#the tenant of wildfell hall 1996

[adobongsiopao]

"The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" 1996 version starring Tara Fitzgerald, Toby Stephens and Rupert Graves.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Today in "was this always meant to be greenish, is the BBC shit at doing transfers of old stuff, do I make people look too pink or all of the above?" The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1996)

[claudia1829things]

"THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL" (1996) Review

"THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL" (1996) Review I cannot count the number of times I have seen either movie or television adaptations of either Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel, "Jane Eyre" or Emily Brontë's novel of the same year, "Wuthering Heights". There was also a third sister who was also a novelist, namely Anne Brontë. She had also written a famous novel. Published in 1848, it was titled "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall".

Despite the novel's success upon its publication, the reputation of "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" seemed to have faded over the years . . . to the point that many literary critics had developed a dismissive attitude toward it by the early 20th century. However, the novel's reputation has grown considerably during the last decades of the 20th century. Although there have been references to Brontë's novel during this later period, there have been only two on-screen adaptations of the novel by the BBC - a four-part miniseries in 1968 and a three-part miniseries in 1996. I have yet to see the 1968 production, but I have seen the more recent miniseries at least three times. After my latest viewing, I decided to write a review. "THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL" begins with the arrival of a mysterious woman in black named Mrs. Helen Graham and her young son Arthur at Wildfell Hall, an Elizabethan manor located in Yorkshire. Helen is determined to establish an independent existence as an artist in order to support herself and Arthur. Due to her aloof and blunt manner, her new neighbors become determined to pry into her private life and learn everything about her. Only one neighbor, an attractive local farmer named Gilbert Markham manages to befriend her. But when Helen becomes aware of the growing attraction between her and Gilbert, she decides to reveal the truth about her past. Gilbert learns from reading her diary that she had fled from her husband, who is an alcoholic landowner. He also happens to be an abusive spouse, a womanizer, and a destructive influence on their young son. As far as I know, there have been three previous Brontë productions in which its narratives were conveyed in a non-linear fashion - "WUTHERING HEIGHTS" (1939), "JANE EYRE" (2006) and "JANE EYRE" (2011). However, both Emily and Charlotte Brontë wrote their respective novels with linear narratives. Anne Brontë did not . . . at least for her 1848 novel. The story began from Gilbert Markham's point-of-view in a series of letters to a friend and his diary. The novel's middle narrative shifted from Gilbert to Helen's POV, as Gilbert learns the truth about her background and troubled marriage through the diary she gave him to read. The only difference between Brontë's novel and the 1996 miniseries is that screenwriter David Nokes began the story from Helen's point-of-view with her arrival at Wildfell Hall. Throughout the first episode, the narrative's POV shifted between Helen and Gilbert, with the occasional foray to another supporting character - especially Gilbert's mother or sister. Once the narrative shifted toward Helen's past history with Arthur Huntingdon in the second episode, she became the narrative's sole narrator until the third episode. Many movie and television productions have proven incapable of shifting time periods, let alone narrators with such ease. Yet, there is another aspect of "THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL" that I found even more remarkable than its narrative structure - namely the story itself. Do not mistake me . . . I have enjoyed the numerous adaptations of "Wuthering Heights" and "Jane Eyre". But thanks to Anne Brontë's novel and David Nokes' screenplay, I prefer "THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL" over the other Brontë adaptations I have seen. I thought Nokes did an excellent job in capturing Brontë's tale about a young woman who had endured a toxic marriage and found herself struggling to put her memories behind her and eventually, facing them. Unlike her sisters Emily and Charlotte, Anne did not appease her readers with some Byronic hero whom the heroine either saves or reunite with in the afterlife. If I may say so, neither Gilbert Markham or Arthur Huntingdon struck me as Byronic. Gilbert struck me as an earthy, hot-tempered and slightly spoiled young man. His acquaintance and eventual romance with Helen forced him to mature. Arthur originally struck me as a dashing rogue, whose wit and managed to win Helen's hand in marriage. Yet, that wit and charm hid unfaithful and at times, vicious drunk who failed to overcome his addiction and insecure nature. We finally have Helen Graham/Huntingdon, whose character arc underwent quite a journey. The story began with a portrayal of Helen as this slightly hard, reserved and blunt woman who seemed leery of forming relations with her new neighbors - including Gilbert. Through the flashbacks from the second and third episodes, audiences learn how Helen had developed from a naive and slightly sanctimonious eighteen-year-old debutante to that blunt and paranoid mother of a five-year-old son. What I truly liked about Anne Brontë's tale is that she did not pull any punches in her portrayal of Helen's experiences as Mrs. Arthur Huntingdon. Nor did she make any attempt to whitewash Helen's fear, sense of betrayal at Arthur's infidelity or her disappointment over her failure to transform him into a better man. What impressed me even further is that screenwriter David Nokes and director Mike Barker did more than justice to Brontë's novel. Both did an excellent job of recapturing trauma Helen must have experienced as a woman trapped in an abusive marriage. I also have to compliment both director and screenwriter for their treatment of Helen's experiences with her new neighbors near Wildfell Hall, as she dealt with their resentment toward her aloof manner and their vicious gossip. And I must admit that I really enjoyed how Helen's relationship with the earthy Gilbert Markham and the lively manner in which they developed from polite neighbors to close friends and potential lovers. More importantly, neither Helen nor Gilbert was portrayed as perfect. I must confess that my only issue with the narrative was the ending. Brontë's novel ended with Gilbert erroneously suspecting that Helen had married Frederick Lawrence, her "landlord", following Arthur's death. Mind you, I did not care for that ending, which I found it a shallow and overused trope in many romance stories. David Nokes solved that problem by revealing Mr. Lawrence's true identity by the end of Episode 1. Unfortunately, he also repeated this same trope by having Helen suspect that Gilbert was about to marry his former love interest following her return to Wildfell Hall. Sigh. It was the same minor, yet shallow crap, but with a different character. Oh well . . . nothing is perfect. I have no problems with the production values for "THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL", save for one issue. I thought production designer Sarah Greenwood did an excellent job in re-creating the two Yorkshire communities during the 1820s in this miniseries. Daf Hobson's cinematography, Sarah Jane Cornish's art direction and the series' art department certainly added to the authenticity of Greenwood's work. I was especially impressed by Jean Speak's hair and makeup work and Rosalind Ebbutt's costume designs, as shown in the images below:

