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Masterpiece Theatre: Jane Eyre
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Genre | Romance |
Format | Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC, Widescreen |
Contributor | Jacqueline Pilton, Toby Stephens, Ruth Wilson, Christopher Wilkinson, Ned Irish, Claudia Coulter, Anne Reid, Lorraine Ashbourne, Charlotte Bronte, Amy Steel, Susanna White, Andrew Buchan See more |
Language | English |
Number Of Discs | 2 |
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Product Description
Product Description
After a wretched childhood, orphaned Jane Eyre yearns for new experiences. She accepts a governess position at Thornfield Hall, where she tutors a lively French girl named Adele. She soon finds herself falling in love with the brooding master of the house - the passionate Mr. Rochester. Jane gradually wins his heart, but they must overcome the dark secrets of the past before they can find happiness. When Jane saves Rochester from an eerie fire, she begins to suspect that there are many mysteries behind the walls of Thornfield Hall. Her fears are confirmed when Rochester's secret past is revealed, destroying her chance for happiness, and forcing Jane to flee Thornfield. Penniless and hungry, she finds shelter and friendship in the shape of a kind clergyman and his family. But she is soon shocked to uncover the deeply hidden truth of her own past. This lavish and sensual new version of Charlotte Brontes classic novel is modern and moody, timeless and romantic. Starring Toby Stephens as Mr. Rochester, Ruth Wilson as Jane, and Francesca Annis as Lady Ingram.
Amazon.com
You may think the world doesn't need another adaptation of Jane Eyre--but you're wrong. This new and wonderfully lush Masterpiece Theatre version, directed by Susanna White (who directed the equally sumptuous miniseries of Bleak House starring Gillian Anderson), contrasts Jane Eyre's vivid inner life with the harshness of her outer life; both Georgie Henley (The Chronicles of Narnia) as the young Jane and newcomer Ruth Wilson express the inner vitality of the outcast orphan girl whose spirit captures the heart of the rough, charismatic landowner Mr. Rochester (Toby Stephens, Die Another Day). Stephens, it must be said, is far too conventionally handsome for the part, but he makes up for it by capturing Rochester's abrasive and mercurial temperament. (Wilson's looks are perfect; at one moment she seems awkward and homely, at another utterly luminous.) Jane Eyre is so often remade because the story is so potent; this production brings all of the novel's juice and passion to the fore, emphasizing the characters' sensual experience while staying true to the restrictions and mores of the period. All in all, exceptional. --Bret Fetzer
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.78:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 1.6 ounces
- Director : Susanna White
- Media Format : Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
- Run time : 3 hours and 48 minutes
- Release date : February 20, 2007
- Actors : Ruth Wilson, Toby Stephens, Amy Steel, Jacqueline Pilton, Anne Reid
- Language : Unqualified
- Studio : WGBH Boston Video
- ASIN : B000LPQ6DE
- Writers : Charlotte Bronte
- Number of discs : 2
- Best Sellers Rank: #12,604 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #438 in Romance (Movies & TV)
- #1,953 in Drama DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
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As far as any negatives, since I've only seen this broadcast on Ovation I can't be sure if there is any material deleted. However, basing my comments on what I've seen, the only real negative comments I can make about this version are 1) The part of the story that centers around St. John and his sisters is much less detailed than in the Timothy Dalton/Zelah Clarke version. That's not necessarily a negative, but it is much more condensed in this version.
2) If one hasn't read the book or is otherwise familiar with the story, there may be some questions about Rochester's injuries toward the end. There is only a brief description of what happened at Thornfield, and no explanation or scenes depicting how he sustained his injuries. It is, therefore, to be assumed I suppose by anyone who may not already be familiar with the details. This version also leaves the impression that he remains blind. That was somewhat disappointing.
In this reveiwer's humble opinion, the pros far outnumber the cons for this version. On a final note, another huge plus for this version is the grandeur of the scenery and the beautiful, sometimes haunting musical score. Of course, one would expect both from Masterpiece Theatre and the BBC. As always, they delivered with full force on this excellently done timeless classic.
Addendum:
As I mentioned in my initial review, I had, at that time, only seen this on Ovation. I ordered the DVD, and have now watched it. As I suspected, there were some scenes deleted from the Ovation production as there almost always is on network TV in order to fit alloted time slots. The scenes that were deleted, however, while adding to the overall feel and grandeur of the production, were not critical to the storyline. But I feel the need to add a little to my review now that I have seen the DVD. While I still love this version and am most happy to have it as a part of my video collection, I do feel that it is lacking in some minor details that, for me, would have enhanced the production. I will preface this by stating that I am very much a 'detail person.' For me, I prefer to know the how and why and when of events and not to be left assuming. If you are not a detail person, then these things probably don't matter to you.
