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Wuthering Heights Movie Review

Wuthering Heights is a 1939 romantic period piece directed by William Wyler and starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. It’s a beautiful movie.

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“I cannot live without my life!

I cannot die without my soul!“

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This is the ultimate film adaptation of the titular Emily Bronte classic novel. I have read this book before and I loved it, but the movie is even better in my opinion. It is one of the great examples of how to properly adapt a literary work, especially an older one from the nineteenth century that is sprawling and detailed.

Basically, what Wyler and his team did here was to adapt most of the story, but not all of it. Gone are the kids for instance and the later parts of the novel are significantly reduced, but for the better in my opinion. The book itself is a classic, but it would have been too detailed and unnecessarily prolonged for a movie to follow it closely. Thus, this adapted screenplay was truly fantastic.

The movie is a bit too melodramatic at times, but for any fan of 1930s epic melodramas, this is a must see classic. It’s very much a 30s movie, but that approach fitted this source material as the Gothic elements were still included and are excellent throughout. I also liked its ending despite it being questionable to many. The movie’s central romance worked so well and the movie is highly emotional throughout.

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Laurence Olivier may feel like an odd choice to play Heathcliff to some, but to me he was very well cast. The casting is excellent in its entirety actually. Olivier was first and foremost a stage actor and known for playing noble characters, so this one was different for him. But he obviously put in a lot of effort into this movie, resulting in a strong performance. He is very believable and memorable.

I also loved Merle Oberon. She was excellent as Catherine. Although a lesser known actress, she excelled playing Catherine. I found her a bit too submissive and even slavish in some of her urges, but still the relationship between the two is reliably powerful, complicated and toxic. The other players are also great with Oscar-winning Geraldine Fitzgerald as Isabella Linton being the most notable one.

Wuthering Heights is above all else a technically dazzling cinematic achievement. Again, it’s perfect for fans of sweeping romances and melodramas of yesteryear, and it’s one of the best examples of such a classic flick. Yes, I do recognize the thematically lacking script when comparing it to the original novel, especially in terms of the characters’ relationships and a darker approach to storytelling, but I still did find the movie itself dark in its own way.

So, the cinematography. It’s brilliant. This is the type of black-and-white cinematography that gives that aesthetic a great name. The opening scene is easily the highlight of the movie as the snow, the storm and the house all looked splendid and suitably Gothic. I also loved the natural landscapes, all perfectly utilized into the narrative.

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The score is also sweepingly romantic and dramatic while the dialogue is solid as well. The direction from William Wyler is per usual terrific and the production design is mesmerizing. It’s a very underrated movie that deserves more love among the many classic movies of this amazing, one of a kind year. It undeniably deserved all of its Oscar nominations and its one win.

Bolstered by dazzling black-and-white cinematography, a wonderful score and excellent performances from its stellar cast, the 1939 movie adaptation of Wuthering Heights is one of the greatest examples of a successfully adapted classic novel that significantly reduced the number of plot points and characters, but retained its romantic and Gothic spirit. It’s a sweepingly romantic, classic 1930s melodrama that has lost none of its power to this day.

My Rating – 4.5

You can get this wonderful classic film on Amazon.