Needless to say, Greenwood, Hobson, Speak and Ebbutt all earned BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) nominations. Only Speak won. That one issue I had with the three-part miniseries centered around its film. I had no problems with Hobson's photography. But I had a problem with the film stock used for this production. I hate to say this, but I believe the color for the 1996 miniseries is in danger of fading in the coming years, unless the BBC can do something to save it. I wonder what kind of film Hobson or perhaps the BBC used for this production. I have noticed similar problems for other BBC productions during the 1990s. Regardless of Nokes' excellent adaptation and Barker's direction, I feel this production would not have worked without the excellent performances that dominated it. "THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL" featured some strong performances from the likes of Kenneth Cranham, Aran Bell, Karen Westwood, and Miranda Pleasance who portrayed Helen's new tight-minded and conservative neighbors. Pam Ferris, Paloma Baeza and Joe Absolom gave first-rate performances as Gilbert's mother and two siblings. James Purefoy seemed to be very solid as Helen's "landlord", Frederick Lawrence. Livelier performances came from those who portrayed Arthur's predatory friends - Sean Gallagher, Jonathan Cake, Cathy Murphy and especially Beatie Edney, whose Annabella Lowborough struck me as deliciously corrupt. Dominic Rowan did an excellent job in portraying the more complicated Lord Lowborough, who proved to be repelled by his friends and wife's behavior. I thought Sarah Bidel gave the most poignant performance as Helen's loyal friend and caregiver, Rachel. Young Master Arthur Huntingdon proved to be the second role in Jackson Leach's short career. Eight to nine years old at the time, I thought he gave an excellent performance as the young Arthur, torn between his parents' influence. "THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL" not only benefited from a strong supporting cast, but also from superb performances by the three leads. Rupert Graves gave one of his best performances as Helen's alcoholic and abusive husband, Arthur Huntington. What I admired about Graves' performance was that he did not portray Arthur as some one-note villain. His Arthur was charming, witty, romantic, cold, dismissive, manipulative and yes . . . scary. In the end, Graves also managed to convey how pathetic Arthur was at his core. One would think Toby Stephens had it easier as Helen's true love interest, Gilbert Markham. Fortunately, Brontë's portrayal of Gilbert proved to be more complex. The production's casting director had been smart enough to hire a superb actor like Stephens who brought out the best and worst of Gilbert's character without making audiences question Helen's attraction to him. Tara Fitzgerald deserved top honors for her portrayal of the story's protagonist, Helen Graham (aka Huntington). I thought she did a superb job of conveying Helen's emotional journey from a naive debutante who fell in love with the wrong man, to a wiser, yet strong-willed young mother, whose past history with an abusive mother had led her to become somewhat paranoid and brusque with her neighbors. Yet, Fitzgerald also managed to retain Helen's capability for love through the character's relationship with her son and her burgeoning romance with Gilbert. It is a pity that none of the leads - Fitzgerald, Stephens or Graves had received any accolades or nominations for their performances. What else can I say about "THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL"? Nothing really. Yes, I found the romantic misunderstanding from the ending a little old and cliched. And yes, I believe the film that the miniseries was shot with in danger of fading. But if I must be brutally honest, I believe this adaptation of Anne Brontë's novel to be one of the best costume productions from the 1990s, let alone the past three or four decades, thanks to David Nokes' screenplay, Mike Barker's direction and a superb cast led by Tara Fitzgerald. Hell, I will go even further and state that this version of "THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL" might be my favorite adaptation of any Brontë novel.