1)After the fire in Rochester's bedroom where the wonderful romantic scene takes place he wraps his robe around her and tells her '..we agreed you'd never be cold again.' Okay, when did that conversation take place? 2)There is a scene which takes place the morning following the fire when Jane learnes that he has left to attend a house party. When Mrs. Fairfax comes to the table, Jane appears to have in her hand either a necklace or some memento, which she quickly puts in her pocket as if she doesn't wish Mrs. Fairfax to see it. What is it? And what are the details regarding it? 3)After the scream in the night when all the guests are alarmed and gather in the hall Rochester speaks to them, calming their fears, and then tells them to go back to bed. We see Jane wipe up the blood that dripped from his injured hand (we are not told how that happened) and then we see her waiting fully dressed in her bedroom. At his knock on the door, she answers 'I'm ready.' He obviously conveyed to her that he wished her assistance. But that is omitted. 4)Toward the end when Jane returns to Thornfield, the details are very sketchy as to what happened to Rochester regarding the fire. Nothing is mentioned of his injuries. Jane obviously doesn't even know he's blind until she sees him some distance away outside Ferndean. At no time is it mentioned that he can see at least a little. Yet during the scene at the end when she sits in his lap with her face very close to his, she asked, "Can you see me?" and he nods in the affirmative.
Now, having read the book and seen other versions of the story on film, I know most of these details. But I'm sure there are some who have not read the book and are not familiar with the story at all. For me, if that were the case, there would be some unanswered questions regarding these details I've mentioned.
Those, for me, are the negative aspects of this production. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the Timothy Dalton/Zelah Clarke version, which is so detailed. Having stated all this, I do still love this version. I like the fact that Rochester seems to have a fondness for Adele, even though he says he doesn't like children. It is also obvious in this version that he does not care for either Blanche or her snobbish family and attitudes. He never states in this version that he offered his attentions to her in order to make Jane as madly in love with him as he was with her, which he does state in the book.
Rochester is a wounded soul. The sadness definitely comes through. He comes across as a complex character; gentlemanly and refined, displaying at times a somewhat dry wit. Yet at other times one can see the intense sadness that masks his face.
My initial rating of this production still stands. I love it in spite of the omissions, although I would very much have liked for those things I've mentioned to have been addressed.
If someone out there is not familiar with the story and this is the first version you are to view, I would suggest you familiarize yourself somewhat with the overall aspects of the story, especially regarding Rochester's injuries and how they were sustained at the end.
- Jane standing on the stool at Lowood for punishment as regimented lines of girls come through, parting to pass on either side of her, no one of them distinguishable in their lockstep uniformity but one of them, unseen and unidentified, surreptitiously pushing a piece of bread into her hand;
- the young Jane's angry, almost defiant strokes as she captures on paper the bleak winter scene of stacked coffins in the Lowood churchyard - and the lovely way this segued into Jane as an adult on a bright Spring day, giving an art lesson to her students;
- Jane's vision of Helen Burns lying dead beneath the religious fresco as Jane is being carried away, and the effective iteration of that vision when a delirious Jane lay down on the moors seemingly ready to die;
- Jane's solitary outpouring of grief in her bedroom at the Rivers home when she allowed herself to think on the soul-deep contentment she had forever sacrificed by doing the right thing.
This Jane did not seem so stoic, her emotional pain was more real and human even when it was revealed only in her eyes and expression. Ruth Wilson did an amazing job with the role, capturing the essence of the character, making her more sympathetic and believably susceptible to beguilement. Toby Stephens was also excellent, showing us a Rochester who was not just melancholy and mercurial, but entertaining and playful and at times heartbreakingly vulnerable.
Rochester's library was a reflection of his younger, blameless self, with its bug specimens and magnifying glasses and the other paraphernalia of a curious, questing mind. You could almost imagine him there as a boy or young man, interested in everything and enthusiastically exploring the natural world he inhabited. It added substance to the character of Rochester portrayed here, who was always describing to Jane the things he'd seen, captivating and beguiling the mind of one who'd had to rely on the occasional book and her imagination to envision the wonders of the world outside her own confined experience.
The brief flashbacks showing how Rochester was enticed by Bertha Mason and betrayed by Celine Varens gave glimpses of his passionate temperament, and the scene where he used that passion to try and convince Jane to stay imbued with a greater sense of urgency her wild, determined flight from Thornfield. Consistent with the book, which was suitably subtle for the time in which it was written, and better than any other version I've seen, this movie conveys how Jane and Rochester were soulmates in every way - not just intellectually and emotionally, but physically as well.
Maybe I'm dense and it just takes me longer to get the overarching moral of a story, but it was only after seeing this version that I really understood one of its fundamental truths. It wasn't the contrast between St. John's austere sense of duty and Rochester's earthy susceptibility to temptation, that was always evident. But rather the unnatural and undesirable result of giving ascendance to one facet of our human nature while completely suppressing and disowning another - not all human nature is sinful and selfish, our capacity for selflessness and sacrifice for others can be just as limitless. St. John may have converted some souls in his missionary work but he was incapable of really caring about his fellow man because he had no compassion for human feeling - like a true stoic, he viewed misery as preordained and any joy in earthly life as almost an affront to God, however innocently derived from a mundane human existence. Rochester the all-too-human sinner, before Jane, was emotional impulse unfettered. But St. John the almost inhuman saint was emotional impulse smothered and remorselessly buried in a tomb of impenetrable ice.
