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The Brontes at the BBC (2016) Online

The Brontes at the BBC (2016) Online
Original Title :
The Brontes at the BBC
Genre :
Movie / Documentary
Year :
2016
Directror :
Rebecca Whyte
Cast :
Kay Adshead,Stanley Baker,Joan Bakewell
Type :
Movie
Rating :
7.4/10

A survey of Bronte adaptations on BBC Television from 1956 to 2006.

The Brontes at the BBC (2016) Online

A survey of Bronte adaptations on BBC Television from 1956 to 2006.
Credited cast:
Kay Adshead Kay Adshead - Cathy (archive footage)
Stanley Baker Stanley Baker - Mr. Rochester (archive footage)
Joan Bakewell Joan Bakewell - Herself (archive footage)
Claire Bloom Claire Bloom - Cathy (archive footage)
Kate Bush Kate Bush - Herself (archive footage)
Zelah Clarke Zelah Clarke - Jane Eyre (archive footage)
Sorcha Cusack Sorcha Cusack - Jane Eyre (archive footage)
Andrew Davies Andrew Davies - Himself (archive footage)
Margaret Drabble Margaret Drabble - Herself (archive footage)
Jennifer Ehle Jennifer Ehle - Elizabeth Bennet (archive footage)
Tara Fitzgerald Tara Fitzgerald - Herself (archive footage)
Rupert Graves Rupert Graves - Huntingdon (archive footage)
Tamsin Greig Tamsin Greig - Herself - Narrator
Ken Hutchison Ken Hutchison - Heathcliff (archive footage)
Michael Jayston Michael Jayston - Edward Rochester (archive footage)


User reviews

Gashakar

Gashakar

Together with Dickens and Jane Austen, the Brontes have been one of the most popular eighteenth and nineteenth century subjects for adaptation on television. This fascinating compilation offered a series of extracts from classic serials, documentaries and other programs within the BBC archives.

It began with an adaptation of WUTHERING HEIGHTS from 1956, starring Shakespearean actor Daphne Slater. Although the filming might seem clunky now, this version kept the focus on character rather than ambiance, paying particular attention to the central romance between Heathcliff and Cathy. Likewise the 1962 version of the same novel with Claire Bloom and Keith Michell, which was heavily influenced by William Wyler's romantic cinema retelling of the story from 1939.

By the late Sixties attitudes had changed: the 1967 version, providing a first major starring role for Ian McShane, brought out the primeval elements: Heathcliff was no longer heroic, but someone fundamentally ill-educated fighting against genteel nineteenth century conventions; a historical rehearsal of similar socio- cultural struggles happening in Britain at that time.

Adaptations have always taken their inspiration from prevailing conditions: the late Nineties version of THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL starring Tara Fitzgerald and Toby Stephens concentrated in particular on the struggles for gender identity. As with many classic adaptations at that time, the filming style changed too: productions were no longer shot on videotape but presented as full- scale films with budgets to match. Adaptations appeared less frequently, but they were more lavish, and advertised as major televisual events. The 1995 version of Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (the one where Colin Firth came out of a river with a wet undershirt) had a lot to do with this change of approach.

Like many BBC compilations, this one adopted a chronological approach implying that more recent adaptations were somehow 'better' than the older versions, simply due to the improvement in filming technologies. This is a contentious statement - especially for viewers interested in characters rather than pretty-pretty sets and costumes - but as a whole this program offered a fascinating insight into how television has treated the Brontes over half a century.