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Posted: |
Aug 29, 2010 - 5:59 PM
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By: |
Richard-W
(Member)
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You can never tell about VCI. Sometimes they negotiate for the elements and strike a new transfer that rescues a rare film, and at other times, they release dim, muddy, filthy prints that are among the worst DVDs public domain labels have to offer. Which will this be:
http://www.vcientertainment.com/HollywoodLandProduct.aspx?id=2666
This austere, condensed Jane Eyre hits all the high notes and strikes all the low beats of Charlotte Bronte's classic novel in 108 minutes and 52 seconds. The film received praise for being the first version to be played realistically and to be shot on on rural Yorkshire locations that matched the novel's descriptions. More to the point, the landscape plays a role in the novel and this is the first time it plays the same role in a film adaptation. The level of craftsmanship on this pictorial Jane Eyre is very high. Delbert Mann directs the interaction on the scale of a chamber play, dispensing with background extras as often as possible, emphasizing pregnant silences but with a precise ear for Bronte's dialogue. His blocking and coverage of Jane and Edward's scenes together is a clinic in directing. Susannah York and George C. Scott are commendably stoic. Their performances are deeply felt, exactly right, and I think willfully strange. That strangeness gives their interaction a contemporary edge. The way she sits at his knee before the fireplace, suffering in silence, supplicant yet rebellious, inviting affection but permitting only a pat, has to be seen to be understood. A lot of thought and planning went into their scenes together, and it hasn't dated in forty years. The photography by Paul Beeson is pure Gothic tableaux in rich saturated color. The melancholy score is an early masterwork by John Williams and like some of the performances it too is a little strange.
Although financed by Hallmark Hall of Fame for American television, Jane Eyre was touted as their most expensive production at the time. It is shot like a feature film, albeit a small-budget one, which explains the extra headroom on those cheap public domain DVD's. It played theatrically in the U.K. in December 1970 before moving on to other countries. In the USA, school kids were assigned to watch Jane Eyre as homework in English Lit because Hallmark promoted the film as an educational event, supplying public schools with study guides for class discussion. I wish now I had saved mine. Those who saw the original telecast in March 1971 never forgot it, and the film grew quite a cult following over the years.
Fans of the novel no doubt prefer the longer, fuller, talkier versions, but this version says as much in fewer words. Delbert Mann and Paul Beeson had collaborated the previous year on Hallmark's David Copperfield, another worthy title regulated to sorry public domain editions. In 1971 they made the best version yet of Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped starring Michael Caine as the dashing Alan Breck. It is available on a Network DVD in region 2.
Let's hope VCI gets closer to the source and strikes a new transfer that will rescue this strangely beautiful Jane Eyre from the purgatory of dim, scratchy public domain editions.
Richard
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Posted: |
Aug 30, 2010 - 3:00 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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This was a rather obscure TV film from the 60's, so I'm not surprised that most copies are in less-than-stellar condition.
As for the film itself, I just have to copy/paste what I wrote in my own JANE EYRE thread:
"It is, IMO, one of the lesser film adaptations of the Brontë book (which I've read). It's too rushed; you never get into the pathos it deserves. Did Delbert Mann do ANYTHING really good in his career? It's almost like a "cartoon" version of the story. And to have the beautiful Susannah York play the title character and then making her "appearances" into an issue, isn't really believable. George C. Scott's Rochester was decent, though, although he could have showed more emotions in the finale.
Williams' score, on the other hand, is some of the VERY, VERY best things he has ever done. It's as if it accompanies a far greater film than it is. From the beautiful opening shots of rural England with his Vaughan Williams-inspired pastorale to the harsher dissonance material of the "mad woman in the attic" scenes. My favourite theme is unquestionably the gorgeous theme for St. John Rivers, especially how he interweaves this with the love theme when Jane realizes she must return to Rochester. The harmonic language of the two themes mesh unbelievably well. Pure brilliance!
Interesting also how the haunting love theme is played as source music, as Jane plays it on the piano for Rochester.
This is, IMO, a MUST-HAVE CD, on par with STAR WARS."
