''Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights'' is a 1992 feature

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

Emily Brontë Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, ''Wuthering Heights'', now considered a classic of English literature. She also published a book of poet ...

's 1847 novel ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moorland, moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their tur ...

'' directed by

Peter Kosminsky Peter Kosminsky (born 21 April 1956) is a British writer, director and producer. He has directed Hollywood movies such as ''White Oleander'' and television films like ''Warriors'', ''The Government Inspector (television drama), The Government In ...

. This was

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...

'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 Healthcliff's and Catherine's fierce love and 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. 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 – who 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

as Heathcliff *

Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress and dancer. She has appeared in more than sixty feature films and has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Silver Bear, ...

Catherine Earnshaw Catherine Earnshaw is a fictional character and the female protagonist of the 1847 novel ''Wuthering Heights'' written by Emily Brontë. Catherine is one of two children to Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw, the original tenants of the Wuthering Heights est ...

and

Catherine Linton Catherine Linton (also known as "Young Catherine" or Cathy Linton and later as Catherine Heathcliff then as Catherine Earnshaw) is a character in Emily Brontë's 1847 novel ''Wuthering Heights''. She is the daughter of Edgar Linton and Catheri ...

Jeremy Northam Jeremy Philip Northam (born 1 December 1961) is an English actor and singer. After a number of television roles, he earned attention as Mr. Knightley in the 1996 film adaptation of Jane Austen's '' Emma''. He has appeared in the films ''An Ideal ...

Hindley Earnshaw Hindley Earnshaw is a fictional character in Emily Brontë's 1847 novel ''Wuthering Heights''. Hindley is the brother of Catherine Earnshaw, father of Hareton Earnshaw, and the foster brother and sworn enemy of Heathcliff. He descends into a ...

Simon Shepherd Simon Stephen Shepherd (born 20 August 1956) is an English actor best known to TV audiences from many appearances, including as Dr Will Preston in eight series of ITV's ''Peak Practice'' and Doctor Jonathan Barling in ''Casualty''. Shepherd ...

Edgar Linton Edgar Linton is a fictional character in Emily Brontë's 1847 novel ''Wuthering Heights''. His role in the story is that of Catherine Earnshaw's husband. He resides at Thrushcross Grange and falls prey to Heathcliff's schemes for revenge again ...

Sophie Ward Sophie Anna Ward (born 1964) is an English stage and screen actress, and a writer of non-fiction and fiction. As an actress, she played Elizabeth Hardy, the female lead in Barry Levinson's '' Young Sherlock Holmes'' (1985), and in other feat ...

Isabella Linton Isabella Linton is a fictional character in Emily Brontë's 1847 novel ''Wuthering Heights''. She is the sister of Edgar Linton and the wife of Heathcliff. Story Isabella Linton was raised in the safe, elegant environment of Thrushcross Gran ...

Janet McTeer Janet McTeer (born 5 August 1961"Ms Janet McTeer, OBE"
. ''Derbrett's P ...

Nelly Dean Ellen "Nelly" Dean is a female character in Emily Brontë's 1847 novel ''Wuthering Heights.'' She is the main narrator in the book, and she provides eyewitness accounts of many of the story's central events to Mr Lockwood. Ellen Dean is called ...

* Jason Riddington as

Hareton Earnshaw Hareton Earnshaw is a character in Emily Brontë's 1847 novel ''Wuthering Heights''. He is the son of Hindley Earnshaw and Hindley's wife, Frances. At the end of the novel, he makes plans to wed Catherine Linton, with whom he falls in love. S ...

Simon Ward Simon Anthony Fox Ward (16 October 194120 July 2012) was a British stage and film actor. He was known chiefly for his performance as Winston Churchill in the 1972 film ''Young Winston''. He played many other screen roles, including those of Sir ...

as Mr. Linton *

Jennifer Daniel Jennifer Daniel (born Jennifer Ruth Williams; 23 May 1936 – 16 August 2017) was a Welsh actress. Her film appearances included assorted roles in the ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' film series, ''Gideon's Way'' and the Hammer horror films '' ...

as Mrs. Linton * Paul Geoffrey as Mr. Lockwood *

John Woodvine John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles. Early life Woodvine was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, Englan ...

as Thomas Earnshaw *

Jonathan Firth Jonathan Stephen Firth (born 6 April 1967) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in such noted British television productions as ''Middlemarch'', ''Far from the Madding Crowd'', and '' Victoria & Albert''. He lives in Islington, N ...

as Linton Heathcliff *

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want What ...

Production

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

was forced to use the author's name in the title of the film as

Samuel Goldwyn Studio Samuel Goldwyn Studio was the name that Samuel Goldwyn used to refer to the lot located on the corner of Formosa Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, as well as the offices and stages that his company, Samuel Goldwyn ...

(later sold to

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

) owned the rights to the simple title ''Wuthering Heights'' due to the copyright on their 1939 film version of the novel. The film stars

as the tortured Heathcliff and

as the free-spirited Catherine Earnshaw, in a precursor to their later, successful collaboration on ''

The English Patient ''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burne ...

''. The role of Heathcliff opened up doors for Ralph Fiennes to play Amon Goeth in ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film fo ...

''. American director

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

claimed he liked Fiennes for Goeth because of his "dark sexuality."

Critical response

The film received mostly negative reviews from film critics.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gives the film a score of 25% based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 4.20 out of 10. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' 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 iceyes 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."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights 1992 films 1992 romantic drama films British romantic drama films Films based on Wuthering Heights Romantic period films Films set in Yorkshire Films set in the 19th century Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Peter Kosminsky Films scored by Ryuichi Sakamoto Films set in country houses British films about revenge 1992 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films 1990s British films