Jane Eyre
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Movie Reviews of Jane Eyre
Movie Review: EXCELLENT and VERY ROMANTIC!
Summary: 5 Stars
I absolutely adore this version. NOT for the studio production (which is not what you would normally expect of BBC), but for the actors Timothy Dalton (who is all passionate male!) and Zelah Clarke who truly portrays the book's Jane Eyre like no other in it's purest adaptation. The smokin' hot chemistry of Jane and Mr. Rochester from the moment Jane "bewitches his horse" *wink* makes you eagerly anticipate each scene they have together. Everyone I have given the DVD to has thoroughly enjoyed it and the story has stuck with them for WEEKS!
Although I believe a review should include quality and production information for DVD transfers, IMO to give a romance adaptation series a low star grade based solely on it alone, although the dialogue/set adaptation and acting is top-notch is VERY misleading to the MANY who read reviews to find out about the story, the dialogue, the acting and above all the ROMANCE between the two lead characters. The production doesn't take away from the aforementioned and the wonderful love story that truly unfolds. I'm glad most of the reviewers agree!
The dreariness of Thornfield Hall in the first few episodes matched what both Mr. Rochester and Jane's lives were until they literally cross each other's paths. Notice how after they become 'friends' they both light up the room and each other with what is going on behind her dimpled smile and his growing attraction for her. You ride the roller coaster of contradiction that is Mr. Rochester while also wanting to jump through the screen to protect Jane from the unknown. The entire story is no bubble-gum-happy story from beginning to end, but you walk away with a smile on your face because the journey they take you on is not one you will easily forget.
This is the romance of all romances - love it!!!
**ADDED 11/27/06**
I had a 5 day weekend and loaded up on all genres of movies and happen to catch TWO adaptations of Jane Eyre on cable this past weekend that I hadn't seen in quite some time. I watched the William Hurt version, as well as the Orson Welles/Joan Fontaine version and I can now remember quite frankly why both were so easily forgotten by me.
First and foremost, there's far too much NECESSARY information revealed in the BBC mini-series version that 2-3 hour movies simply cannot cover. In addition to that, I can't express enough how both Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke's performances are truly believable and exceptionally performed on many levels. You "get" the glimpses of warmth, the humor, the unfolding love and the sense of danger to her emotionally as well as physically. Due to the abruptness of the Orson Welles version (at no fault of it's own) you felt if Jane ended up with someone else, she'd actually be better off. For me, William Hurt's Mr. Rochester didn't exude the warmth and sincere regret of the book's Mr. Rochester, nor did he embody his magnetism so I pitied that Jane's outcome as well. This is not the case with the Dalton/Clarke version. I challenge anyone to compare their final Jane and Mr. Rochester scenes (when he realizes she is in the same room with him) to either the Wells or Hurt versions. During the very emotional scenes, Orson and William Hurt (although GREAT actors in other roles) were reading their lines while their beautiful counterparts were simply waiting for them to finish. Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke's scenes were performed with EVERY facet of their beings completely drawing you into the highly charged moment of what they were both experiencing at the time. At the end of this movie you truly felt there was no other woman for him, nor man for her. You also felt they were equals no matter the other's shortcomings. Again, in my opinion, there's no comparison of this Jane Eyre to any other version performed. Do not cheat yourself - see this version!
Movie Review: Faerie-born and human-bred
Summary: 5 Stars
This spectacular though typically quietly acted 11-episode miniseries is a must-see and a tremendous favorite. Directed by the talented Julian Amyes and scripted/adapted by Alexander Baron, it is really the finest of adaptations. Because it is so dated, however, be wary of the "Dr. Who"-type studio filming, which America abandoned in the mid-1970s.
The most faithful adaptation of Charlotte Brontė's great work, JANE EYRE boasts some rather daring scenes considering it was first televised in 1983. (Right around the same time as THE PICKWICK PAPERS miniseries was televised, see my review.)
