Comments on: DVD REVIEW: A&E’s “The Romance Collection: Special Edition” “Jane Eyre”

By: Jayne

Jayne — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:36:10 +0000

Okay, I’m seeing a pattern here. I needs must try the Stephens/Wilson version at some future date. Thanks for the recs ladies.

By: Vivian

Vivian — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:20:52 +0000

I’m agreeing with those who have been talking about the BBC version of Jane Eyre with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens. Lots and lots of yum, plus the music when Jane and Rochester get caught in the rain? SO gorgeous.

Thank you Jayne for this post :) I love period dramas!

By: Evie Byrne

Evie Byrne — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:15:36 +0000

Just chiming in to back up Kaitlin. The Eyre with Wilson and Stephens is my favorite version. It is decidedly hot (in that repressed Eyrish way).

By: MCHalliday

MCHalliday — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:58:11 +0000

My objections to this version of Jane Eyre…[are] with whoever wrote the screenplay. There is absolutely no way a running time of 108 minutes can result in anything but characters who are caricatures, and whose actions make very little pyschological sense.

Most production companies require a screenplay of no less than 130 minutes with ‘beats’ (high tension) at particular minute points. The script will be cut if the movie budget is limited and it affects the writers ‘beats’.

Added to that, a writer’s screenplay is never final and will be modified in any and all ways to suit the director and the producers, so the end result may have the screenwriter’s name but in many cases, does not resemble the original script.

By: Kaitlin

Kaitlin — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 02:40:58 +0000

My favorite version of Jane Eyre is the one with Ruth Wilson & Toby Stephens. Yummy! I don’t even think Mr. Stephen’s is all that hot, but in this version? PASSION! Lots and lots of passion. :)

By: Jayne

Jayne — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:43:22 +0000

Caffey, the disc I watched is from this collection on sale at A&E and it definitely IS close captioned. This is noted at Amazon as well. None of the others that I have (P&P, Ivanhoe, Tom Jones or Lorna Doone) are. I’m not sure about the Pimpernel discs, Victoria and Albert or Emma.

By: Caffey

Caffey — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:55:03 +0000

You had up that it was closed captioned on this post, but sadly, I went to the site and it says its not closed captioned :( Maybe just the movie you reviewed happens to be closed captioned? Do you know if the others are captioned, especially P&P with Colin Firth. I’ll be so disappointed if they aren’t captioned. I’m deaf so I haven’t been able to watch these, especially the Colin Firth P&P that has never bee captioned. This is what it said at the site about closed captioning:

Format: DVD
Number of Discs: 14
Run Time: 1830+ Minutes
ISBN: 1-4229-1033-4
Closed Captioning: No
Subtitles: No
Gift Wrap Available: Yes

Some aren’t as good closed captioned as others. The lag can be awkward, but its better than no captions! Thanks again. Let me know if you know if the others are captioned cuz it says no at the site but so far you saw one and it was.

By: MaryK

MaryK — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:42:16 +0000

I haven't read Jane Eyre and have only seen one movie version. A couple of weeks ago I watched this one. It's 3+ hours, but I was riveted; I think I like it more than North & South and Pride and Prejudice. Some Amazon reviewers don't like it because it apparently deviates from the book in places; but as a movie, it's great.

By: DS

DS — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:52:52 +0000

I liked Hinds as Mr. Rochester. Timothy Dalton was prettier (sighed over him in high school as Heathcliff) and smoother– Hinds plays him more as I read the character in the book– harsh featured, older, physically powerful. A mature Byronic figure rather than a leading man. Dalton was about 37 and Hinds 44 when they played Rochester which probably had an effect.

This version always struck me as the one for people who know the story well as it doesn’t concentrate on the bits of the story that concern Jane at home, at Lowood, and after she flees Thornfield Hall.

If you really want to wince try the version with George C. Scott and Susannah York.

By: Jayne

Jayne — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:13:10 +0000

Hinds and Amanda Root are fabulous in that version of “Persuasion!” That look on her face is unforgettable when she realizes he still loves her. The glow could light a room.

By: Aoife

Aoife — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 12:46:02 +0000

“And although I love Ciaran Hinds more than my luggage, I don't think thing this sounds like his best work.

I think I'll watch him and Amanda Root in Persuasion, AGAIN.”

Oh, yes. This is one of the best short Austen adaptations ever, IMO. It makes the recent version of Persuasion, referred to in my family as Galloping Around Bath, look rather silly.

By: SonomaLass

SonomaLass — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:37:46 +0000

This book was such a staple of my girlhood that I can’t even say whether it’s one of my favorites. It’s just there, and powerful, like the Laura Ingalls Wilder series and Little Women.

I have avoided this adaptation because of the length, and it sounds like I was right to do so. I’m usually pretty good at accepting adaptation as a separate art form, but not always. And although I love Ciaran Hinds more than my luggage, I don’t think thing this sounds like his best work.

I think I’ll watch him and Amanda Root in Persuasion, AGAIN.

By: Jayne

Jayne — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:21:15 +0000

Aoife, I found the length very disappointing. After all, so much time was alloted to “P&P” and “Tom Jones” and looks to be given to “Ivanhoe” (haven’t watched this version yet) so…why not at least 2 hours if not 2.5 for “Jane Eyre?”

I think I’ve seen parts of the Dalton one but since this book obviously isn’t one of my favs, I’ve never made the effort to see the whole thing.

By: Jayne

Jayne — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:18:00 +0000

Susan, I have our copy of Hinds in “Ivanhoe” and plan on watching it soon after the Olympics are over. I tend to agree with you about the shouting in this one. Plus men’s facial hair styles from this era send me into giggles.

By: Jayne

Jayne — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:13:05 +0000

Linda, I adore that version of “The Scarlet Pimpernel” and almost wore my VHS copy out over the years.

By: Zoe Archer

Zoe Archer — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:11:41 +0000

Linda, I totally agree with you about the version with Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke. Not only is the acting excellent, but the length permits the full depth of plot and character development.

I have read Jane Eyre several times and watched many, many versions, and the Dalton/Clarke version is by far my favorite.

By: Susan/DC

Susan/DC — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:03:51 +0000

Ciaran Hinds in “Ivanhoe” is virility, danger, and sex personified. In “Jane Eyre”, not so much. I couldn’t get past the sideburns and the shouting.

By: Aoife

Aoife — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:35:16 +0000

As actors, I like Samantha Morton and Ciaran Hinds a lot. My objections to this version of Jane Eyre really lie not with the actors, who did a fine job with what they were given to work with, but with whoever wrote the screenplay. There is absolutely no way a running time of 108 minutes can result in anything but characters who are caricatures, and whose actions make very little pyschological sense. All the richness and nuances of Jane and Rochester were diluted, or, worse, made to seem almost soap opera-ish and silly. I’ve watched this version several times, and every time I keep thinking how much better it could have and should have been.

By: Linda Mooney

Linda Mooney — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:22:59 +0000

Hands down the version of Jane Eyre I prefer is the one with Timothy Dalton as Rochester, and Zelah Clarke as Jane.

As for The Scarlet Pimpernel (the very first superhero who used an alternate disguise), I’m sticking with the Anthony Andrews/Jane Seymour version.

Just two alternates you might want to check out. :D

By: Janine

Janine — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:25:19 +0000

I just edited to add the sale price into the intro ($59.97 for 30 hours of programming is a real bargain!). I had to edit the intro anyway since it’s been over a month since the original review request.

I really enjoyed reading this review. I haven’t seen this movie but I like Samantha Morton a lot as an actress. She was the best thing in “Minority Report.”