Wuthering Heights [So. KOREAN Import / NTSC - ALL REGION Play]
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DVD: Region Code 0DVD Reviews of Wuthering Heights [So. KOREAN Import / NTSC - ALL REGION Play]
DVD Review: Wyler Masterwork of Thwarted Yearning in the Yorkshire Moors
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Description of Wuthering Heights [So. KOREAN Import / NTSC - ALL REGION Play]
One of the most compelling tragic romances ever captured on film, Wuthering Heights is an exquisite tale of doomed love and miscalculated intentions. Though only half of Emily Bronte's classic tale of Heathcliff and Catherine was filmed by director William Wyler, it lacks for nothing. The story begins when a Yorkshire gentleman farmer brings home a raggedy gypsy boy, Heathcliff, and raises him as his son. The boy grows to love his stepsister Catherine, with catastrophic results. Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon were perfectly cast as the mismatched lovers, with Olivier brooding and despairing, Oberon ethereal and enchanting. This won cinematographer Gregg Toland a much-deserved Oscar for his haunting and evocative depiction of mid-19th century English moors. (Quite a trick, as this was shot in California!) Though nominated for seven other Oscars, it won none of them, as it was released in 1939, one of the best years in Hollywood history and the same year as Gone with the Wind. Imported from South Korea, English Language with removable Korean and English subtitles. NTSC ALL RegionsBestsellers in DVD
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