Mr. Rochester (a very dashing Timothy Dalton in his career-launching starring role) snarls and snaps out orders; but Dalton with his rich baritone and weepy eyes conveys Rochester in a deep way that is unequalled. Even Orson Welles' 1944 noir version does not compare (but this miniseries borrows from Welles, as the later JANE EYRE tv films borrowed heavily from this.)
I think what bugged me the most was the casting of unknown-in-America Zelah Clarke as Jane (also properly called "Janet", to be heard only in this version). Jane is supposed to be 18, and I know they cast her with too old an actress, as Mr. Rochester is always cast just right (he is supposed to be 38). Zelah looks old enough to be Tim Dalton's sister, and that ruins a lot of the drama. It makes it unintentionally laughable the way Dalton keeps telling Clarke "I'm 20 years your senior! Old enough to be your father!"
The bigger problem with Clarke is her face. Truly, she has the weirdest and ugliest eyes I have ever seen: like a wild, randy Bassett hound. The lines around her features also match that particular breed's lines. It is clownish, and it sounds mean of me--but it is the truth. Why oh why not just have cast a plain 20-year-old?
Of the 11 episodes at 25 minutes each, Dalton was in 9 and Clarke was in 10 of them. This is due to the rather heavily leaned-on early years, which I always found the most unbearable bore in Jane's story. The later films do quite right by paring it down to essentials.
One thing impressive here was the time Jane spends with her cousins including the odious, delusional St. John Eyre-Rivers. Here is a man who thinks his will is God's will, and Jane, in my opinion, never did show enough disgust at such effrontery. Sounding like a jihadist, he tells Jane she is defying God's will by not marrying him. What a jerk, and to see him so fairly adapted in the later films always angered me.
So expect beautiful, intense acting, lush exteriors and locations, slightly shabby studio interiors, and fun. Just don't expect to stay awake if you try to watch all 300-plus minutes in one marathon, as I did.
Movie Review: Best adaptation of a classic.....
Summary: 5 Stars
The 1983 BBC adaptation of JANE EYRE is absolutely the best, in my opinion. I often wonder, when they got it right the first time, why did the BBC keep on making newer versions? As one who has actually read the book as well as a few biographies about Charlotte Bronte and a history of the Bronte family, I know that developing a screen play based on this huge and complex novel is not an easy undertaking. And, as one can tell by viewing the various adaptations, depending on the literary outlook, different aspects and themes are emphasized.
In this version, undertaken in the early 1980s when Feminism was a virtue, Jane consistently emphasizes that she wishes to remain an "independent" woman. She is willing to be the helpmeet of her cousin who has been called to India to perform missionary service but does not wish to marry him. He is tall and blonde and blue-eyed and handsome, but unlike Mr. Rochester who she likens to a `Vulcan', he does not love her. More than anything else, Jane wishes to be loved, which may explain her penchant for teaching little children who love unconditionally (although truth be told, little else was available for educated women of no means in those times). The woman's movement, underway in 19th Century England when the book was published made JANE EYRE an overnight hit, especially with "the lady readers" who sought their basic civil rights. This adaptation, emphasizing the desire for personal liberty relies on the words Jane speaks in the book.
Produced with the technology of the times, so it was originally filmed, the transfer to DVD is excellent. Moreover, if you saw the film `Wide Sargasso Sea' ( based on a controversial book and modern novel posing as a literary "forerunner" to JANE EYRE which introduces racism into the mix) starring Nathaniel Parker as the young Edward Rochester, you can easily believe that Timothy Dalton could have been the same man, and that the beautiful young mentally ill wife had evolved into the hideous creature hidden in the attic.
Bronte introduced a complicated plot with many elements used by modern writers. For example, St John's heartless proposal recalls Hiram Bingham's proposal to Jerusha Bromley in Michner's HAWAII. And, the destruction of Mr Rochester's ancestral home and the legacy of a first wife are reminiscent of conditions in REBECCA.
The Bronte sisters were geniuses who were female victims when women could only dream of being "independent" and exercising the free will they believed God had given them and men taken away. JANE EYRE is a timeless classic and I highly recommend this screen version.
