Feb. 06, 2003 - 9:19 pm
i saw this one a few years back when i was working on the AFI list. i saw it sitting on my shelf today and decided it was time to see it again. you can tell i don't have anything new checked out from the library right now right? well, actually i did rent something this evening from the video store that someone had recommended to me. i'll probably be working that into tomorrow's schedule.
this is one of many remakes of Emily Bronte's novel of the same name. i'd venture to say that this is the best one, even though i haven't seen any of the others. i mean it is directed by William Wyler, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, Oscar winning cinematography by Gregg Toland, and stars Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff. awesome combination there and i doubt that anyone else has surpassed the final product. this one was also a nominee for Best Picture of 1939. and as i always mention in regards to 1939, it's no small feat to be nominated for Best Picture of that year. probably the best year overall of film history.
it's about a family whose lives are filled with passionate love and scorching hate for one another. it takes place in England in a sort of remote area. there are basically only two properties that are ever spoken of directly throughout the story. when the Earnshaw children, Cathy and Hindley, were growing up, their father brought a poor gypsy boy home with him that he told the children to share with and to treat him as an equal. it wasn't easy for them at first since they were used to having everything they ever wanted, and having it all to themselves. but eventually Cathy grew to love Heathcliff. Hindley always called him names and treated him as a servant. when their father died, Hindley took over and made Heathcliff a stable boy. he dealt with the humiliation just so that he could stay and be near Cathy. as she became a young woman though, she started to wish for a pretty and easy life that only money and vanity could provide for her. something that the kind but dull Edgar Linton (who lived on the other, more rich estate) could provide for her. as she and Heathcliff both start to realize that she is making their beautiful romance start to fade with her love of riches, things start to fall apart between them. and the rage and hate, that had previously been repressed in Heathcliff's heart by his love for Cathy, begins to surface.
wow, as i was finishing up that description, i have to wonder if this is what will happen in Star Wars: Episode III (2005) to push Anakin over the edge? my guess is that Emperor Palpatine is going to kill Amidala for some reason. why does that push him into cahoots with the Emperor? i'm not sure. anyway, back to what i was talking about.
so Wuthering Heights is just awesome. i loved the book. i loved the movie. spectacular performaces and it's visually stunning. i'll see it again and again.