Having seen this movie some years ago on video, I'm very excited that it is available on DVD. While Sir Laurence Olivier and Ralph Fiennes have both done respectable turns as Heathcliff, Timothy Dalton is just glorious. He embodies the character's passion, ambivalence and consuming torment and longing for Cathy splendidly. Anna Calder-Marshall, while perhaps not one would think would make an ideal Cathy, is wonderful as the Yorkshire lass. Oh, how these two sizzle! Whenever Dalton speaks, or broods, the room temperature just seemed to skyrocket! The ill-fated lovers find themselves separated and bound by circumstance and other people, leading to tragic results.
Sure, the consummation of their relationship did not occur in the book, but with young hot actors like Timothy and Anna, how could the filmmakers not succumb to temptation? The locations (complete with windswept wild moors) and music score by Michel Legrand are intoxicatingly gorgeous as well. I don't know how Emily Bronte would feel about this adaptation, but I'd like to think that this production would have done her proud.
Like some other viewers, I was disappointed that the second generation were not featured and that the ending seemed tacked on. Also, I seem to remember a few other scenes from the VHS (there is a still from one of them on the DVD jacket) that are not included on the disc. Those are the only things that stop me from giving this movie 10 stars. But this version captured the passion and intensity between Heathcliff and Cathy.
The DVD transfer has been wonderfully restored, a big improvement over the VHS print. A few specks and scratches show from time to time, and other than that, aside from the hairstyles (which indicate the decade in which it was made), you wouldn't think the movie is 40 years old.
Make sure you've got a fan going, as well as ice cold drinks, because the heat will go way up!
Sure, the consummation of their relationship did not occur in the book, but with young hot actors like Timothy and Anna, how could the filmmakers not succumb to temptation? The locations (complete with windswept wild moors) and music score by Michel Legrand are intoxicatingly gorgeous as well. I don't know how Emily Bronte would feel about this adaptation, but I'd like to think that this production would have done her proud.
Like some other viewers, I was disappointed that the second generation were not featured and that the ending seemed tacked on. Also, I seem to remember a few other scenes from the VHS (there is a still from one of them on the DVD jacket) that are not included on the disc. Those are the only things that stop me from giving this movie 10 stars. But this version captured the passion and intensity between Heathcliff and Cathy.
The DVD transfer has been wonderfully restored, a big improvement over the VHS print. A few specks and scratches show from time to time, and other than that, aside from the hairstyles (which indicate the decade in which it was made), you wouldn't think the movie is 40 years old.
Make sure you've got a fan going, as well as ice cold drinks, because the heat will go way up!