World Enough and Time

Back on April 8, I saw the new 2011 movie version of Jane Eyre, starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. That got me thinking about my favourite version of Jane Eyre, the 1983 BBC mini-series starring Zelah Clarke and Timothy Dalton.

Have I mentioned that it's one of my favourite books?

So today I held a video-party and watched all 8 episodes of the mini-series all at once, with gamergrrl, Beulah, and Tasia. Once again, I loved it. The 2011 version is in some ways a better show - beautifully adapted - but I like the actors better in the 1983 version, especially Timothy Dalton as Rochester. No, he doesn't look like Rochester. He doesn't need to. He acts the part so well he is Rochester, and I've never thought that of any other filmed version.



( Specific comments... )

Jane Eyre is one of my favourite books of all time. I'll never forget my first reading of it - I was twelve, and couldn't put it down. Mr. Rochester became my model of the great romantic hero of all time, and he was perfect. Jane was less perfect - she was, in fact, a Victorian prude, but it wasn't her fault. When she chose to leave Rochester rather than live in sin with him I was screaming at her, "No! You can't leave him!" but she did. But it all came out all right in the end. Oh dear, I've just spoiled the ending of Jane Eyre for all who haven't read it. Well, if you haven't read it, read it. One of the best books in the world. Aaah, how I loved that book.

So tonight I watched the recent four-hour Jane Eyre that aired on PBS, with Toby Stephens as Mr. Rochester and Ruth Wilson as Jane. They changed some scenes, they cut others, they added some scenes entirely - but I've seldom seen a filmed version of a novel that I thought was so faithful to the book. Neither Stephens nor Wilson looked quite like I pictured Rochester or Jane, but they were so true to the characterization and style that they felt just perfect.

In fact, the whole thing was like that. The changed identity of the gypsy fortune teller was strange, but nicely cinematic and effective. Blanche Ingram was less vapid than I expected, and that was good. Everyone else was just about perfect.... Especially Mr. Rochester. There was only one change I couldn't stand and it was, unfortunately, a change in my very favourite scene in the book. The rest of the show was so good I was able to ultimately overlook it, but it was a big blot on an otherwise perfect adaptation.

They rewrote dialogue to sound natural and clear and it was just as it should be. Nothing too modern, nothing too stilted.

I thought the actor playing St. John Rivers was most attractive. Why did he look familiar? I've never seen him before, but felt as if I had.

I'd like to watch the Timothy Dalton version again to see how it compared, with the test of time. It was previously my favourite filmed version of the book; all the others I've seen were terrible, though I missed the Zeffirelli version - which, horror of horrors, had Anna Paquin in it. Maybe I'll just bypass it entirely.

I want to go and reread the book. I read it once a year through all my teens, and favourite passages more often than that; but I probably haven't read it since. maaseru was shocked that I had forgotten Bessie. And I would have sworn Mason's first name was John, not Richard.