Amazon.com Essentials:
One of the most compelling tragic romances ever captured on
film, Wuthering Heights is an exquisite tale of doomed
love and miscalculated
intentions. Though only half of Emily Bronte's classic tale of
Heathcliff and Catherine was filmed by director William Wyler, it lacks
for nothing.
The story begins when a Yorkshire gentleman farmer brings home a
raggedy gypsy boy, Heathcliff, and raises him as his son. The boy grows to
love his stepsister Catherine, with catastrophic results. Laurence
Olivier and Merle Oberon were perfectly cast as the mismatched lovers,
with Olivier brooding and despairing, Oberon ethereal and enchanting. This
won cinematographer Gregg Toland a much-deserved Oscar for his
haunting and evocative depiction of mid-19th century English moors. (Quite
a trick, as this was shot in California!) Though nominated for seven other
Oscars, it won none of them, as it was released in 1939, one of
the best years in Hollywood history and the same year as Gone
with the Wind.
Interestingly, the script was written by Charles MacArthur
and Ben Hecht, best known for their witty 1931 flick, The Front Page.
--Rochelle O'Gorman
Amazon.com Essentials:
One of the most compelling tragic romances ever captured on
film, Wuthering Heights is an exquisite tale of doomed
love and miscalculated
intentions. Though only half of Emily Bronte's classic tale of
Heathcliff and Catherine was filmed by director William Wyler, it lacks
for nothing.
The story begins when a Yorkshire gentleman farmer brings home a
raggedy gypsy boy, Heathcliff, and raises him as his son. The boy grows to
love his stepsister Catherine, with catastrophic results. Laurence
Olivier and Merle Oberon were perfectly cast as the mismatched lovers,
with Olivier brooding and despairing, Oberon ethereal and enchanting. This
won cinematographer Gregg Toland a much-deserved Oscar for his
haunting and evocative depiction of mid-19th century English moors. (Quite
a trick, as this was shot in California!) Though nominated for seven other
Oscars, it won none of them, as it was released in 1939, one of
the best years in Hollywood history and the same year as Gone
with the Wind.
Interestingly, the script was written by Charles MacArthur
and Ben Hecht, best known for their witty 1931 flick, The Front Page.
--Rochelle O'Gorman
