I Watched 10 Wuthering Heights Adaptations. Here’s What’s Worth Your Time

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I’ve always thought a truly powerful book isn’t measured by how often it’s studied in school, but by how many times it can be successfully turned into a movie or TV show. It’s tough to adapt a story, because nothing beats what you imagine when you read the words on the page. But a good adaptation doesn’t need to be perfectly loyal, either. A film can still feel true to the spirit of a book even if it leaves out parts of the story. To me, a great adaptation doesn’t try to ‘beat’ the book; it embraces it, adds to it, and builds a relationship with the original work.

Emily Brontë’s novel, Wuthering Heights, published in 1847, remains powerfully influential, even for those unfamiliar with the story. It’s no surprise that filmmakers have been adapting it since the earliest days of cinema, starting with a British silent film from 1920 (which is now lost) and continuing with recent versions like the one starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. While that latest adaptation doesn’t quite capture the novel’s dark and dramatic spirit, there’s a Wuthering Heights film or TV series out there to suit every viewer.

Honestly, the number of times this story has been adapted is wild! There’s a Japanese version from ’88, a high school update in 2015, and tons of Indian adaptations, even a full-blown Bollywood musical. It’s funny, though, because the book itself really divides people. Some people are completely captivated by the complex story and its dark take on human nature, while others just remember struggling through it for a class and never picking it up again. But maybe that’s the secret to its enduring appeal – even if you didn’t love it, it definitely leaves a mark. Scholars still argue about whether it’s truly a romance – maybe Brontë was more interested in critiquing Victorian society – but almost everyone can feel the intense, if slightly unsettling, pull between the main characters. It’s just… captivating.

Cathy is a lively woman deeply connected to the wild, rugged land of her birth, but she also longs for a more refined life. Heathcliff, an outsider with a difficult past, becomes consumed by revenge and is, frankly, a captivating and unattainable figure. Their intense connection is complicated – involving obsession, death, and even a vengeful spirit. Though Emily Brontë wrote before the age of cinema, she created characters who feel perfectly suited for the dramatic interplay of darkness and light that film allows, as they embody our own flaws and desires.

Peter Kosminsky’s 1992 film of Wuthering Heights, with stars Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes, feels surprisingly flat despite its talented cast. It also shows how difficult it is to adapt Brontë’s complex story, which involves a decades-long revenge plot extending to the children of Cathy and Heathcliff. Unless a series is very long, some plot details will inevitably be cut, and Kosminsky’s version feels too rushed. While Robert Fuest’s 1970 adaptation, featuring a young Timothy Dalton, hints at the story’s darker, psychological side, it’s ultimately disappointing – Dalton’s Heathcliff, though good-looking, lacks charisma. For a concise but complete Wuthering Heights experience, the 2009 BBC adaptation with Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley is a good choice. They had real chemistry, becoming a couple themselves during filming, and their scenes together are powerfully sensual – a rare treat for viewers.

I’ve seen a few versions of Wuthering Heights, and Andrea Arnold’s 2011 take really struck me. It just felt right, perfectly matching the wild, dramatic scenery with the passionate, almost violent love between the main characters. I especially appreciated her choice to portray Heathcliff as a Black man – it powerfully emphasized how much of an outsider he was. But if I’m looking for pure atmosphere, Peter Sasdy’s 1967 BBC series is unforgettable. It’s a bit slow and feels a little like a stage play at times, because it really tries to stick closely to the book. What makes it so special, though, is that only a black-and-white version survives – it’s incredibly eerie! And the sound design is phenomenal; you can practically feel the wind howling in every scene. It’s no surprise this version inspired Kate Bush’s song ‘Wuthering Heights’ – it truly captures the intense, obsessive romance at the heart of the story.

As a total film buff, I’ve always been struck by how powerfully atmospheric Emily Brontë’s story is – it really holds up even when you move it away from the bleak Yorkshire moors. Jacques Rivette understood this, and his 1985 adaptation is gorgeous, placing the story in the sun-drenched Cevennes region of France. But for pure, simmering intensity, Luis Buñuel’s 1954 version, Abismos de pasión, takes the cake. Irasema Dilián and Jorge Mistral are absolutely captivating, bringing a stunning mid-century glamour to a story set in a hot, scrubby desert that still manages to feel incredibly damp and moody.

Despite many adaptations of Wuthering Heights, two are particularly noteworthy—and, fittingly, they both have a dark edge. The 1998 British TV version, directed by David Skynner and starring Robert Cavanah and Orla Brady (with a young Matthew Macfadyen before his Pride and Prejudice fame), really emphasizes Heathcliff’s brutality. It includes important details, like his admission to deliberately killing baby birds by trapping them in their nest. This adaptation is visually stunning (Cathy’s ghost has some incredible, flowing curls!) but also a bit over-the-top and appropriately unsettling.

The most well-known film version of Wuthering Heights actually leaves out a significant portion of the book’s plot. William Wyler’s 1939 adaptation simplifies the story, but it excels at bringing the characters to life better than any other film. Merle Oberon perfectly portrays Cathy’s enjoyment of simple pleasures and her longing for luxury—she’s flawed, but understandable. And Laurence Olivier delivers perhaps the most endearing performance as Heathcliff. He looks dangerous with his intense stare and serious expression, but hints of vulnerability make him surprisingly sympathetic. Olivier’s Heathcliff is the kind of character you instinctively want to help—a compelling fictional figure, even if he’d be a terrible partner in real life.

Emerald Fennell’s take on Wuthering Heights feels more like a fan-fiction reimagining than a faithful adaptation, and she intended it that way – seeing it as a springboard for new interpretations. But that doesn’t automatically make it good. While Robbie and Elordi are visually striking as Cathy and Heathcliff, their connection is portrayed through silly, almost cartoonish antics, like throwing eggs at each other and running around the countryside, supposedly to represent a wild, natural energy. The film features frequent, secretive sex scenes, but they lack any real intimacy, feeling more like a checklist than genuine passion. Even Cathy’s costumes are a letdown. After moving into her husband’s wealthy home, she’s dressed in cheap-looking, stiff dresses that resemble bargain-bin fabric – the kind often used in low-budget theater productions.

Fennell skips over powerful, dramatic moments like Heathcliff exhuming and embracing Cathy’s body – a significant missed opportunity for visual storytelling. Surprisingly, there are no ghosts in this adaptation, though it does include a jarring and unnecessary image of a hanged man. While Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is dark, it also possesses a raw, natural beauty. Fennell discards this nuance, replacing it with a bland and uninspired vision, and uninspired costume choices. Ultimately, this feels like a disappointing and even hostile take on a book the filmmaker claimed to admire – it’s a movie that feels more like a rejection of the source material than an adaptation.

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2026-02-13 20:06