Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights

This article is about the 1992 film. For the 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, see Wuthering Heights. For other uses, see Wuthering Heights (disambiguation).

Wuthering Heights
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Peter Kosminsky
Written by	Anne Devlin
Based on	Wuthering Heights 1847 novel by Emily Brontë
Produced by	Simon Bosanquet Mary Selway Chris Thompson
Starring	Juliette Binoche Ralph Fiennes Janet McTeer
Cinematography	Mike Southon
Edited by	Tony Lawson
Music by	Ryuichi Sakamoto
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures (though United International Pictures)
Release date	1992 (1992)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights is a 1992 historical film adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel Wuthering Heights directed by Peter Kosminsky. It marked Ralph Fiennes's film debut.

This particular film is notable for including the oft-omitted second generation story of the children of Cathy, Hindley and Heathcliff.

Plot

The story is that of the fierce passionate love between the moor-loving, wild girl Catherine Earnshaw and the poor equally wild spirit her father takes in to be raised as her brother, Heathcliff. When her father dies, Catherine's biological brother, jealous that Heathcliff was their father's favorite, treats Heathcliff as a servant and has him beaten. The story tracks the story of Heathcliff's and Catherine's story of fierce love and the story of Heathcliff's rage, pain, jealousy and vengeance that he pitilessly enacts on the man that gets in the way of his marrying her, Edgar Linton. The story of Heathcliff and Catherine's love is painted in intense Romantic tones in contrast to the superficial artifice and shallow feeling of high society as represented by the Lintons. Ultimately Catherine dies and a devastated Heathcliff begs her to haunt him as a ghost. The story then follows how her daughter with Linton, and his son with Linton's sister – whom Heathcliff tricks into marrying him and then treats with great cruelty – fall in love. Theirs is the happy romantic ending that Heathcliff and Catherine are denied, except after death, walking as ghosts together on the moors.

Cast

• Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff
• Juliette Binoche as Catherine Earnshaw and Catherine Linton
• Jeremy Northam as Hindley Earnshaw
• Simon Shepherd as Edgar Linton
• Sophie Ward as Isabella Linton
• Janet McTeer as Nelly Dean
• Jason Riddington as Hareton Earnshaw
• Simon Ward as Mr. Linton
• Jennifer Daniel as Mrs. Linton
• Paul Geoffrey as Mr. Lockwood
• John Woodvine as Thomas Earnshaw
• Jonathan Firth as Linton Heathcliff
• Sinéad O'Connor as Emily Brontë

Production

Paramount Pictures was forced to use the author's name in the title of the film as Samuel Goldwyn Studio (later sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) owned the rights to the simple title Wuthering Heights due to the copyright on their 1939 film version of the novel.

The film stars Ralph Fiennes as the tortured Heathcliff and Juliette Binoche as the free-spirited Catherine Earnshaw, in a precursor to their later, successful collaboration on The English Patient.

The role of Heathcliff opened up doors for Ralph Fiennes to play Amon Goeth in Schindler's List. American director Steven Spielberg claimed he liked Fiennes for Goeth because of his "dark sexuality."

Critical response

The film received mostly negative reviews from film critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 25% based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 4.20 out of 10.

The Independent wrote favorably of the film, and notes the fidelity of the movie to the dark sensuality and cruel side of Emily Bronte's character Heathcliff: "Ralph Fiennes makes a demonic Heathcliff, his startlingly blue eyes the only concession to a matinee audience. This performance reminds us that early reviewers of the book were not wrong, when they wondered at the morbidity of its romanticism."

External links

• Wuthering Heights at IMDb
• Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights at the TCM Movie Database