The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Product Details

Director : Mike Barker
Actor : Tara Fitzgerald, Rupert Graves, Toby Stephens
Format : NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Aspect Ratio : 1.66:1
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0883929010646
Product Group : DVD
Release Date : 2008-04-15
Studio : BBC Warner
UPC : 883929010646

ASIN : B00005JOA0

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Editorial Reviews

From Amazon.com

The BBC adaptation of Anne Bronte's moral tale The Tenant of Wildfell Hall will be a delight to those who revel in classics brought to the screen. Tara Fitzgerald stars as Helen Graham, a secretive woman who seeks independence for herself and her son from her cruel husband, Arthur Huntingdon. Huntingdon, a rake taken with women and drink, is played to perfection by Rupert Graves, believable as both the young lover who seduces Helen and as the depraved and brutish man he becomes. Toby Stephens is Gilbert Markham, the suspicious yet adoring yeoman farmer smitten with the supposed widow. The scenery and costumes of this period piece are lush, although the use of flashback as a narrative device is at times jarring. This tale is darker than the Jane Austen adaptations that BBC audiences are used to, yet the two-part film has an ending satisfying enough for even the most cynical of romantics. --Jenny Brown

Customer Reviews

I'm Wanting to See This Wonderful Movie Transferred to DVD! (2004-02-24)

I haven't read the Anne Bronte classic novel yet but I saw this movie version of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall on cable one day and this is the movie that made me love watching British period costume movies. It is a wonderful movie with some terrific acing from the whole cast. Tara FitzGerald and Toby Stephens are wonderful but I think Rupert Graves gives a standout performance and I very greatly recommend this movie and I'm hoping it will be transferred to DVD! I'm also thinking about reading the classic novel!

The spirit of the original left out (2003-12-30)

I read Anne Bronte's book, loved it, then checked out the reviews for the VHS version here at Amazon. I couldn't find it to rent anywhere, but the reviews convinced me that I could safely buy a copy without viewing it first. Now that I've seen it, I am scratching my head wondering why it got the great reviews it did (and KICKING myself for buying it). Compared to the book, this BBC rendition I just watched last night made me think of cutting the arms and half the body off of your favorite sweater so that you could pack it better; it may fit in your small suitcase now, but it's not at all what it was. I gave the movie two stars instead of one star because the filming locations were good, and the costuming and the acting were not distracting - but the spirit of Anne Bronte's original story isn't there at all. The only thing that keeps it going for two cassettes is whatever the screenplay writer picked out of the book to make it recognizable. I think the worst misconstrued line in the movie comes from Gilbert, and it illustrates my point about the spirit of Anne Bronte's work being cast aside: Gilbert goes to Helen when she is with her husband, who is still alive - NOT in the book - and tells her (by way of trying to woo her), "It's not a sin to be happy." This line has become a classic in our generation, but this spirit was nowhere to be found in the book, and makes a completely different Helen and Gilbert than Anne Bronte would have given her permission for, which says a lot, since Helen and Gilbert are the principle characters. This video adaptation ruins the message of Anne Bronte's wonderful work.

Stunning Adaptation (2003-09-05)

The film version of the book by Anne Bronte was superbly done. The two video set accurately sets down the often-overlooked literary work with all the tension, suspense, and beauty of the the written story.

The mysterious new tenant of Wildfell Hall finds herself the love-object of the communities young buck, Gilbert. Through their love story, the poor young woman's story unfolds to Gilbert. In the end, the past comes back to haunt her, and Gilbert must chase his lady love back to her wealthy family. A moment of truth between them hapens when he meets her carriage at the gate. Will she marry him?

It is profoundly interesting. Quite innovative storytelling in book form very pleasantly translated to the screen.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (2003-01-27)

Excellent acting by everyone here, but Toby Stevens is Hot! Hot! Hot!

Excellent on all counts (2002-01-30)

This dark morality tale of Anne Bronte's is my favorite of all the Bronte novels. It is the only one whose main character (Helen Graham) grew up a light-hearted girl with every advantage in life. Such a person would usually be seen as selfish and weak-willed in other Bronte novels, but as she deals with the new realities of married life, her intellect and spiritual power prove to be formidable. The advantages she was raised with seem to serve her with a deep inner knowledge that the customary place of a wife in Britain at that time is not for her. She does not hide nor apologize for her innocent love and devotion and does not make being a victim cheat her out of her living her own life. Although this rendition of the story is more pessimistic than I felt when reading the novel, I enjoyed it thoroughly and have enjoyed watching it several times. Tara Fitzgerald et al. are superbly cast and the sets and costumes are magnificent.

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