Monday, October 24, 2011

Watching Jane Eyre(s)





Last night we finished the 2006 BBC version of Jane Eyre, highly recommended by our local librarian. I had never seen it and was very pleased with it. We have also watched the 1930's version with Orson Wells, the 1996 Zeffirelli version, and the newest, 2011, version out on DVD recently.  As a new version of the Bronte classic is out every 5 years, or so it seems, we are far from done.

I loved this romantic story since I can remember and find it fascinating to compare the different versions. Austen's Pride & Prejudice and Emma are other "comparative marathons" the girls and I have undergone.

The BBC 2006 version we finished last night was also wonderful.. She was an excellent Jane Eyre, believable, good, confident. The film was scary and emotional, and we had a blast.

And yet as much as I liked so many aspects of all of the versions mentioned above, the Zeffirelli version remains my absolute favorite. His mastery as a director is unsurpassed. His Romeo and Juliet, I believe, will reign on top forever in cinema, his Hamlet (with mel Gibson) excellent, and his life of Our Lord is, in my opinion, so much better than The Passion Of Christ.

Zeffirelli films are a feast for the eyes. No director is as careful in his visual composition and interiors as he is. Every detail is in its right, beautiful place. See the photo from the film below on the right as an example. This version also has the best Adele, Rochester's ward. William Hurt is surprisingly excellent as Rochester and the feeling between master and governess is developed so well--which is the major absence in the recent 2011 version.

11 comments:

Jannell said...

Look at these penguin classic editions. Cool. Christmas?!?!
http://blog.jilliantamaki.com/2011/03/penguin-threads-deluxe-classics/

Ana Braga-Henebry said...

Wow, love, love, love them!

Laurie said...

I just watched the newest version of Jane Eyre last night- magical!

Annie Hoyt said...

Jane Eyre is one of my favorites too - and pretty much anything by Jane Austen!

Ana Braga-Henebry said...

I am now watching the Timothy Dalton one on Netflix, hadn't seen it before!

Charlotte (WaltzingM) said...

I was just about to ask about the Dalton/Clarke version. It was the very first version I saw and the one that made me fall in love with this story. I haven't seen the new one yet.

P.S. I had the pleasure of meeting your son at the Cistercian Abbey on Sunday. He is a delightful young man!

Ana Braga-Henebry said...

Tell me more about it! My Michael-Augustine? And yes, we are loving this version! Eleven episodes, yes! Jane is so likable, and Adele is the perfect little French Adele!

Charlotte (WaltzingM) said...

Hahah! Yes, that one! He was very friendly and personable. My husband had a good conversation with him about the status of the homeschooled population at UD. It's been 15 years since we have graduated and it's nice to hear that homeschooling is more widely accepted now. He was funny and charming in a typical UD sort of way. We miss those days. We are going to try to have Mary and him over for dinner here sometime soon.

Ana Braga-Henebry said...

So you live in Irving? I am dying to meet Mary!

Charlotte (WaltzingM) said...

We used to live in Irving but moved a little closer to Fort Worth about 10 years ago. We still go to Cistercian regularly. Mary is a sweet girl. We met her twin JoAnn last year when she was a freshman at UD and met Mary for the first time when she came to visit from Hawaii. Jessica, their oldest sister, is a friend from the online world and now my youngest one's godmother.

Ana Braga-Henebry said...

Wow, it is a small, small Catholic world indeed.