When this version of Jane Eyre is good, it is very good. But that is not the case in every respect.
The opening sequence of Jane's miserable childhood is well done: curtailed, certainly, but it gives us enough misery to make its point.
Joan Fontaine is an excellent adult Jane. Orson Welles, however, I'm not so sure about. Rochester is supposed to be brooding, but with a soulful centre which enables Jane to see his good heart. Welles, however, is all booming thyroidal presence in a performance of minimal subtlety.
I would rather have seen some location work rather than all gothic interiors, even the exteriors!
The opening sequence of Jane's miserable childhood is well done: curtailed, certainly, but it gives us enough misery to make its point.
Joan Fontaine is an excellent adult Jane. Orson Welles, however, I'm not so sure about. Rochester is supposed to be brooding, but with a soulful centre which enables Jane to see his good heart. Welles, however, is all booming thyroidal presence in a performance of minimal subtlety.
I would rather have seen some location work rather than all gothic interiors, even the exteriors!