Rent Jane Eyre (1943)

3.8 of 5 from 59 ratings
1h 33min
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Synopsis:
1943 film version of Charlotte Bronte's gothic romance novel. After spending her childhood in an orphanage, young Jane Eyre (Joan Fontaine) becomes governess to the ward of an imposing older man named Edward Rochester (Orson Welles). Ultimately, Jane's gentle influence forces Rochester to drop his forbidding veneer, and he proposes to her. But the discovery that Rochester is already married, and further, that his volatile wife is locked in the attic, prompts Jane to leave as a series of tragic events unfold in this feature.
Actors:
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Directors:
Producers:
William Goetz
Writers:
Charlotte Brontë, Aldous Huxley
Studio:
Odeon
Genres:
Classics, Drama, Romance
Collections:
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BBFC:
Release Date:
19/04/2010
Run Time:
93 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 1.0
Subtitles:
English
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
Colour:
B & W

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Reviews (1) of Jane Eyre

Period Drama. - Jane Eyre review by Steve

Spoiler Alert
24/11/2022

This is the classic Hollywood adaptation of Jane Eyre, but in editing Charlotte Brontë's lengthy novel down to 97 minutes, it isn't all that faithful. Still, there's a brief outline of the story and it is a rich gothic melodrama with some evocative visual expressionism. And there is a stark representation of the hardships of Victorian life for the poor and powerless.

The plot is so episodic that it feel like watching a video game as Jane passes through the levels of hardship and shame necessary to become the wife of Mr. Rochester: her uncaring family; the brutal school; the scorn of the spoiled gentry; Rochester's insane wife. There's little idea of the ruthless determination Jane needs to survive, or of her own egotism.

A jowly Orson Welles draws Rochester in dark, deep lines. There is a genuine spark with Joan Fontaine's pale, vulnerable Jane. It's yet another Fontaine vehicle where we are advised by the script that she is a plain looking woman. Which she isn't. She does dress down though. Eventually her silent anguish stalls the film but it's a definitive performance.

When Jane is sent to a dismal, isolated institution as a child she is well played by Peggy Ann Garner. It's startling to see an eleven year old Elizabeth Taylor as her sickly friend. It's a shame that the studio exteriors of the moors are so poor, but the menacing, shadowy interiors are excellent. It's an entertaining historical romance, with the profound horror of the novel replaced with noir atmospherics.

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