[hairtusk]

Which Brontë films (both novel adaptations and biographies) are your favourites? I must confess that I’ve never watched one, though I always wanted to know how they adapted their stories to screen.

I feel like my answers to this question might be slightly controversial! But I'll do my best to be as honest as possible.

My favourite biopic is To Walk Invisible - everything about it is absolutely stunning, from the costume design, to the cinematography, the plot, and the acting. It was directed by Sally Wainwright (of Gentleman Jack fame), who portrays the lives of the sisters beautifully. And, like me, she has an undying love for the landscape and history of West Yorkshire and the moors, which really shows in the way the film is shot. I particularly love the way that she doesn't try to crowbar in a love interest, or make the sisters inaccurately beautiful or charming - it's accurate, gorgeous and an absolute labour of love. I'd absolutely recommend to anyone who loves the Brontës, or Victoriana in general.

My favourite novel adaptation is, by far, Cary Joji Fukunaga's Jane Eyre. I feel like it's the most accurate Jane Eyre adaptation, both in terms of the plot and the overall vibes of the novel - it definitely has more gothic undertones than previous adaptations. The costuming and set design is beyond beautiful, as is the cinematography, and Mia Wasikowska will always be *my* Jane.

Now, I understand people have their own favourite Jane Eyre adaptions (the 2006 version seems to be particularly popular), but honestly, I hate every other version. They all feel inadequately gothic, much too "tea and bonnets period drama", and all of them cast the actress for Jane *far* too old (she's 19 in the novel). So, I'm sorry for everyone who doesn't agree, but I have my reasons.

And, if I being honest ... that's where my love of Brontë adaptations/biopics ends 😬 I'll do a quickfire round of my *least* favourites, and my reasoning:

Emily (2022):

• An absolute mess.

• WILDLY mischarcterises Emily by forcing a love interest into her story. There is absolutely no historical evidence for it.

• Emma Mackey seems lovely, but she's far too conventionally attractive to play Emily. Sorry 🤷‍♀️

• The costumes, and especially the HAIR are offensively inaccurate.

• Feels like a "feminist retelling" that girlboss-ifies Emily. We didn't want or need it. Frankly, I was offended that the Brontë Parsonage Museum endorsed it.

Wuthering Heights (2011):

• I'm aware that this will be controversial, but I HATE this film

• Andrea Arnold's tendency for stripped back social realism just doesn't work here in my opinion.

• She cast largely untrained actors (she does this frequently in her films, for said 'social realism') and it's painfully obvious. Some of the acting is cringe-inducing.

• Kaya Scodelario was a TERRIBLE choice for Cathy. It's actually hard to imagine a worse choice.

• The costumes, again, where almost offensively inaccurate. The hair was pretty bad, but not as bad as Emily 2022.

• I will give it credit for being fairly plot accurate, but even that isn't enough to stop me hating it.

Other than that, my opinions fall somewhere in the middle for most other Brontë adaptations. I don't mind the 1939 or 1992 WH adaptations, as they're both quite interesting in their own ways (and flawed in their own ways, too), though I would say that the 1992 is probably the best adaption of WH that we currently have. I haven't seen all that many others - the 1996 Tenant of Wildfell Hall adaptation is on my to-watch list, although my expectations aren't massively high.

[segretecose]

anyone got a link to the tenant of wildfell hall 1996?

[dreaminginsteadofsleeping42]

Okay, niche Bronte post, but I discovered a 1996 tv adaptation of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (at this point I have to tag @girlbosscrawley) and the actors who play Helen and Gilbert, the couple, were ALSO both in the 2006 tv adaptation of Jane Eyre, BUT the guy played Rochester while the woman played Jane Eyre's AUNT. Age gap o’clock.

[protestantfaceofanglicanism]

Protestant Anglican wedding from the 1996 BBC production of “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”. This scene was filmed in the Chandos Chapel at Little Stanmore.

