danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

Before I became a British Literature major at the University of Florida, I had seen few episodes of PBS’ Masterpiece Theater.  I cannot recall what, in particular, induced me to watch a 2005 broadcast of Bleak House, but it was marvelous in every way.  Recalling how well the filmmakers had adapted Dickens, I resolved to watch as many productions as I could.  Unfortunately, Masterpiece Theater isn’t always classic fiction.  For quite some time last year they broadcast episodes in their “Contemporary” series.

I was thrilled, then, to see that the new year brought with it new adaptations of nineteenth century British novels, beginning with Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles.  It was fantastic.  The acting, sets, costumes and cinematography were all splendid.  It was truly affecting.  I had high hopes for Wuthering Heights, but alas, it was terrible.  Aside from the odd aspects of the filmmaking itself, the story was twisted and modified in really pointless ways.  It’s not hard to see why a filmmaker might choose to eliminate the dual narrator technique Bronte adopts.  What works in a book doesn’t always translate well to the screen.  So, Nelly Dean was just a minor character in this production, and Mr. Lockwood didn’t appear at all.  Much of the plot was compressed, and some of my favorite scenes from the book were jettisoned.  Most of Healthcliff’s evil machinations from the book were glossed over, and others not in the book were invented.  The conclusion was not right at all.

I’m crossing my fingers for Sense and Sensibility next week, and four Dickens adaptations.

Filed under: Film, Literature and Books, Television on January 28th, 2009