Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights
Encyclopedia
Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights was a 1992 feature film
adaptation of Emily Brontë's
novel Wuthering Heights
directed by Peter Kosminsky
.
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 Göth in Schindler's List
. American director Steven Spielberg
claimed he liked Fiennes for Göth because of his "dark sexuality".
This particular film is notable for including the oft-omitted second generation story of the children of Cathy, Hindley and Heathcliff.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
adaptation of Emily Brontë's
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
novel Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Brontë published in 1847. It was her only novel and written between December 1845 and July 1846. It remained unpublished until July 1847 and was not printed until December after the success of her sister Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre...
directed by Peter Kosminsky
Peter Kosminsky
Peter Kosminsky is a British writer, director and producer. He has directed Hollywood movies such as White Oleander and television films like Warriors, The Government Inspector and The Promise.- Biography :...
.
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
was forced to use the author's name in the title of the film as Samuel Goldwyn Studio
Samuel Goldwyn Studio
Samuel Goldwyn Studio was the name that Samuel Goldwyn used to refer to the Pickford-Fairbanks Studios lot and the offices and stages that his company, Goldwyn Pictures, rented there during the 1920s and 1930s...
(later sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
) owned the rights to the simple title Wuthering Heights due to the copyright on their 1939 film version
Wuthering Heights (1939 film)
Wuthering Heights is a 1939 American black-and-white film directed by William Wyler and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. It is based on the novel, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The film depicts only sixteen of the novel's thirty-four chapters, eliminating the second generation of characters. The...
of the novel. The film stars Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
as the tortured Heathcliff and Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche is a French actress, artist and dancer. She has appeared in more than 40 feature films, been recipient of numerous international accolades, is a published author and has appeared on stage across the world. Coming from an artistic background, she began taking acting lessons during...
as the free spirited Catherine Earnshaw, in a precursor to their later, successful collaboration on The English Patient
The English Patient
The English Patient is a 1992 novel by Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje. The story deals with the gradually revealed histories of a critically burned English accented Hungarian man, his Canadian nurse, a Canadian-Italian thief, and an Indian sapper in the British Army as they live out...
. The role of Heathcliff opened up doors for Ralph Fiennes to play Amon Göth in Schindler's List
Schindler's List
Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
. American director Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
claimed he liked Fiennes for Göth because of his "dark sexuality".
This particular film is notable for including the oft-omitted second generation story of the children of Cathy, Hindley and Heathcliff.
Main cast
- Ralph FiennesRalph FiennesRalph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
as HeathcliffHeathcliff (Wuthering Heights)Heathcliff is a fictional character in the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Owing to the novel's enduring fame and popularity, he is often regarded as an archetype of the tortured Romantic hero whose all-consuming passions destroy both himself and those around him.Legend has stereotyped... - Juliette BinocheJuliette BinocheJuliette Binoche is a French actress, artist and dancer. She has appeared in more than 40 feature films, been recipient of numerous international accolades, is a published author and has appeared on stage across the world. Coming from an artistic background, she began taking acting lessons during...
as Cathy EarnshawCatherine EarnshawCatherine Earnshaw, known as Catherine Linton after her marriage, is the main female protagonist of Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights....
Linton (and later as Catherine LintonCatherine LintonCatherine Linton is a character in Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights...
, Cathy's daughter) - Jeremy NorthamJeremy NorthamJeremy Philip Northam is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Ivor Novello in the 2001 film Gosford Park, as Dean Martin in the 2002 television movie Martin and Lewis, and as Thomas More on the Showtime series The Tudors...
as Hindley EarnshawHindley EarnshawHindley Earnshaw is a fictional character in Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights. The brother of Catherine Earnshaw, father of Hareton Earnshaw, and sworn enemy of Heathcliff, he descends into a life of drunkenness, degradation, and misery after his wife Frances dies in childbirth, enabling... - Simon ShepherdSimon ShepherdSimon Shepherd is a British actor. He is well known to TV audiences from many appearances, including Dr Will Preston in five series of ITV's Peak Practice....
as Edgar LintonEdgar LintonEdgar Linton is a character in Emily Brontë's 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 against his family.... - Sophie WardSophie WardSophie Ward , is an English actress and the daughter of actor, Simon Ward.-Career:One of Ward's early film roles was in the film Young Sherlock Holmes. Other early films included Return to Oz, Little Dorrit and A Summer Story, and she also portrayed the unattainable love object in the video of Roxy...
as Isabella LintonIsabella LintonIsabella Linton is a female character in Emily Brontë's only novel Wuthering Heights. She is the sister of Edgar Linton and the wife of Heathcliff.- Story :... - Janet McTeerJanet McTeerJanet McTeer, OBE is a British actress.-Life and career:McTeer was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom, the daughter of Jean and Alan McTeer...
as Nelly Dean - Jason Riddington as Hareton EarnshawHareton EarnshawHareton Earnshaw is a character in Emily Brontë's 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.- Story :...
- Jonathan FirthJonathan FirthJonathan Firth is a British actor best known for his roles in such noted British television productions as Middlemarch, Far from the Madding Crowd, and Victoria & Albert.-Early life:Jonathan Firth was born in Essex, England...
as Linton Heathcliff - Sinead O'Connor as Emily BronteEmily BrontëEmily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
Differences between the novel and the film
- In the film, Heathcliff is approximately 12 when Mr Earnshaw brings him to Wuthering Heights. In the novel, he is approximately 7.
- Catherine Linton does not look like Catherine Earnshaw in the novel; she is more similar in appearance to her father, Edgar Linton
- Catherine Earnshaw does not know she is pregnant with Catherine Linton, due to her mental illness
- Catherine Linton's story is shortened. In the novel, she first meets Hareton when she is twelve years old, later she has many visits with Linton Heathcliff; in the film, she meets Hareton for the first time in the one visit she has at Wuthering Heights which leads to her being forced into marriage with Linton Heathcliff.
- In the book, Catherine Earnshaw dies only a couple of hours after the birth of Cathy. In the movie, she and Heathcliff share one final meeting after she has given birth.
- In the book, Heathcliff casts Edgar's hair out of the locket after Catherine's death and replaces it with his own, only for Nelly to entwine Edgar's discarded hair with Heathcliff's. In the movie, Edgar places the locket in Cathy's hands; Heathcliff arrives soon after and only casts it away.
- In the book, Nelly is involved in everything that happens and all the turn of events; in the film, she has a small supporting role.
- In the book, Isabella is a blonde; in the film, she has auburn red hair.
- When Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff first meet each other, Catherine spits on him in disgust; in the film, she looks into his eyes in a tender, melodramatic way.
- In the film, Catherine and Heathcliff seem to be adults throughout the whole film; in the novel, Catherine returns to Wuthering Heights from Thrushcross Grange when she is only about thirteen years old.