[theartofdreaming1]

hey hey!!! how about 1, 15, and 45 for those delightful bookworm asks? ;)c

Hey there! 🤓📖

Name the best book you've read so far this year.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, of course! 😁(also had so much fun reading its "unofficial" sequel "Murder at Northanger Abbey" by Shannon Winslow this year)

15. Which genre(s) are your favorite?

Oof, that is difficult... I do like to mix it up, actually ^^; But I enjoy reading classics (although, what kind of "genre" is that supposed to be? ;) - I like reading books with some historical background (but not real history books) and enjoy a good romance, once in a while... also, this year, I've given sci fi a try (at least in the beginning of the year), which was a nice change of pace... And (suerperhero) comics, of course ;)

45. What book(s) would you sell your soul to get a TV or movie adaptation of?

Hmh... I think a modernized/updated adaptation of Asmiov's "Caves of Steel" -series could be fun (I liked the combo of sci fi and detective story) and I'd love a new(er) adaptation of Anne Bronte`s "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" - I mean, the adaptation from 1996 is pretty good (even if some camera moves give me nausea - too much spinning at times), but I'd love to see something new (maybe set in modern times? I also love the idea of classic literature adapted as animated limited series in an artsy style...) - Tenant is just criminally underrated while still so relevant of a story!

Thank you for asking! 😊💕

[mzannthropy]

I wish we got a new Tenant of Wildfell Hall adaptation. I wonder if anyone here feels that same way... not that there is much we can do to get one, anyway, or is there?

[elizasmarkgatissblog]

The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall

English actor Rupert Graves in a publicity still for the British television mini-series 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall', 1996. The series was based on the 1848 novel by Anne Bronte. (Photo by Larry Ellis Collection/Getty Images)

source: gettyimages

[adobongsiopao]

"The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" 1996 version starring Tara Fitzgerald as Helen and Toby Stephens as Gilbert.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Is this your first time reading Wuthering Heights? Or are you giving it another chance?

It's... complicated XD

I had a bunch of stuff to sew, and needed some background distraction, so I decided I'd pick up some Brontë adaptations because I felt I wouldn't realistically read any of their books, and started with Jane Eyre.

So I watched Jane Eyre... (half of) 1970, 1973, 1983, 1996, 1997, 2006 and 2011.

And then, of course, ran out of Jane Eyre's, ended up reading the book, then caved in and read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, watched the only adaptation (sad) tried to get my hands on every Jane Eyre radio drama and found them all very lacking, got the only Tenant radio drama I could find...

And then there was Wuthering Heights.

So I went in and watched 1970, 1992, 1998, 2009, (half of) 2011, and a couple episodes of 78 (which I do mean to finish sometime).

Then I listened to the 95 radio drama, and a friend of mine started reading the book, and there was a sale at a local English bookstore and... I found myself with a copy in my hands.

This is a very convoluted way to say this is my first time reading the book, but I'm familiar with the fundamental aspects of the plot and characters, and looking forward to see how the text contextualizes the adaptations!

[claudia1829things]

It’s time for another adaptation of “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”.  It’s been nearly 24 years since the last adaptation and 52 years since the first one.  It’s time.

[elizadoolittlethings]

RG - The Man Who Made Me Like Men

The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall

English actor Rupert Graves pictured dressed in period costume for his role as Arthur Huntington in the television adaptation of the Anne Bronte novel 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' in 1996. (Photo by Larry Ellis Collection/Getty Images)

source: gettyimages

[incoherentbabblings]

Continuing on from the last post Anne Bronte was the best Bronte sister and her works are ultimately about compassion and redemption (like actual redemption in the eyes of society and God not just the bloke you wanna marry) and her refusal to buy into the Romanticism that was popular at the time and to have a woman leave her abusive husband with their child and be self sufficient as a painter during a time when most woman could not own property is braver and more worthy of study than her sister’s look at destructive love and the only reason she isn’t held in higher regard then Emily and Charlotte is because Charlotte deliberately stifled any republication efforts and don’t give me that ‘it was to protect her sister’ nonsense Charlotte literally wrote about how much she didn’t like the Tenant of Wildfell and every contemporary who critiqued Helen slamming the door is a foolish coward and they didn’t know what they were talking about!!!!

[dreaminginsteadofsleeping42]

Ugh. Ugh. I was watching the 1996 television series adaptation of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (as one does) and it was so good. SO so good. UNTIL. The last seven minutes, wherein they fucked everything up. Oh my god. and it was deliciously good up until that point. Deliciously good. BUT. They had the NERVE to cut out Gilbert traipsing all over the country in the snow like a pathetic loser, thinking Helen had married someone else, realizing she had in fact not, getting to her front door, then suddenly deciding he wasn’t good enough for her and would have left if she hadn’t shown up just that WITH HELEN thinking GILBERT was married to someone else like NOOO. The WHOLE POINT of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is that Gilbert is a pathetic simp in those last few chapters. It’s the best part! But ugh! And believe me, it was unbelievably good up until that bit, holy shit, but then BUT THEN they HAD to take some ~creative license~ damn it all. Ugh.