Am I the only person who prefers this version...

I too prefer this version...I think it captures the mood and atmosphere of the novel, and Ralph Fiennes' Heathcliff is simultaneouly charismatic & menacing...as he should be.

This version is just great.. And Ralph Fiennes is incredible in it. He shows the real character of Heathcliff.. Wich is great because Heathcliff's character is really complicated and hard to act.. :)

Bb-rDw - Ben Barnes Rocks D world!!
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This is definitely the best version of this peculiar novel. Ralph Fiennes comes close to playing Heathcliff as the demon he becomes in the course of the book. I've never understood why a man who hangs puppies could be thought of as a sexpot by women. I absolutely love Emily Bronte's poems, but her love story is a flop as such, in my I'm sure unpopular opinion. As a story of a man driven mad by class humiliation who then destroys everyone around him it is powerful. Emily of course has a wonderful prose style and this movie is true to it and to the complex plot; many other versions fade out mercifully before we see Heathcliff turn into a complete sadist. I just watched the 1970 version with Timothy Dalton, who is very handsome indeed, and does a fairly good job, but he has so much less to work with than Fiennes, and is not as deep of an actor. They changed the whole plot in that version, more or less killing off or "disappearing" lesser characters: (Isabella, Hareton Earnshaw, and what about Cathy's newborn daughter?) How annoying! Didn't like anything but the score. On the other hand I thought Timothy Dalton was really good as Rochester in the 1983? BBC version of "Jane Eyre", which was excellent. I infinitely prefer "Jane Eyre" to "Wuthering Heights." They sex up the movie versions of WH, but has anyone noticed how sexless the novel really is? Catherine and Heathcliff are definitely soulmates, but their connection is not necessarily a sexual one, which doesn't make it less profound. Au contraire. In addition to which, if Heathcliff is Cathy's half-brother, as the 1970 version suggests, are they not committing incest if they get it on with each other? I know Byron supposedly did it, but really!
Emily Bronte was very talented indeed, but how could she write a story about sexual love, which by everything we can know she never experienced? Whereas Charlotte, on the other hand, was a cauldron of unfulfilled passions. Just my 200 cents.

I too agree with the others. It's the best version and Binoche was and will remain as the best choice for Cathy.

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This is my absolute favorite novel; I've read it enough times to have parts of it memorized. My first reading was in jr. high for a book report. I chose WH because my mother had told me about (it was her favorite book and she instilled a love of stories and books in us at very young ages) and would often wax poetic about the dark love story and its star-crossed lovers. However, though I was an avid reader and was reading quite above my grade/age level, I had trouble with WH, especially Joseph's colloquial speech.

Rather than have me choose another book, my mother offered to read this one to me. It is one of my most treasured childhood memories, this special time spent with my mother. She would read a chapter, and then she would stop and ask me if I'd understood and to explain what I understood up until that point. She would listen and then answer my questions, correct where I'd been wrong, and we'd discuss the book until I felt comfortable with the story's place. I made a 100 on that book report.

Even now, years later, it is still my favorite novel and I have many copies of it in my house (including an old, beat-up 1963 paperback reprint that a friend picked up for me at a library sale for a few cents. He knew I loved the book, but he had no idea that it was an exact replica of my mother's original book, that she owned and read as a youth, and that she read to me from when I was young. I hope someday to own my mother's copy of the book, as well, because of the special memories attached to it, even if it naught but a simple, battered, aged paperback).

All of that said, I would like to agree that this 1992 version is my favorite. I was delighted when they finally came out with it on DVD, as my old VHS tape - recorded directly from TV - had grown quite worn out! Ralph Fiennes was absolutely perfect as the brooding and darkly vindictive Heathcliff, and though some disagree, I thought Juliette Binoche spun a perfect Catherine - spoiled and passionate yet irresistibly charming despite. The casting, scenery, score, and every last bit was - to me - just a perfect representation of the book that has touched my life so deeply.

<<-- Do it with passion. -->>

This used to be my favorite version, until I watched PBS 2009 Masterpiece Theatre. It could be because they had more hours in which to develop the story vs. this version's two hour limit. The 1992 film score remains my favorite. So perfect for the setting and the story. But I didn't like Ralph F's sourpuss face. He always had this rigid kind of look, not so much in his eyes, but in his face. Watch the Pbs version and you'll see the difference. One thing I didn't like though about the PBS version was Heathcliff's scream when he hears Cathy is dead. The best scream has to go to Timothy Dalton in the 70's version. :-)

The original 1939 classic movie of Wuthering Heights, with Olivier and Oberon, is excellent for its time. However, this version only depicts the basic plot.

The 1992 version with Ralph Fiennes is more elaborate, and well organized. This version emphasizes the bitterness, anger and vengefulness of the main character, Heathcliff. Excellent in all respects except the early love between Cathy and Heathcliff is shown in a skimpy and summary manner. This is a flaw since this deep love needs a full and detailed portrayal in order to explain Heathcliff's later deep bitterness.

The 2009 version with Tom Hardy is slightly convoluted, and lightens Heathcliff's vengefulness (making Heathcliff more of sympathetic character to the viewer), which is a flaw compared to the 1992 Fiennes version that properly displays Heathcliff's revenge. However, the 2009 Hardy version does portray the early love between Heathcliff and Cathy with due elaboration (which is lacking in the 1992 version).

An ideal version would be the 1992 Fiennes version that fully depicted the love as did the 2009 hardy version.

Both the Hardy 2009 version and the Fiennes 1992 version are excellent but I prefer the 1992 version as the best available.