User reviews

This adaptation was clearly produced for BBC television on an absolute shoestring, with no outdoors shots at all; judging by the number of horses that are heard arriving just off-screen, it must have been quite a stretch for the budget to produce the single shaggy beast that Heathcliff grooms inside the stable! But the production proves, as so often in the BBC's history, that it's talent that counts.

The script, courtesy of the vastly capable Nigel Kneale (the same of "Quatermass" fame), conveys the story effectively and succinctly, despite discarding most of the second half of the book. The actors are more than equal to their parts, in particular the leading couple and Patrick Troughton as a memorable Hindley, and the sound effects department do their level best to evoke a landscape always just off-screen or around the corner. It's powerful stuff: I never cared for Emily Bronte, but I was moved by this.

I believe this broadcast was a one-off repeat of the 1953 "Sunday Night Theatre" adaptation.

As per the single commentary about this production, I can only add that I have read the book at 16, seen the BBC production on PBS the summer after, and have never forgotten the impact. The characterization of this single production has been the mark of excellence that every other production (one exception is the BBC 1967 version with Ian McShane) has never elsewhere achieved. I have been searching for this particular reference ever since. After all this time, I still visualize the scene with Cathy and Nelly in the kitchen, with Heathcliff hidden, listening to Cathy's opinion of him, just before he runs off. This is a scene dramatically froth with emotion portrayed by the actors despite the limited 'outside environment' and sound effects, still rendering convincing portrayals and conveying Bronte's essential moody, dark characterizations. Rather than relying on 'scenic views', it is totally carried by the actors ability to 'act'. With one exception, no other production has come close. I truly hope that this will soon be available in DVD format. It would be a literary shame were it not, since it brings Emily Bronte's characters to life with all the emotional passion that the author intended.