Jane Eyre

It's hard to imagine a better gothic romance than "Jane Eyre" -- gloomy vast houses, mysterious secrets, and a brooding haunted man with a dark past. And while there have been lots of movie and TV adaptations, one of the absolute best is the 1970 TV movie starring Susannah York and George C Scott. "Jane Eyre" spends too long on Jane's school days (and not quite enough on the Thornfield days), but the two lead actors are absolutely brilliant in their roles.Jane Eyre was an orphan, abused and neglected at a boarding school run by a tyrannical, hypocritical minister. But Jane refuses to let anyone push her down -- and many years later, Jane moves on by applying to Thornfield Hall for a governess position. She soon becomes the teacher and friend to the sprightly French girl Adele. Then she encounters her employer, Mr. Rochester, a cynical, embittered man who spends little time at Thornfield.They are slowly drawn together into a powerful love, despite their different social stations -- and Rochester's apparent attentions to a shallow, snotty aristocrat. But strange things are happening at Thornfield -- injuries, fires, and a mysterious "danger." Jane and Rochester finally confess their feelings to each other, but their wedding is interrupted when Rochester's dark past comes to light.The biggest problem with the 1970 adaptation of "Jane Eyre" is that it spends too long at Jane's rotten school, and not quite enough time at Thornfield -- it could have benefited from another half an hour to flesh things out slightly, and include a few more important scenes that the TV movie didn't have (like the gypsy fortuneteller). So it's a credit to everything ELSE in this movie that it's still very good.Director Delbert Mann does an excellent job here, smoothly gliding through the three phases of Jane's life, slowly building up the gothic feel of the movie until Rochester's secret is revealed. And he weaves in some truly brilliant, intense scenes, such as when Rochester wakes to find Jane missing, and races around Thornfield searching for her, or when Jane joyously rejects the fanatical advances of the self-righteous St. John ("You cannot love just God alone!").But the best part is York and Scott, who have electric chemistry. York gives the role the passionate, rebellious undercurrent that you'd expect from Jane Eyre, and she's more striking than conventionally pretty. Scott seems a bit too gritty at first (breaking stuff?), but he soon turns on the passionate, embittered aspect of Rochester -- especially when the truth about Bertha comes out, and he sits sadly in her tower cell murmuring softly to the madwoman."Jane Eyre" is definitely one of the better adaptations of Bronte's classic gothic romance -- it's a bit too short, but the performances are absolutely awe-inspiring. Definitely worth seeing.

If you enjoy George C. Scott, then this version is for you!It sticks pretty closely to the novel and is an excellent version. I really enjoyed Susannah York's portrayal of Jane. The chemistry between her and Scott is there. She is one of the better actresses to play the part, because she is both strong and vulnerable.If you want a good laugh after this somewhat gloomy movie, then watch the two of them in the George C. Scott version of "A Christmas Carol," where he plays Scrooge and she plays a sassy Mrs. Cratchit. I think there must have been some jokes on the set of that movie knowing their background as star crossed lovers in Jane Eyre.My only complaint is that this restored version needs to be restored a little more. The video quality is a bit rough.

This was the very first version of Jane Eyre that I saw close to thirty years ago. I'd never read the book at that time, and it was seeing this that prompted me to read the book, which I've since read numerous times. But I loved the movie then. It was a genre I was interested in, and I found it to have a hauntingly eerie feel, mainly, I think, due to the music, which contributes greatly to that feeling. Since I hadn't read the book at that time, and since Jane's age isn't specifically mentioned, I didn't know that Susannah York was really too old for the role.In the decades since, I've seen more than one version of this timeless classic. Of the ones I have seen, my favorite and, in my opinion, the best by far, is the 1983 version starring Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke. Due to it's length, it is the most faithful to the book. But it also features outstanding performances by both Dalton and Clarke, even though both were much more attractive than the characters in the book are described as being. (I haven't seen Zelah Clarke since, so I can't express an opinion on her current physical appearance, but, let's face it. It would still take a major make-up job to make Timothy Dalton unattractive. The man is gorgeous!)After watching this 1970 version again for the first time since the early to mid-eighties, here are my two main impressions. 1) The music is still one of the movies strongest points. 2) Both George C. Scott and Susannah York gave good performances. What I felt was most lacking was depth of emotion. I keep finding myself comparing to the 1983 version in which Dalton and Clarke both made me feel the heartbreak and despair of their tragic situation. That's what I missed in this version. While I felt their sadness, I did not feel any feelings of sheer, absolute anguish that the later version evokes.After reading quite a few reviews that commented on the poor quality of the DVD as well as some VHS versions, and the fact that some scenes are missing, I opted to order a used VHS copy that was stated to be a former library rental. It arrived promptly and in good shape. I am pleased with the quality. I thought the color was as vibrant as it should be for a VHS that isn't new. Whether or not scenes are missing, I honestly don't know, due to the fact that I hadn't seen it in so long. Overall, in spite of the fact that there are minor deviations from the book, this is still one of the better versions I've seen due to the strong performances of the actors, the beautiful scenery and sets, and, of course, the musical score. I'm happy to have it as a part of my video collection.

過去に『ジェーンエア』のタイトルだけでDVDを買ってしまい、記憶との違いに愕然としました。どうしても私の記憶にある『ジェーンエア』を観たくて色々調べてみると、年代も女優さんもまったく違っていて…今回やっと出会う事ができて凄く嬉しかった。古い映画なので画質が悪いのは覚悟してましたし、字幕もないことも承知してましたので、何も問題なかったです。50年近く前の感動が蘇りました。

40年ぐらい前に日本でもテレビ放映されて吹き替えで観たけど字幕がないので良く分からなかった。でも原作で読んだので大体のストーリーは知っていた。私が中学生の時に上映された作品でとても思い出深いです。特にラストシーンが印象的です。スザンナ ヨーク、ジョン ウィリアムスの音楽、ヨークシャーの陰鬱な風景、やっぱり私はこの｢ジェーン エア｣が一番好き❗PS、日本語字幕版を作ってほしいです。

jane eyreの映画ドラマをコレクションしはじめて一番の年長のロチェスター、ジェインでしたね。原作の本の設定は４０才前と２０才前のはずでかなりイメージと違いました。

まさか日本を対象にして売り、現地発送するＤＶＤが、映らないものだったなんて思いもしなかった。これ以外のJane　Ayreの作品をそろえていて、これが最後のものだったので楽しみにしただけに失望しました。

シャーロッテ・ブロンテ原作の英文学『ジェーン・エア』は何度も映像化されているがこれは1971年にもともとTVMとして製作された作品。日本では劇場公開になった。ロウウッド孤児院で育ったジェーン・エアが、ソーンフィールド館にガヴァネス(家庭教師)として行くことになり、館の主ロチェスターと次第に惹かれ合うようになるのだが館にはある大きな秘密が…広大なソーンフィールド館を包む、クラシカルで美しい風景もさることながらとにかく、ジョン・ウィリアムス(まだ有名でなかった頃の)の音楽が素晴らしい。ゴシック風味で格調高くロマンティックな音楽の数々は、心をかき立てる。原作に比べ、ジェーン役のスザンナ・ヨークが大人過ぎるとか(原作のジェーンの設定は18歳くらい)ジョージ・C・スコットも恋愛物にはあまり向かないような印象もあるのだがこれはこれで味わいのある映像化であると思う。とても懐かしい想いで見た。なお、商品説明に「リージョン1」とあったのだが現物は「Compatible with NTSC DVD Players Worldwide」(＝リージョンフリー)だったので普通に家のDVDデッキで再生することが出来た。