Lovely. Just perfect.
Nov. 21st, 2007 07:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysobelleI've just finished watching what might be one of the most perfect book adaptations I've ever seen: Masterpiece Theatre's "Jane Eyre." I'm conscious of the casting only in that I kept marvelling how perfect it was. The casting, the costumes, the scenery, the dialogue, the camerawork-- I'm in love.
My first-ever Amazon review:
Most of what I would say has, I believe, already been said. Let me just say that I think this may be one of the first times I can ever remember A. not being able to turn off the DVD player, and B. not being able to find fault with a book-to-screen adaptation. And I don't mean this as damning with faint praise.
It is glorious. The casting is perfect. At last: a production that shows Jane's passionate, fiercely independent nature without making her a 2007 heroine in petticoats. She is also, importantly, young-- a strong, intelligent, strong young woman discovering herself. Her motivations are believable, as are those of her Mr. Rochester. Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens could not be better in their roles, as can be said for the rest of the cast. Claudia Coulter as Bertha Rochester--a character so often given short shrift-- is dead on: neither dissolving into histrionics or underplaying her madness. The scenery is perfectly lit, the interiors rich, and the costumes a marvel of subtle story enhancement.
Best of all, of course, the screenplay takes only the necessary liberties to translate from a written to a visual medium. Charlotte Bronte's work is the true star, and the story sings. This is an unmissable set of DVDs, and when the enhanced version comes out, I'll pounce on it, saving this copy to pass on.
http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Eyre-Masterpiece-Theatre-2006/dp/B000LPQ6DE/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1195648376&sr=1-1
My first-ever Amazon review:
Most of what I would say has, I believe, already been said. Let me just say that I think this may be one of the first times I can ever remember A. not being able to turn off the DVD player, and B. not being able to find fault with a book-to-screen adaptation. And I don't mean this as damning with faint praise.
It is glorious. The casting is perfect. At last: a production that shows Jane's passionate, fiercely independent nature without making her a 2007 heroine in petticoats. She is also, importantly, young-- a strong, intelligent, strong young woman discovering herself. Her motivations are believable, as are those of her Mr. Rochester. Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens could not be better in their roles, as can be said for the rest of the cast. Claudia Coulter as Bertha Rochester--a character so often given short shrift-- is dead on: neither dissolving into histrionics or underplaying her madness. The scenery is perfectly lit, the interiors rich, and the costumes a marvel of subtle story enhancement.
Best of all, of course, the screenplay takes only the necessary liberties to translate from a written to a visual medium. Charlotte Bronte's work is the true star, and the story sings. This is an unmissable set of DVDs, and when the enhanced version comes out, I'll pounce on it, saving this copy to pass on.
http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Eyre-Masterpiece-Theatre-2006/dp/B000LPQ6DE/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1195648376&sr=1-1