Movie Review: Once upon a romance
Summary: 5 Stars
During the first half of the 19th century, two of the three Brontė sisters wrote books that have endured as great British literature. The middle sister, Emily, wrote _Withering Heights,_ which became one of the golden year, 1939's, films, Charlotte Brontė, the eldest, wrote the great romance, Jane Eyre, whic has been issued in multiple editions, and filmed 19 times.
The plot is simple: a "plain" young woman, having spent 10 years in an emotionally sterile, still manages to capture the heart of an equally plain man 20 years her senior, loses him, and then, in the end finds him again, after his mad wife has burned down his manor house, taking his eye and hand in the process. This is not the ordinary meat of a great romance, but somehow over the years, millions of people throughout the world have read and watched this story and come away moved.
In this mini-series, the 16th filmed version, Timothy Dalton plays Rochester to Zelah Clarke's Jane. Dalton is probably one of the ugliest handsome men I've ever seen who nevertheless has played the central character is a number of films (remember his two James Bond movies?). Clarke is a wonderful character actress, and probably the closest to Brontė's decision. Each of them do expert performances, playing their characters with warmth, humor and great passion. The sexual tension, never brought to fruition on screen, creates a longing that transfers itself to the viewer.
Dalton's character, believing he will never find real love, growls and snaps at everyone around him, never compromises to the world, and unable to show kindness to his "natural" child, Adéle or any of his servants. However, his willingness to bring an illegitimate daughter into his house, to be raised as a daughter shows his great heart But as Jane begins to fill his world with a shy joy, he that heart to soften to her.
None of the Brontė sisters ever married. It was only through their romances that they could draw their ideal men. The saddest thing about their heroes is that they are all drawn from the withdrawn father who could not show them love. Their stories are testaments to their beliefs that a gentle woman could change such men's personalities, a dream none of them was able to fulfill.
Men and women can related to this romance. Find yourself curled up in your love's arms, crying for the cries of a different time and different kind of story that, I hope, you will never experience.
Movie Review: Beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
As a loyal and devoted fan of Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre", I have been watching various screen adaptations of the story for many years. This one fell into my lap via a friend, and after watching it once I immediately bought it for myself. It is just about the most wonderful adaptation of Bronte's novel I have ever seen. It does an admirable job of pulling dialogue directly from the book itself while still managing to smooth the rough edges that can often appear when the written word is adapted for the screen, which in the end leaves avid fans giddy and thoroughly satisfied.
I've found that the complaint most have with this adaptation is that Timothy Dalton is far too handsome to portray the plain and rugged Edward Fairfax Rochester. I thought so too initially when he made his appearance on the screen (I could hardly believe for one minute that any woman in her right mind would scorn someone as handsome as Dalton), but the more I watched, the more I realized that, while perhaps handsome enough that in normal circles he would turn a few heads, he still carries a ruggedness to him that projects the gruff, wounded feelings Mr. Rochester is so infamous for. But I think what finally made me a believer with Dalton was the performance he gave, physical appearances notwithstanding. I have never, and I mean never, seen an actor capture every aspect of Mr. Rochester's character so perfectly. Dalton can be at once both calm and poised and violently passionate, befitting Bronte's dark and troubled hero. He was just excellent. I can't get enough of his performance.
And Zelah Clarke's portrayal of Jane was not without merit either. Perhaps it wasn't as earth-shattering (in my opinion) as Dalton's, but she still managed to capture the essence of Jane's character. I appreciated the way she balanced calm with passion, since that is what I believe makes Jane so endearing; her ability to be modest and quiet, but also inwardly burning with fire and zest for life.
In short, I loved this adaptation of "Jane Eyre". The romance was perfectly done, with passion as well as reservation (befitting both the era and the characters), and I applaud the actors for this since in other adaptations such scenes as the garden when Rochester proposes I've felt the characters were either too cold toward each other or too hot and unrealistic.
Well done. I can't say it enough.
Well done.