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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: BBC Warner
Salesrank: 4190
Released: April 19, 2005 |
| Our Price: $8.73 |
| Used Price: $9.39 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Jane Eyre (Zelah Clarke) is a mistreated orphan who learns to survive by relying on her independence and intelligence. Her first job in the outside world is governess to the ward of Mr. Rochester (Timothy Dalton) a man of many secrets and mercurial moods. The tentative trust between them slowly develops into romance but their hopes for happiness will soon be jeopardized by a terrible secret .Running Time: 330 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 794051218926
Description of Jane Eyre (BBC, 1983):
Jane Eyre--the mother of all gothic romances--gets abundant passion in this 11-episode BBC miniseries. Young Sian Pattenden is wonderfully willful and impetuous; viewers will immediately identify with the child Jane as she fights against ill-treatment at the home of her aunt and at boarding school. It's a shame to see her grow up into Zelah Clarke--until Clarke asserts her own quiet yet fierce spirit. The plot really starts rolling when Jane takes a position as governess at Thornfield, a handsome estate owned by the imperious and tortured Mr. Rochester (Timothy Dalton, a few years before he became James Bond). From there, this 1983 adaptation rips through the perilous highs and devastating lows of Charlotte Bronte's powerful novel, in which the courtship of these two prickly personalities gets twists and turns galore. Though the visual style is a bit pedestrian, the well-crafted script and skillful performances grow more gripping with every episode. The necessary feverishness springs from simple yet effective means, like macabre laughter floating down the halls of Thornfield. The scenes between Clarke and Dalton crackle with chemistry; Bronte fans will not be disappointed. --Bret Fetzer
Jane Eyre (BBC, 1983) Reviews:
Faithful adaptation, but loses a lot in style 
2008-10-06 - Right off, I have to admit that this version is very faithful to the orinal novel. I cannot find any fault with it in that way. If you want something that feels like the novel done word-for-word, this is the one. In that aspect, I really enjoyed it. There were, however, some stylistic flaws that got in my way.
First thing is the cinematography. It was terrible. I understand that this was made for TV in 1983, but that understanding only makes it seem a little bit better. It is kind of like watching a home video. I suppose that I have gotten used to even TV movies trying to reach the level of cinematic excellence in filming that films have now. It threw me off a little bit because the filming looked a lot like that done for soap operas. I am not a fan of soap operas, and at times it was hard to get away from that feeling.
The sound quality of the production was ok, but it kind of felt like a filmed version of a stage play. If they moved too far away from the camera, they sounded far away and kind of like they were fighting to be heard.
While I liked overall Timothy Dalton's portrayal of Rochester, he seemed, at times, too happy to be Rochester. I have never seen a Rochester smile so much. Yes, he is supposed to be charming, but there is a stretch in the middle when he completely loses the brooding quality that I have come to associate with that character. And, by the way, he is far too pretty to be Rochester. I almost laughed when Jane said that he was not handsome. Come on, he was James Bond. He's gorgeous.
One last comment about the DVD. Why couldn't they have taken out the credits for each episode. I watched the whole thing straight through, and I was a little annoyed at having to fast forward through 11 sets of beginning titles and 10 sets of end credits. It interrupted the story.
Overall, this was a very faithful adaptation, but the poor production quality, though understandable because of when it was made, limited my enjoyment of it.
Excellent BBC work as usual 
2008-09-28 - Excellent production from the BBC as usual.
I love this version of the book
I rarely stood up from my chair
2008-09-03 - It was like reading a good book, well in this case, it was like reading Jane Eyre by Bronte. With a good book, I couldn't put it down.. with a good tv adaptation, I couldn't stop the dvd.
Timothy Dalton may not be the Rochester I was imagining from the book, but he surprised me. He fit the character. Dalton is my favorite Rochester. As for Zelah, she was fantastic as Jane. No one could have picked a better Jane.
I gave this 5 stars for the overall content of the DVD, the only complaint about the DVD is there are no subtitles.
Best ever production of Jane Eyre
2008-08-30 - I think this production of Jane Eyre is the best ever. I have seen them all. If you enjoy the beauty of the prose of Charlotte Bronte, you will truly appreciate the dialog. It is almost verbatim from the book. After watching this, you will not be able to watch any other version. Enjoy!
Charlotte Bronte would be proud
2008-08-28 - This is the most faithful adaption of Bronte's Jane Eyre I've seen. The script lifted right out of the book and all of the characterization is dead on. The producers aptly cast Timothy Dalton and Zelda Clark, and I am completley puzzled by the "Zelda hate" that so crudely peppers the negative reviews. She was certainly not unattractive (calling her ugly is so tacky), nor was she a bad actress, in my opinion she is the best in the roll to date.
The only critiscism I grant the naysayers is in the production quality which leaves something to be desired. One must remember that this was a relativly low budget endeavor and I certainly do not think it materially detracts at all from the enjoyment of this movie.
