Masterpiece Theatre - Jane Eyre, Part One

Words cannot describe how much I love this story. It was way back in the early 1990s when I first became exposed to this incredible love story by Charlotte Bronte which is when I saw the 1973 BBC version that starred Sorcha Cusack and Michael Jayston as Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester on a Sunday afternoon. I completely fell in love with the story of a plain governess looking for happiness and thinking she found it with her employer but learns of his dark secret.

After watching that mini-series, I read the book (something I never do) and I instantly became a fan. But I soon forgot about Jane and her Rochester until 1996 when flipping through a movie magazine I noticed a new version by Franco Zefferilli and starring Charlotte Gainsbourgh and William Hurt. I rushed to theatre when it opened and I became entraced with the story all over again and its magnificant score but it was an incomplete version. I soon was on a mission to find a complete version again like the 1973 version but with better production values.

While watching A&E's version of Emma, I came across a commercial for a new version of Jane Eyre that would air in the fall of 1997 and starring Samantha Morton and Ciaran Hinds. I fell in love with that version, while incomplete in its telling of Jane's story, had the right production values, a great score, awesome chemistry between the two leads and while not perfect thought I found the one.

By now, I sound obsessed with the story and I think it must be in my genes as my paternal grandmother really loved the story. To further my obsession, I discovered that Toronto in 1996 was holding the world premiere staging of Jane Eyre the musical starring Marla Schaffel and Anthony Crivello. Unfortunately, I never got to see that staging but managed to buy what is now the rare cast recording of the Toronto production and was entranced by Ms. Schaffel's and Mr. Crivello's performance and the music was awesome for a lack of a better word.

Even after discovering the Samanthn Morton version, I came across the 1983 production of Jane Eyre (thinking it was the 1973 one) that starred Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke. I loved this version too because a) it was complete b) loved Timothy Dalton, he, up until that point, was the best looking Rochester and loved how he delivered his lines. But what bothered me was a) the production values -real exterior, fake interior (you can tell it was filmed on a soundstage and not at a real stately home) and that Zelah Clarke was really short and there was no chemistry between the two.

So now it became my mission to see every single version of Jane Eyre. Up unti this point I've mentioned four versions that I have seen. The next version that I got to see was when Jane Eyre the musical moved to Broadway and I got to see it twice in NYC still with Marla Schaffel in the title role but now with the handsome James Barbour as Rochester. Their singing conveyed the passionate nature of the two characters very well and Schaffed deserved her Tony nomination and should have won.

Then I saw the 1944 version with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine and I disliked that version because it totally didn't follow the book at all. Then the 1970 version had a great score by John Williams but Susannah York was way too old as Jane and George C. Scott was awful as Rochester. And the look of the story was washed out because of the age of the film.

Yes I am getting to Masterpiece Theatre's version of Jane Eyre. What lacked in every single version that I've seen, even the 1997 version was the intense, romantic and passionate chemistry between the two leads and the Masterpiece Theatre/BBC version has that in spades.

When Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens are on screen together it is electric, I feel their attraction to each other. And after seeing part one over and over again on tape, I still feel it. What is also superior is the fact that there is no narration. All other versions depended on Jane's narration to tell us (the audience) what she is feeling. But the great thing about Ruth Wilson's performance is that we don't need narration to tell us what she is feeling, we see it on screen. We feel what she feels. Ruth Wilson is the best Jane Eyre I have ever seen and I think she is more beautiful in this role than she is as Jewel Diamond in Suburban Shootout.

And Toby Stephens is very sexy as Rochester and we see his pain of his past. The production values of this production is superb. I love that fact that the filmmakers used Haddon Hall for Thornfield as it is the second time it has played host to this literary household after the 1996 Zefferilli version. The music by Rob Lane is moving and while the production short changed her childhood (I mean they got Georgie Henley -of Narnia fame- to play young Jane that they could have used her better) But so far they got the core love story right and I am so looking forward to part two next week as it looks totally awesome.

I think I have found my one Jane Eyre, the version that I love above all else as it is so far complete (as long as they get the Rochester/Jane part right, which they have so far), excellent chemistry between the two leads, great production values and great score.

I gave up watching Battlestar Galactica to see this and would do it again next week and anytime a version of Jane Eyre is on.

Yes I am obessed but I can't help but relate to her story.

Looking forward to part two next week.