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Bookmark this pageWuthering Heights (1939)
Director: William Wyler
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
From the (prolific) output of a largely unfashionable director, Wyler's Wuthering Heights has a distinctive look that elevates it above the blandness Goldwyn productions are so often charged with. Handsomely designed by James Basevi and shot by Gregg Toland, the much-filmed tale of Cathy's passion for Heathcliff succeeds as fulsome melodrama; and while it has little to do with Emily Bronte's sense of environment and pre-Victorian society, it's nevertheless strong on performances - especially Olivier, seen here at the peak of his romantic lead period.Author: MA
User reviews of this film
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- Arthur Jermyn said...
- Posted on Jan 23 2010 14:17 I missed the cruelty and madness of the book and the general tone was spoilt rather than enhanced by the sugary background music. Excellent performances by the lead characters and they might have done justice to the characters in the book if the latter had been 15 years older. Cathy was 12 when she stayed at Thrushcross Grange and 18 when she died. The book might provide the basis for a tolerably good upmarket "teen movie" today , though such a projedt would probably be a non-starter in the prevailing climate of hysterical opposition to under-age-sex.
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Cast & crew
Director: William Wyler
Producer: Samuel Goldwyn
Cast: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Flora Robson, Donald Crisp, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Hugh Williams, Leo G Carroll, Cecil Kellaway full cast
Genre(s): Period/Swashbucklers
Duration: 103 mins
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