Run Time: 1 Hour 28 Minutes

This movie made for television is an MTV adaptation of Emily Bronte's 1847 classic novel Wuthering Heights. However in this twisted adaptation brings the tale into a modern day viewpoint with BMW's, Apple computers, and rock n roll music fit for a fourteen year old teeny bopper.

Upon the peaks above the ocean, there is a lighthouse known as the Heights by those that inhabit the dwelling. When Cate (Erika Christensen) and Hendrix (Johnny Witworth) were young children their mother passed away, left with only their father Earnshaw (John Doe) and the Heights. Then one dark and stormy night Earnshaw fines a frightened musically talented boy Heath (Mike Vogel). Almost immediately Hendrix becomes jealous of the new boy, he's a threat to his once small and comforting family. As the years go by, a loving relationship develops between Heath and Cate, Earnshaw becomes a father figure to Heath, and all the while jealousy enrages Hendrix to the point of dissidence.

Then a frightful day occurs when Earnshaw dies of a heart attack and the Heights is left to Hendrix in his will. Hendrix full of hatred banishes Heath from the Heights and demands his sisters loving devotion. After an abusive enoucter with her brother, Cate leaves the Heights in a flurry. Without paying much attention on the road she gets in a car accident, where she is taken in by her neighbors, a rich young man Edward (Christopher Masterson) and his family. Here they take care of her and show her a different kind of live, one with money and materialism.

Again without a home or anyone, Heath eventually ends up in the arms of Edward's manipulative sister Isabel (Katherine Heigl) where she helps him in his musical recording. After she posts one of his songs on the internet, Heath leaves her in anger, yet overtime he becomes a very popular rock star. After Isabel continues to lust for Heath, he feels nothing for her, as he stills loves only one, Cate.

Now Cate's family is in shambles, the Heights seem to be a lost monument of a forgotten time that whispers in the wind as Cate becomes closer to Edward, Heath drowns in his sorrow and new found fame, and Hendrix the disgruntled brother lives off his anger. Follow Cate in this twisted adaptation of Emily Bronte's classic as she chases her after the two lives she's known.

The DVD

Spoken Languages: English

Non-Spoken Languages: none

Video:
The video is presented in 1.85:1 ratio widescreen color. The picture clarity is very good. There are very few noticeable color defects or distortions in the picture. A good portion of the film is fairly dark, but this adds to the somber mood of the feature. Overall the picture is quite clear and crisp.

Sound:
The audio is presented in English 2.0 Dolby Digital surround sound. The sound is quite good; all dialogue can be easily heard throughout the feature, though it's nothing stellar. There's a quite a bit of loud rock and roll music (for lack of better words) that give this film a rough and dark feel. Albeit most people probably won't enjoy the soundtrack. Similarly there seems to be portions of the film in which heavier music was used, when something softer may have been appropriate.

Subtitles:
There are no subtitles in this feature.

Extras:
There aren't any extras in this DVD.

Final Thoughts:
While I'm not completely versed in Emily Bronte's work, I can definitely tell that this adaptation of her story was a poorly turned into a made for television movie. Generally with most novels to film, the results aren't great, but there are exceptions when novels make to the big screen with roaring success. However this is not one of those cases. MTV's adaptation of Bronte's tale was pretty dull, filled with a bit of bad acting, poorly developed characters, and a seemingly pointless plot. Unless you're a fourteen year old teeny bopper, you shouldn't feel too much attraction to this feature. Otherwise you might want to check out Holly Ordway's review of the 1992 adaptation of the novel, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights [review], which from all respects looks considerably better.