Brontë bonanza indeed

Impact reviews Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre:

With a clever screenplay written by Moira Buffini and some intelligent direction from Cary Fukunaga, this latest incarnation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is a superb big-screen adaptation. [...]
Considering that Jane Eyre is Cary Fukunaga’s first venture into mainstream cinema, he handles the direction with surprising aptness. Filming a period drama, in particular one based on a novel regarded as a ‘classic’, requires a certain knowing touch, and Fukunaga denies his inexperience to frame and paces the picture with consummate professionalism. It’s also noticeably modern at times, in particular the score, which surrounds you like an ominous mid-1800s darkness. The lighting however, is classically handled, with many of the scenes illuminated entirely by candlelight.
Jane Eyre is an impressive adaptation showcasing interesting characters and a calculated, well-paced plot. The film retains a good balance between classic and modern, and Bronte’s immersive story is still entertaining, 164 years after it was originally published. Not exclusively for fans of period drama, this is a very enjoyable picture. (Tom Grater)

As do Sky Movies HD:

Critics will say the film misses out too much of the book but it’s a necessary sacrifice that allows the romance room to breathe. Some will no doubt also argue that Fassbender is too good-looking. Somehow we doubt Charlotte Brontë would object.
A bleak but charmingly intimate film, this is about as far from Pride and Prejudice as period drama gets. Wasikowska probably won’t win an Oscar because the strength of her performance lies in just how unassuming it is – but she should. (Francesca Steele)

The Guardian Film Blog comments on the UK box office results of the film:

Landing one place behind is Jane Eyre, with a solid debut of £1.01m. That's by no means the top end for a literary period drama (Pride & Prejudice opened with £2.53m), but Charlotte Brontë would always struggle to appeal as broadly as the lightly comedic Jane Austen, and lead actors Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender are unproven in the genre. The number is very much in line with the March 2008 opening of The Other Boleyn Girl (£955,00) from the same trio of partners Ruby Films, BBC Films and Universal Focus. Ruby's Tamara Drewe, adapted by Jane Eyre screenwriter Moira Buffini, opened the exact same weekend in 2010 with £616,000. (Charles Gant)

The Huffington Post covers the release of the film on DVD/Blu-Ray on the other side of the pond:

How do you possibly tackle a classic that has been filmed (and quite well) so many times before? With intelligence and restraint and some very fine actors, notably Mia Wasikowska as the strong-willed governess, Michael Fassbender as a convincingly brooding object of desire, Judi Dench amusing as a housekeeper with airs and Jamie Bell compelling as always playing a determined man of the cloth. Director Cary Fukunaga previously made the notable indie Sin Nombre (about young lovers escaping gang violence on a trek to a new life in the US) and he brings a similar intelligence to this oft-told tale. No one tries to reinvent the wheel or give the story some modern angle. Like a solid Broadway revival of a classic play, it moves swiftly and smartly and satisfies. (Michael Giltz)

Screengrab reviews the film in depth. Four Grey Towers, Spaceship Broken and Humanizing The Vacuum post about it too.

Boise Weekly's Cobweb has seen Wuthering Heights at the Toronto Film Festival and hasn't really liked it:

And finally, Wuthering Heights, director Andrea Arnold’s 2011 revision of the Emily Brontë novel was painfully boring and unentertaining. The idea sounded great: a stripped-down version of Catherine and Heathcliff. But the execution, while remotely interesting left the classic story in a heap. (George Prentice)

Royal Books attended a screening of Wuthering Heights at the Toronto Film Festival which was followed by an interview with Andrea Arnold:

In the interview following the screening, Ms. Arnold made some interesting comments regarding her choices in the adaptation of what she describes (accurately, if you ask me) a “punk” novel from the nineteenth century. Tossing out Natalie Portman, Gemma Atherton, and Abbie Cornish, the director opted for a more age-appropriate newcomer for Catherine, and in a neo-realist move, cast many of the parts with non-actors or virtual unknowns, freeing the movie from the burden of star power. The film was shot in 4:3 ratio rather than widescreen, the director’s interesting and surprisingly effective preference for all her films. In her talk she also addressed my sole complaint, the addition of a song and a wholly unnecessary montage at the film’s end, an interruption that feels as though it were added at some producer’s behest, and one I fervently hope will be edited out by the time the film is distributed to theaters.
Make no mistake, this is a movie that is going to be misunderstood by almost everyone. But from my perspective, the cinema world has a new auteur of the first rank, and Wuthering Heights has never been more stunningly visualized. Leave your expectations at the door, and let Andrea Arnold get your attention.

Both films will continue to do the rounds in some festivals. Movie City News reports that Wuthering Heights will be part of RIFF 2011 (Reykjavík International Film Festival, 22 September - 2 October) as a 'special presentation'. And ScreenDaily announces that Jane Eyre will be present at Filmfest Hamburg 2011 (29 September - 8 October).

IndieWire's The Playlist reports thata new take on Oliver Twist is in the making and thinks it's due to the trend set by the recent Brontë films:

With new takes on literary classics all the rage at the moment (see: Cary Fukunaga and Andrea Arnold‘s revisioning of the Brontë sisters’ “Jane Eyre” and “Wuthering Heights”), Michael De Luca is set to produce a contemporary, gender-bending take of Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” with ‘Twilight’ star Ashley Greene toplining. (Simon Dang)

In light of this trend of new takes on the classics, Erica Wagner writes in The Times that 'Modern spins on the classics need not drive us to despair':

Andrea Arnold’s forthcoming adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights casts James Howson, a black actor, as Heathcliff. There’s nothing sacred about the classics, and it’s a cause for celebration that so many writers and directors are having their own conversations with these great works.

The Telegraph and Argus sums up all the ongoing Brontë things as 'Brontë bonanza':

Brontëmania is buzzing this month with a play about the sisters, two new film adaptations of their novels, and a festival inspired by their writing.
The latest movie version of Charlotte Brontë's romantic classic Jane Eyre began a season at Keighley Picture House last Friday.
We Are Three Sisters, Blake Morrison's play linking the Brontës' life story to Chekhov's drama Three Sisters, opened in Halifax.
The second Brontë Festival of Women's Writing, with Mills & Boon rubbing shoulders with literary novels and poetry, begins tomorrow in Haworth.
And the new Wuthering Heights film, by Bafta-winning director Andrea Arnold, was unveiled at the Venice Film Festival. (David Knights)

Brontëite Sonam Kapoor suggests on NDTV Movies Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights (by Emile Brontë) as romantic books.

Look and Learn reposts an original article from the Look and Learn issue number 814 published on 20 August 1977, together with its original illustration too.

One Little Spark - a Writer's World writes about Jane Eyre. Kasiopeiias bøker posts in Norwegian about Wuthering Heights.

Categories: Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Theatre, Wuthering Heights