This 1939 film was amazingly
directed by William Wyler. I thought Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon
were very good as the doomed lovers Cathy and Heathcliff. Although both
seemed a little too nice for the part, not as self-absorbed as I had
wished. Through out the film I kept thinking how perfect Orson Welles
would have been in the role of Heathcliff since he tends to have a very
aloof nature. (sorry Laurence) Lastly, as just a little trivia,
Olivier originally wanted his wife Vivien Leigh to play the role of
Cathy but butted heads with the director having Merle Oberon playing
the lead instead, with Leigh going off to do a little picture called
Gone with the Wind.
It's funny you wrote a post about this movie (this is one of my mom's favorite book). Last week I saw the 1992 version with Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes, and Jeremy Northam. It was the first time I'd seen this movie. I was expecting a bit more given the cast. After watching the movie, I'd better read the book. Perhaps I'll get a better feeling for it. ;)
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Claudia
www.claudiadelbalso.blogspot.com
Oh, Ralph Fiennes, I love him so will have to check that one out. I think it would be difficult to cast Cathy and Heathcliff in any movie. They are so cold hearted it might be difficult to capture on screen. That was really my only complaint about this version-- Laurence and Merle just weren't nasty enough.
ReplyDeleteFor you read both - Wuthering Heights and Rebecca (which I did to..) - which male character do you like better? Heathcliff or Maxim de Winter?
ReplyDeleteI know this is a funny question, but I think because both characters were performed by Laurence Olivier I could pretend that there is a connection. ;") I just want to ask someone, who read both books, too.
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