Customer Reviews
A terrific gem! - By: FAMOUS NAME, 18 Aug 2008 
One of the most famous love stories brought to the silver screen - & certainly the best & original version of this classic tale.
'Wuthering Heights' features a host of big stars including the great Dame Flora Robson, Sir Laurence Olivier, Geraldine Fitzgerald, David Niven & Merle Oberon.
Despite the focus of love & heartbreak being centred around Heacthcliff & Cathy, one cannot help but feel the sheer heartbreak & suffering that is endured by the character 'Isabella' - wonderfully played without too much sentiment by Geraldine Fitzgerald. This is a woman whose life is unwittingly caught up between two people who love & hate at the same time, & as a consequence, she herself is used & abused & utterly destroyed, yet this goes almost unnoticed being drownedin the sentiment of the 'other' love story. Geraldine Fitzgerald steals the movie with her outstanding scene as she pleads for Heathcliff to look into her eyes to find the love he ignores, & the suffering he's inflicted upon an innocent pawnin his game for revenge upon Cathy...
They certainly don't make films like this anymore - & probably couldn't if they tried...
A terrific gem!
A dark romantic triumph - By: Trevor Willsmer, 31 Jan 2008 The 1939 version of Wuthering Heights may be a Sam Goldwyn picture but here at least he has the taste not to bury it under his usual excessive (over)production values & let the mostly British cast get on with it under William Wyler's inspired direction, with screenwriters Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur saving their reverence for the characters & spirit of Emily Bronte's novel rather than the set dressing & place-setting details which obsess modern costume pictures.
The film grips from its atmospheric opening to its tragic & genuinely moving conclusion & while it may end at chapter 17 it never soft-peddles the characters - neither good nor bad, they all choose their own personal Hells & have to live with the consequences. Even if you're no admirer of Laurence Olivier, you will be astonished at how his mixture of ruthlessness & emotional vulnerability makes the part his own forever. Merle Oberon's mercurial Cathy, torn between Olivier's force of nature & David Niven's pillar of society, may not match his power but it's still probably her best work while Geraldine Fitzgerald is a revelation as the woman Heathcliff marries for revenge, her unrequited love compellingly transformed to bitter desperation.
Gregg Toland's photography is black & white at its best & Alfred Newman's score is perfection. A genuine all-time great - & then some.
The Region 2 PAL DVD has no extras but does have a fine transfer.
I Cried..Not once ,But Twice...... - By: David M. Grant, 01 Jan 2008 Well you must have heard & read just about everything that could be saidin words, & its all true Brilliant from start to finish.Great classic story & timeless.
This film can only be compared with GONE WITH THE WIND...L...One of the most amazing actresses to date & the sweetest smile...I have seen this twice & Twice i cried.....beat that...
Do not hesitate to buy this film. Enjoy
Read the book instead - By: Martin T, 19 Aug 2007 
Save your money & read the book, Emily Brontes masterpiece has not managed to travel over to film, the hatred & melancholy of Bronte is missing it lacks the depth of the novelin so many ways, this early British attempt to recreate Wuthering Heights has failed miserably, although it is the best of all attempts so far, I think we need to wait until the French or the German film makers attempt it with some real passion, before we say the novel is just too powerful for the film industry. - check out the Thomas Hardy DVD's instead, now theres money well spent !
Is it the book? - By: Aswin S, 10 Aug 2007 
When I saw the movie, I had not read the book & I seemed to like it for what it was.. And then I read the book & realised that movie hardly does justice to the novel.. the dark shades of Heathcliff, to name one, which is a definitive aspect of the book, was completely lostin the movie, which is a shame. I give it 2 stars as it is a good movie as long as you haven't read the book!
