Jane Eyre 1983 (ep 1-3)

I have seen the first 3 episodes of the 1983 version of Jane Eyre.
It is (as I said in my last post) a production for TV (BBC) with 11 episodes.
Each episode is 25 minutes long.

It starrs Zelah Clarke and Timothy Dalton

(As can be seen by the cover the big star here is Dalton, as the picture of him is huge and Clarke is only a little elf on his shoulder.)

The story starts with Jane's narrative, wich is a first of the renditions that I've seen. In the first two episodes we follow little Jane (Sian Pattenden) and her life at Gateshead and later on in Lowood.

 

What I find positive with this version is, because it is a TV series it is much more detailed, we get to see how ill the children are treated at Lowood, how mean Mr Brocklehurst and some of the teachers are but also we get to see the kind teacher that Jane had (Ms Temple) in whom Jane found comfort and a friend.

This version also captures Helen Burns' reserved personality and Jane's passionate nature.
They skipped right over the death of poor Helen though to only show a coffin being carried out and a doctor telling Jane that typhus is raging and Helen doesn't have long. Then we see Helen's gravestone.

Jane and Helen

In the third episode Jane is all grown up and is a teacher at Lowood, her only real friend Ms Temple leaves Lowood to get married and Jane advertises to find another "situation" as they call it. She arrives at Thornfield Hall and meets with Mrs Fairfax. A change they made is; Mrs Fairfax prompt Jane not to go to the roof (near Mrs Rochester's room) and acted a bit...shady. As if she knows about Mr. Rochester's secret, wich she does not according to the book.

The one (and only) thing I found exciting about these three episodes was when Jane encounters Mr. Rochester and the first word that escapes his lips is: "Damnation!"  -I lol:ed at that ^_~

Blanche Youinou as Adéle Varens

So far, I am not too crazy about the acting, save for Adéle and Mrs Fairfax who made things livelier, otherwise it is all too quiet and I can't help but think that Zelah Clarke is far too old to play an 18 year old girl. (Though what she lacks in age, she may well make up in acting skills, but I have yet to be convinced.)

Zelah Clarke as Jane Eyre

We shall see how they get on in the other episodes, to be continued...