set in a romantic, haunted vision of the Yorkshire moors. Samuel Goldwyn considered this his favorite among his many productions, which included "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "Dodsworth". Legendary writers Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur (of "The Front Page" fame) adapted Bronte's book by streamlining it to the first two-thirds of the novel, a point that continues to rile up purists. But frankly, the story ends at exactly the right place in the movie.

Personally, I like it for the slightly over-the-top acting that propels the melodramatic plot and defines the aching beauty of the romance at its core. After years on the London stage and in British films, Laurence Olivier was finally introduced to Hollywood with his surly performance as Heathcliff, the stable boy locked in destructive thrall with a country squire's daughter, Cathy. Though he looks a little too cerebral and sounds a little too articulate for his role (I keep picturing a young Brando in the part), it's an impressive debut nonetheless, and his feral sullenness was put to good use again the following year in Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca". What Olivier does convey particularly well is the heroic tragedy of Heathcliff, as he renounces any power that denies his love with a turbulent, almost demonic sense of yearning.

A beautiful woman with hidden half-caste origins, Merle Oberon plays the capricious Cathy to the best of her limited capabilities. It's a full-bodied role for the right actress (ironically it would have been ideal for Olivier's then-fiancée and Scarlett-to-be, Vivien Leigh), and Oberon plays certain scenes quite well, especially those where she is not called on to speak. Unfortunately, she handles her death scene as if she was in a Cecil B. DeMille silent movie with hands aflutter, mouth aquiver and eyes widened to the point of looking palsied. The chemistry between Olivier and Oberon works though, as much of their dialogue is antagonistic apparently resembling their real-life relationship. But their one scene of open romantic euphoria is a beauty, when Cathy rips her formal gown off to join Heathcliff up on Peniston Crag, where she has him fill her arms with heather.

The supporting work is solid though not overly demanding of the excellent cast assembled. A young and pretty Geraldine Fitzgerald plays Isabella, Cathy's sister-in-law and Heathcliff's eventual wife, as the silly, determined romantic she is, and David Niven looks understandably puzzled most of the time as the put-upon Edgar Linton. Best of all is Flora Robson, who seems to breathe the part of the haunted, devoted housekeeper Ellen Dean. Evoking the right atmosphere is critical to this kind of piece, and a huge amount of the credit needs to go to master cinematographer Gregg Toland and art director James Basevi, both of whom capture the windswept bleakness of the novel. And Wyler again shows his innate skill in directing actors toward their best work, Oberon included.

At the moment to remind a selected and reduced list of the most intelligent and finest American directors ever born, William Wyler is a sure candidate in the most of these prestigious names.

In this portentous adaptation of Emily Bronte `s novel, Wyler enriched the literary language with suggestive angle shots, expressive grimaces and powerful traveling. For instance, pay special attention in the eloquent sequence seconds after Heathcliff has left the home of Cathy, when she and her husband leave the hall. The camera moves backward and "escapes" through one of the opened spaces of the window, underlining the sensation both of them are ensnared into a golden cage. On the other hand the name Heathcliff is so close to Heart cliff, and represents a gypsy under the social conventionalisms of the Victorian Ages, but he represents that untamed spirit, typical of the ardent embodiment of the Romanticism Age (think about in Werther, for instance) or any other personage portrayed by Byron or Shelley. The true home of both is a risk and once more we return to the archetypical roots of the Romanticism hero. They and the nature; joined in a solid unity, melted by that unbreakable love, far beyond the rules.

The sure hand of Wyler, the impeccable edition process, the splendid cast make of this picture not only a beloved cult movie, but besides a well deserved place at the moment to mention the great Romantic movies ever made in any age.

im a 26 yr old dude...and i watched this the other day on TCM....and was astounded.....never has a film moved me emotionally as much as this.....maybe becuz i have experienced somewhat similar themes in my life such as loving someone whom u cannot have.........but the flawless acting...beautiful cinematography and breathtaking score complement emily bronte's classic novel so well...i have yet to read it but i will soon enough.....there has never been a movie like this one by any means..it's not your typical love story..it's quite dark...very sad and moving......almost agonizing to watch yet so beautiful you cant help but watch it.........why they wont release a special edition dvd is beyond me.....this is one of Hollywood's classic masterpieces.....if not for Gone With the Wind this movie probably would have brought home the oscar.....i cant imagine a single film-loving individual who lives without watching this film......get it somehow!

Moviewatchers: The film is one of "the greats." Laurence Olivier gives one of his greatest performances as the tortured, passionately obessesed Heathcliff. Merle Oberon is breathtaking as the loving, yet indecisive, Cathy. Wuthering Heights is the story of two people who love too much, and yet not enough. As a result of them turning their backs on their love, they live the rest of their lives with the worst kind of suffering: the suffering that comes from knowing you gave up the one thing people wait their whole lives for, and many never really find. It is a film that will stay with you and if you have never experienced this film- you should. For the true Bronte fans, some may be upset that this film only covers approx. half of the actual story but in this instance it does not matter (and I am big on films that stick to the original story). There is a version starring Ralph Fiennes as Healthcliff that covers the full story, and while Fiennes' performance is both haunting and intense, it does not burn with the same depth of feeling as Olivier's Heathcliff (i'm not sure if anyone could). Long story short: Rent it. You will not be sorry.

I have seen many versions of this movie and in different languages too. But there is only one Heathcliff and he is Laurence Olivier. I do agree with many of the reviewers the Hollywood version of Wuthering Heights is different than Emily Brontė's novel. However that is not necessarily a bad thing I love the movie, I love Heathcliff character in the movie. I highly recommend this movie for your classic movie library.

I have to admit that I was somewhat apprehensive in watching the movie. I thought it would be dated and ...hmm, naive? Please forgive my ignorance.

Was I wrong! This is the most exquisite love story I have ever seen. Dark and haunting yet ethereal and dreamy. I havent read the book but oddly was inspired by Kate Bushs song, 'Wuthering Heights'.

It showcases the strength of love. Two people meant for eachother and noone else...and the torture of not living out their lifelong desire. Watching it is absolutely agonising.

This movie an absolute masterpiece.

performance by Laurence Olivier cannot be outdone by any of the remakes - I rate it up there with Gone With The Wind and Wizard of Oz. Have a lot of tissue handy!