Wuthering Heights (2009) (TV)

Director:

Coky Giedroyc

Writers:

Peter Bowker (adaptation)
Emily Brontë (novel)

Release Date:

18 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Foundling Heathcliff is raised by the wealthy Earnshaws in Yorkshire but in later life launches a vendetta against the family.

Plot Keywords:

Abuse | Love | Undressing | Corporal Punishment | Public Humiliation

Cast

Tom Hardy	...	Heathcliff
Charlotte Riley	...	Cathy
Andrew Lincoln	...	Edgar Linton
Sarah Lancashire	...	Nelly
Burn Gorman	...	Hindley
Rosalind Halstead	...	Isabella
Rebecca Night	...	Catherine
Tom Payne	...	Linton
Andrew Hawley	...	Hareton
Kevin McNally	...	Mr. Earnshaw
Des McAleer	...	Joseph
Shaughan Seymour	...	Doctor Kenneth
Sia Berkeley	...	Frances
James Harper	...	Vicar
Barnaby Kay	...	Saul
Jack O'Connell	...	Shepherd Lad
Simon Kassianides	...	Gypsy horse trader (as Simon Kassiandes)
John Hollingsworth	...	Robert
Declan Wheeldon	...	Young Heathcliff
Steve Furst	...	Green
Alexandra Pearson	...	Young Cathy
Joseph Taylor	...	Young Hindley
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Hollingworth	...	Robert
Molly Howe	...	Town Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Coky Giedroyc

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Peter Bowker		adaptation
Emily Brontë		novel

Produced by
Celia Bargh	....	line producer
Michele Buck	....	executive producer
Celia Duval	....	line producer
Hugo Heppell	....	executive producer
Radford Neville	....	producer
Damien Timmer	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ruth Barrett

Cinematography by
Ulf Brantås

Film Editing by
Mark Thornton

Production Design by
Grenville Horner

Art Direction by
Fleur Whitlock

Set Decoration by
Clare Andrade

Costume Design by
Amy Roberts

Makeup Department
Jemma Carballo	....	makeup artist
Marella Shearer	....	makeup designer
Catherine Elizabeth Smith	....	hair stylist: dailies
Juliette Tomes	....	makeup supervisor (as Juliette Vankay)

Production Management
Sam Lucas	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter Freeman	....	first assistant director
Daniel Gill	....	third assistant director
Ian Hughes	....	additional third assistant director
Ben Sweet	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Dion Banner	....	head painter

Sound Department
Chris Devlin	....	sound assistant
Dan Dewsnap	....	boom operator
Helen Dickson	....	sound effects editor
Carole Gleich	....	dialogue editor
John Pearson	....	sound mixer
James Routh	....	assistant dubbing mixer
Adam Severs	....	dubbing mixer

Special Effects by
Evan Green-Hughes	....	special effects supervisor
Alan Horsfield	....	special effects assistant
Tim Selby	....	special effects assistant

Visual Effects by
Earle Stuart Callender	....	visual effects producer
Dolores McGinley	....	digital effects artist
Chris Mortimer	....	visual effects supervisor
Iain Read	....	digital effects artist
Simon Rowe	....	digital compositor (2008)
Yolanda Rubio	....	digital effects artist

Stunts
Andreas Petrides	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Ben Appleton	....	clapper loader
Lucy Bristow	....	camera operator
Owen Charnley	....	assistant grip
Clare Fuller	....	clapper loader dailies
Chris Hewitt	....	assistant grip: dailies
Joe Maples	....	first assistant camera
Daniel Moger	....	assistant grip
Rick Woollard	....	steadicam operator

Casting Department
Susie Parriss	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marco de Magalhães	....	costume assistant
Giles Gale	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Dan Coles	....	digital colorist
Sinead Cronin	....	on-line assistant editor
Kate Holt	....	assistant editor
Mandy Miller	....	post-production paperwork
Jo Smyth	....	assistant editor
William Chetwynd	....	conform editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Jake Jackson	....	score engineer & mixer

Other crew
Natasha Bayford	....	publicity manager (2009)
Andy Booth	....	unit medic
Nikki Chamberlin	....	trainee accounts assistant
Claire Davis	....	assistant production coordinator
Chris Foggin	....	floor runner
Susie Hanson	....	production coordinator
Suzie Hanson	....	production coordinator
Robyn Henderson	....	production and floor runner
Ben Hepworth	....	location scout
Tajpal Rathore	....	office runner (dailies)
Jennie Scanlon	....	script executive
Luc Webster	....	location manager
Daniel Wiernicki	....	floor runner: dailies
Jon Williams	....	head of production

Production Companies

• Mammoth Screen

Distributors

• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (2009) (USA) (TV)
• Canal Futura (2009) (Brazil) (TV)
• Independent Television (ITV) (2009) (UK) (TV)
• Atlantic Film (2011) (Finland) (DVD)
• Eén (2009) (Belgium) (TV)
• IPA Asia Pacific (2010) (Taiwan) (all media)
• Koba Films (2012) (France) (DVD)
• LaLa TV (2010) (Japan) (TV)

Special Effects

• Emergency House Special Effects

Other Companies

• Audiolink Radio Communications  walkie talkies
• Chorley Bunce Meals on a Mission (I)  catering
• Fuji Photo Film  motion picture film supplied by
• Screen Yorkshire  funding
• Take 2 Film Services  camera equipment provided by

Also Known As:

Runtime:

142 min (2 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Bramham Park, Bramham, West Yorkshire, England, UK

Company:

Mammoth Screen

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Hymn anachronisms are very common in many British TV historical dramas. In this film, a church congregation sing the hymn 'Holy, Holy, Holy' by Reginald Heber, but use the tune 'Nicaea' by J. B. Dykes, which would not be written until 1861; over 30 years after Cathy's death in 1830 (as listed on her tombstone in episode one).

Quotes:

Heathcliff:We will wander these moors for all eternity.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "This Morning: Episode dated 16 July 2009" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Holy, Holy, Holy

Muddled melodrama

For me, the most compelling bit of film in this version of WUTHERING HEIGHTS was the opening credit sequence, which uses lots of steadicam shots to propel us into the first scene.

After that, things become more muddled. The script bounces us back and forth between the various generations of the story, tossing in characters willy-nilly but not providing us with a scorecard to keep track of who's who. Most of the main characters are so close in age that it's hard to remember who's supposed to be younger or older than the next person.

I've never understood the attraction of the Heathcliff character to generations of romance- starved women. He's nasty, vindictive, abusive, and obsessive. Is that the kind of guy you ladies really want? Cathy is just as reprehensible for marrying a decent man and making his life miserable (like the Holly Hunter character in THE PIANO).

Burn Gorman, who has played quite a variety of characters in series ranging from BLEAK HOUSE to TORCHWOOD, gives us a well-rounded character whose decline is palpable. Tom Hardy's mystique is lost on me, with his lips like slabs of raw meat; his abilities aren't up to the demands of a role that calls for the character to age a generation in 2.5 hours.

Some of the minor characters also do a fine job with the material. But the production, with its gorgeous scenery and fine building locations, is burdened by a weak script and not helped by yet another drum-heavy, Lord-of-the-Dance-inspired score.