''Jane Eyre'' is a 1996 romantic drama film adaptation of

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...

's 1847 novel ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

''. This

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

version, directed by

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...

, is similar to the original novel, although it compresses and eliminates most of the plot in the last quarter of the book (the running away, the trials and tribulations, new-found relations, and new job) to condense it into a 2-hour movie.

Plot

(portrayed as the orphan child by

Anna Paquin Anna Hélène Paquin ( ; born 24 July 1982) is a New Zealand actress. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Wellington, Paquin made her acting debut portraying Flora McGrath in the romantic drama film ''The Piano'' (1993), for which she won the Aca ...

and as an adult by

Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg (; born 21 July 1971) is a British-French actress and singer. She is the daughter of English actress Jane Birkin and French musician Serge Gainsbourg. After making her musical debut with her father on the song "Lemon I ...

) is a plain, impoverished young woman hired by

Mr. Rochester Edward Fairfax Rochester (often referred to as Mr Rochester) is a character in Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel ''Jane Eyre''. The brooding master of Thornfield Hall, Rochester is the employer and eventual husband of the novel's titular protagonist ...

(

William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. ...

) through Mrs. Fairfax (

Joan Plowright Joan Ann Olivier, Baroness Olivier, (née Plowright; born 28 October 1929), professionally known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English retired actress whose career has spanned over seven decades. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony ...

) to work as a governess for Adèle (Josephine Serre). Despite her mild unprepossessing nun-like manner, Jane has strong hidden passions and shows her strong character by expressing her opinions and showing resolve in times of trouble. Rochester is a Byronic anti-hero, tortured and tormented by family troubles, past injustices and secrets. Rochester and Jane develop a mutual affinity. They fall in love and the marriage date is set. What Jane does not realize is that she must share the estate and, ultimately, Mr. Rochester with his wife, Bertha (

Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) Maria Lynn Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an Americ ...

), who is mentally ill and is confined in an upstairs attic with a nurse, Grace Poole (

Billie Whitelaw Billie Honor Whitelaw (6 June 1932 – 21 December 2014) was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was al ...

). The marriage is stopped by Bertha's brother Richard Mason (

Edward de Souza Edward James de Souza (born 4 September 1932) is a British character actor and graduate of RADA, who is of Portuguese-Indian and English descent. Early life De Souza was the only child of Annie Adeline Swift (née Calvert) and Edward Valentine De ...

) and lawyer Briggs (

Peter Woodthorpe Peter Woodthorpe (25 September 1931 – 13 August 2004) was an English actor who supplied the voice of Gollum in the 1978 Bakshi version of ''The Lord of the Rings'' and BBC's 1981 radio serial. He also provided the voice of Pigsy in the cul ...

). Jane flees; her world in ruins. She recovers in the parsonage, her aunt's original home, and discovers she is now wealthy through inheriting her long-lost uncle's fortune in Madeira. She receives a proposal of marriage from Parson St. John Rivers but her heart and soul is with Rochester. Jane goes back to find Rochester's house,

Thornfield Hall Thornfield Hall is a location in the 1847 novel ''Jane Eyre'' by Charlotte Brontë. It is the home of the male romantic lead, Edward Fairfax Rochester, where much of the action takes place. Brontë uses the depiction of Thornfield in a manner co ...

, burnt down and Rochester crippled and blinded by a fire set by Bertha, who perished. However, Jane's love for Rochester is undiminished; she nurses him back to health, he recovers his eyesight and they marry.

Cast

Production

The location for Thornfield Hall is

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of the incumbent Duke) and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it ...

, Bakewell, Derbyshire, UK. Since Zeffirelli's use of Haddon Hall, subsequent versions of Jane Eyre have used it and it is now apparently synonymous with Thornfield Hall. Prior to Zeffirelli's location use, Haddon Hall had been once used (before Jane Eyre) as the castle for ''

The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to: * ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He ...

''.

Release

The film was released on VHS and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

by Miramax on February 24, 2003. The film debuted on the

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

format for the first time on September 11, 2012 in a double feature with ''

Becoming Jane ''Becoming Jane'' is a 2007 biographical film, biographical Romance film, romantic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Julian Jarrold. It depicts the early life of the British author Jane Austen and her lasting love for Thomas L ...

'' (2007), released by

Echo Bridge Entertainment Echo Bridge Entertainment is an American independent distribution company. It acquires and distributes feature films, scripted and non-scripted series, documentaries, and children’s programming for home video, digital and television in the United ...

Reception

The film holds a positive rating of 75% at

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 ...

based on 28 reviews. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called Hurt "embarrassingly miscast as a Rochester more nearly a mild eccentric than a brooding, Byronic type", but conceded that the film "has its moments".McGrath, Charles (2011-03-04
Another Hike on the Moors for ‘Jane Eyre’
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

References

External links

* *
Review at JaneEyre.net
{{Authority control 1996 films British romantic drama films 1990s English-language films English-language French films English-language Italian films French romantic drama films Italian romantic drama films Films based on Jane Eyre Films directed by Franco Zeffirelli Films about nannies American romantic drama films French films based on novels 1990s American films 1990s British films 1990s French films