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Posted: |
Aug 31, 2010 - 1:33 AM
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By: |
Richard-W
(Member)
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Thor,
I'm pleased that you love the score but I don't agree with a word you've said about the film. Delbert Mann was a gifted and refined dramatist of the old school who directed many fine films. The overall quality of his work is impeccable. It was necessary to condense the novel in order to make the film. Mann's version zeroes in on the essence of the story and says all the important things that need to be said. Think of the glass as half full instead of half empty. Taken on its' own terms as cinema, Mann's JANE EYRE is 100% successful.
Also, it has the advantage of being shot on authentic locations -- in 1970 the first and only JANE EYRE to do so -- on 35mm film and dye-transfer color instead of 16mm / video / HD like the other, more epic made-for-tv adaptations. The story is also expressed visually and with a visual sophistication the other adaptations lack (I own them all). If you don't think 35mm and dye-transfer color are important, compare the different versions sometime. None are as beautiful as the Gothic tone poem Delbert Mann and Paul Beeson and John Williams crafted together.
Of the literal, word-for-word epics, I favor the 1983 BBC-teleplay with Zelah Clarke and Timothy Dalton over the other competition, but as cinema, Mann's version beats them all.
Richard
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Would you like to hear John Williams complete score for JANE EYRE ?
Please vote for it here:
http://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=71636&forumID=1&archive=0
Richard
I have always liked the film and loved the score -- I remember how difficult it was to find the LP album back in 1970 or so -- and it was the cd I asked Mr. Williams to sign when I got to meet him- he seemed pleased.
As to Jane Eyre adaptions, all are interesting in one way or another. Id like to mention the BBC version starring Michael Jayston + Sorcha Cusack from 1973 which many find one of the best versions(available on Acorn Media)..
Susannah York is my favorite Jane --
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Posted: |
Oct 7, 2010 - 12:12 PM
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By: |
Richard-W
(Member)
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I've just watched the new VCI edition of JANE EYRE (1970). It clocks in at exactly 108 minutes, making it 52 seconds shorter than the Triton edition reviewed above. I'm not sure what's missing, but the British Lion logo is present at the beginning. VCI obviously got theirs from a different source than Triton, and it's not very good. It is NOT restored despite the statement added to the beginning and end, although some effort has been made to color-correct and clean it up. The image quality seems to improve as it progresses, but then it backslides at what must be the reel changes. Although the Triton has inconsistent chroma, inconsistent black levels, edge enhancement, dirt and other damage it is marginally superior to the VCI. I would say the VCI is second best, but that's not saying much:
http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Eyre-George-C-Scott/dp/B003U80I5G/ref=sr_1_12?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1286475218&sr=1-12
I wish they had tapped into a better source and done a true "restoration." I don't suppose there will ever be a fully restored JANE EYRE.
Richard
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Few here have mentioned the masterful John Williams score.
Gorgeous music, made a big impression back in the day. This was the follow-up to Williams' THE REIVERS, really placing Williams on the map as a composer to be reckoned with.
Capitol released the music on lp, and it has had several CD incarnations, but, curiously, the music on the released lp was different from the actual cues in the film. Was the lp a re-recording? It certainly sounds like the style of the tracks, if not exactly like them.
I'd love to have both the lp and the tracks on a new release of the score. But, as Manderly points out in that previous thread about it, the question is: who owns the rights? That's always the bottom line in contemplating any soundtrack release.
Still and all, JANE EYRE is certainly among my Top Ten Williams scores.
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Posted: |
Sep 21, 2014 - 2:01 PM
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By: |
Richard-W
(Member)
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John B. Archibald :
...Capitol released the music on lp, and it has had several CD incarnations, but, curiously, the music on the released lp was different from the actual cues in the film. Was the lp a re-recording? It certainly sounds like the style of the tracks, if not exactly like them.
I'd love to have both the lp and the tracks on a new release of the score. But, as Manderly points out in that previous thread about it, the question is: who owns the rights? That's always the bottom line in contemplating any soundtrack release. ...
John B., are you saying the music cues on the CD releases are different from the LP?
I don't have the new La-La Land | Capitol reissue, but I do have the earlier releases:
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