After watching four other Jane Eyre adaptions (1996 film with William Hurt, 1996 film with Ciarin Hinds, 2006 mini series with Toby Stephens and 1983 mini series with Timothy Dalton) I can say this 1943 Jane Eyre film adaption stands up there but still has as many good points and faults as the other Jane Eyre adaptions I've seen.
This 1943 Jane Eyre has the most believable spooky location and is visually the darkest with many clever plays of light and shadow and some breathtaking cinematography. Also very good staging more so than other Jane Eyre films. I think because the film is limited to black and white more attention was paid to aspects like scale, perspective and foreshortening. As well as juxtaposing scenes with the actual text of the book making for a mixed media feel. What also stands out is the sound design. Very symphonic and dramatic and at times minimal and romantic.
In terms of characters, Orson Welles makes a believable Mr Rochester with an air of both haughtiness and the possibility of tenderness. Welles didn't attempt to portray Mr Rochester's temperamental nature as much as the other actors but probably to his benefit as none of the actors (Hinds, Stephens, Dalton) really managed it. Well except for William Hurt. Orson Welles plays Mr Rochester in a less hurt way than (forgive the pun) William Hurt, but is more sympathetic than Dalton although they both the character a stage feel. Dalton with his method of acting and Welles simply with his deep baritone voice.
A slightly too beautiful Joan Fontaine plays Jane Eyre in somewhat of a classic Hollywood way but with an appropriate kind of introspection. Fontaine makes much of her receptivity to the Mr Rochester character very obvious. Part of the story where Mr Rochester devises a ploy to find out Jane Eyre's true feelings is dispensed with and rightly so as Fontaine wears her feelings so openly. And while that part removes some of the book's dynamic in the relationship it does actually make some of Mr Rochester's actions seem more invited and thus less potentially overstepping the employer/employee relationship bounds. So happily the story came together that way.
The Jane Eyre story seems to suffer in all the adaptions I've seen in regards to pacing and giving reasons why the characters are so into each other. At least in this adaption unlike the Ciaran Hinds or Timothy Dalton adaptions there is less over the top proclamations of love except for one key scene. I quite prefer this similar to the William Hurt starring film.
Some nitpicking: the little girl who plays Adele isn't very believably French speaking although she's adorable. And child Elizabeth Taylor playing Helen Burns probably wasn't the right fit. Just too pretty and not poor, sickly or pious enough.
Child Jane Eyre is very good though! Even if she couldn't really cry.
A couple changes to the story was also made such as the St John rivers character and a more prominent doctor character. Not bad changes but does remove a chapter of Jane Eyre's growth.
This 1943 Jane Eyre has the most believable spooky location and is visually the darkest with many clever plays of light and shadow and some breathtaking cinematography. Also very good staging more so than other Jane Eyre films. I think because the film is limited to black and white more attention was paid to aspects like scale, perspective and foreshortening. As well as juxtaposing scenes with the actual text of the book making for a mixed media feel. What also stands out is the sound design. Very symphonic and dramatic and at times minimal and romantic.
In terms of characters, Orson Welles makes a believable Mr Rochester with an air of both haughtiness and the possibility of tenderness. Welles didn't attempt to portray Mr Rochester's temperamental nature as much as the other actors but probably to his benefit as none of the actors (Hinds, Stephens, Dalton) really managed it. Well except for William Hurt. Orson Welles plays Mr Rochester in a less hurt way than (forgive the pun) William Hurt, but is more sympathetic than Dalton although they both the character a stage feel. Dalton with his method of acting and Welles simply with his deep baritone voice.
A slightly too beautiful Joan Fontaine plays Jane Eyre in somewhat of a classic Hollywood way but with an appropriate kind of introspection. Fontaine makes much of her receptivity to the Mr Rochester character very obvious. Part of the story where Mr Rochester devises a ploy to find out Jane Eyre's true feelings is dispensed with and rightly so as Fontaine wears her feelings so openly. And while that part removes some of the book's dynamic in the relationship it does actually make some of Mr Rochester's actions seem more invited and thus less potentially overstepping the employer/employee relationship bounds. So happily the story came together that way.
The Jane Eyre story seems to suffer in all the adaptions I've seen in regards to pacing and giving reasons why the characters are so into each other. At least in this adaption unlike the Ciaran Hinds or Timothy Dalton adaptions there is less over the top proclamations of love except for one key scene. I quite prefer this similar to the William Hurt starring film.
Some nitpicking: the little girl who plays Adele isn't very believably French speaking although she's adorable. And child Elizabeth Taylor playing Helen Burns probably wasn't the right fit. Just too pretty and not poor, sickly or pious enough.
Child Jane Eyre is very good though! Even if she couldn't really cry.
A couple changes to the story was also made such as the St John rivers character and a more prominent doctor character. Not bad changes but does remove a chapter of Jane Eyre's growth.