Jane Eyre conquers the US blogosphere - Part II

Let's continue the walk through the blogosphere searching for reactions to the airing of the first part of Jane Eyre on PBS.

A Dapple A Day compares the new version with the 1984 one, also from the BBC:

The new Jane Eyre is definitely more modern by way of cinematography, the mood, the shadowy figures. Less stuffy Victorian and also less stagey, than the eighties version I remember. (Katherine)

The XYJ Affair compares different actresses that have played Jane Eyre, concluding that none of them was exactly 'plane'.

Libertas is pleasantly surprised with this new version:

I was pleasantly surprised to see Georgie Henley play the rebellious young Jane. Although the director Susanna White, who also co-directed last year’s magnificent Bleak House, trying to fit Bronte’s novel in the four-hour time limit only spends roughly 15 minutes on Jane’s youth. Unlike previous versions, the actress playing the adult Jane , Ruth Wilson, actually fits the description of a plain Jane. Although I loved how Ms. Wilson’s hair is styled after portraits of Charlotte Bronte [see this old post of ours], and she does a great job of showing Jane to a casual observer as being a meek governess — on the inside you see her passion and determination to define her own place in the world. Toby Stephens plays Mr. Rochester and he is more a tortured soul than a neurotic — as is for example played by Welles. They have great on-screen chemistry, as Mr. Rochester constantly tests Jane’s feelings for him and she parleys back with intelligence and psychological insight. This series really plays up the Gothic elements of the story from, young Jane seeing the ghost of her uncle, to the forbidding Thornfield Hall and a Brueghel-type painting in it that Jane several times stares at — to Jane looking out of her window to see the candle light illuminating the insides of the North tower as Mr. Rochester climbs up. When you think you’ve seen it all, with by some counts 18 on-screen versions of Jane Eyre, this newest version might top it all. (Michael Kim)

Tigerpants quotes the TiVo guide description of the second part of Jane Eyre:

"Rochester proposes marriage to Jane, but then Rochester's first wife pays them a surprise visit."

Erm... we have no words.

And finally, Maureen posts on Jelly_Beanie87 (and here) a collection of 150 user pictures from Jane Eyre. The ones on the right are from her (Source).

EDIT: (24/01/07)

JaneHeiress also has published an interesting review on Words in the Kitchen Sink:

Here is my verdict on the first installment: it is the best Jane Eyre adaptation I've ever seen, and this is the fourth. (...)

Ruth Wilson's Jane is repressed to be sure, but she is not spiritless; her voice is strong and her personality forceful even when she's not acting it. Yes, the actress does have a strangely shaped mouth, but Jane is definitely not supposed to be beautiful, and at least her face isn't bland-homely. Toby Stephens is also an excellent Rochester. (...) And here's a Rochester where you can see the tortured soul behind the not-always-so-nice demeanor.

(25/01/07) If you like icons, A Pirate's Life for Me offers you some very, very nice ones.

Categories: Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV