Wuthering Heights

Do we really need yet another adaptation of Emily Bronte's oft-filmed Gothic romance? Well, as the song says, the world will always welcome lovers—even doomed ones, and they just don't come more star-crossed than “gypsy brat” Heathcliff (Tom Hardy) and free-spirited Catherine (Charlotte Riley). Hardy's Heathcliff makes an alarming first impression: forcing his neglected and sickly son into an arranged marriage, and digging up his beloved's grave to snuggle with her corpse. But then the flashback kicks in and we are once again swept away by the untamed beauty of the moors and Heathcliff's uncivilized emotions. Heathcliff does fret so, as Catherine lovingly observes, but who could blame him, with his brother treating him like a wretched servant, and Catherine marrying the stiff and pompous Linton (Andrew Lincoln). Over the course of this lavishly mounted Masterpiece Theatre production—a darker, grittier telling than the classic 1939 feature film—Heathcliff makes good on his vow to pay back “with pain and vengeance” all who've wronged him. DVD extras include behind-the-scenes footage. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)[Blu-ray Review—Oct. 11, 2011— PBS, 137 min., not rated, $29.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2008's Wuthering Heights boasts a good transfer and features a stereo soundtrack. Extras include behind-the-scenes footage (13 min.). Bottom line: a fine Blu-ray debut for a winning adaptation of Brönte's classic novel.]