There's an appropriately gothic feel to the hallways inside and the wooded pathways outside of Thornfield, the disturbing painting that Sophie always rushed past and the sound of Jane's bedroom door and doorknob rattling. And I especially appreciated the sympathetic treatment of Bertha, who wasn't made to look like a grotesque, unkempt madwoman. Her final scene was surprisingly enchanting and tragically believable.
The ending of this Jane Eyre was novel perfection - the lightness and color, the spontaneity and camaraderie and especially how it recalled by its complete contrast an earlier scene in the Reed home. With every version I've seen there has been satisfaction that Jane and Rochester were together at last, but it was always tempered by the sad conviction that their happiness must be diminished to some degree by the cost Rochester had to pay for it. There was no such qualification with this version, the final scenes left me instead with the impression of boisterous joy, not just quiet contentment; and with the satisfying feeling that although Jane and Rochester would spend much of their time happily alone, their lives would also be enriched by their relationships with the worthy, caring people who had shared some part of their journey.
Top reviews from other countries
Toby Stephens as Rochester is perfect. He is the real romantic hero in looks and behaviour: full of repressed passion, impulsive and free spirit; the Byronic type, dark, with untidy hair and deep eyes. He is a very good actor. I liked very much his sensitive, expressive face. You can read all the emotions passing on his face.The chemistry with Ruth Wilson-Jane Eyre is perfect. Their relationship is intense. Ruth Wilson is adorable as Jane Eyre, with her young inexperience but strong willed character, and she is as well intelligent and passionate as Rochester. She is not a beauty in the classical term. Her feature is not perfect, but she has a beauty of the soul which enlightens her face and makes her very attractive and often very beautiful.
I was only a bit disappointed by the end. I found the drama diluted, it loses its intensity ending like a banal fairy tale. Rochester appears mellowed just when he has reached the apex of his losses. Jane should have found an even more embittered man, then soothed by her return and her love. From a perfect somber and passionate romantic character, Rochester turns into a modern teenager in love.
This remains however one of my favourite BBC productions of Jane Eyre. The scenery is lavish.This is a beautiful love story well told in its intense development and suspense.
ロチェスタ氏がハンサムすぎるのがやや反則ですが、Toby Stephensの表現力は素晴らしく、これを見たら、同じく反則のT.Dalton(1983年版。こっちの方が、超足長を除けば、原作のゴツゴツと角ばったイメージには近い)が大根に見えます。
脚本も監督も女性で現代的解釈を施した作品ということですが、原作を注意深く読むと、この解釈が決して行き過ぎではないことが納得できます。
You Tubeに、Toby Stephens- Mr Rochester-interview というのが英語字幕つきでアップされていて、これを見れば制作側の解釈や意図がよく解り、大変面白く必見です。
最後の場面はあちこちで安易だと不評で、たしかにプリクラっぽい絵が安っぽいのですが、残りたった1分で、登場人物のその後をナレーションに頼らず、映像だけで表すには才気ある方法ではないでしょうか。英国を離れたセント・ジョンも枠外にこっそりと紛れ込ませてありますし。
Toby ファンになったので、アン・ブロンテ原作のThe Tenant of Wildfell Hallも見てみました。ここには10年前の若々しい姿があります。グレイス・プール役の女優さんがここでは母親、そして、その相手役は・・・(絶句)・・・素敵なドラマでした。
Ruth Wilsonも大好きになったので、2009年のSmall Island というのを見てみたいと思っています。
何より主役の二人の演技が素晴らしい。大富豪の地主と孤児の家庭教師として出会った男女が階級や年齢、当時の常識や社会規範を超えて惹かれあい、共に生きていくことを選ぶ行くさまが丁寧に繊細に描かれます。
一部のシーンで現代的な解釈での演出もあり、議論があるかもしれませんが、まあ許容範囲かな。そんな議論を黙らせるほどの真実味に溢れた、血の通ったジェーンとロチェスター様の決然たる生のドラマがここにあります。
ただひとつ物足りないのは、終盤、いとこの宣教師との結婚を承諾したジェーンがロチェスター様の声をきくところ。それに応えて叫ぶ、ジェーンのWhere are you? Wait for me!がカットされている。この映像でジェーンとロチェスターは、時空を超えて魂が通い合う双生児のような運命の二人として位置づけられているのに、ここカットしたらもったいないのでは?と素人目には思いましたが…
屋外ロケなど映像的にも力が入っています。壮麗だけど不吉な匂いのする暗いお屋敷と、屋外の健全な大自然の美のコントラストも絶妙。また、ロチェスターの属する上流社会と、ジェーンの属する階級があまりにかけ離れていることも視覚的にもよくわかります。