Jane Eyre (1970 film)

Jane Eyre is a 1970 British television film directed by Delbert Mann, starring George C. Scott and Susannah York. It is based on the 1847 novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. The film had its theatrical debut in the United Kingdom in 1970 and was released on television in the United States in 1971.

Plot
Jane Eyre is an orphan, who is raised by her tormentingly abusive aunt and cousins until she is sent to Lowood School, where cruelty is an education strategy. The headmaster reminds the students that, "God saw fit to make them orphans." Jane's best friend, who had tuberculosis (called "consumption" in those days), was forced to stand outside in the rain as punishment and died the next day. On leaving, Jane takes a position as governess to a girl named Adele at Thornfield Hall. Fully aware of her low rank and plain countenance, she makes the best of her situation. But Thornfield holds many secrets and despite mysterious occurrences that Jane cannot comprehend, she and Edward Rochester, owner of Thornfield and Adele's guardian, fall in love. Suddenly, when Jane is about to win the happiness she deserves, she discovers that Rochester is already married, that his wife is insane and has been living in accommodations in the attic. It is she who has been the cause of the mysterious occurrences because, through she is insane, she understands what's going on. Jane leaves Thornfield and learns to make her way as an independent woman in a society where a woman's wellbeing was nearly always tied to her husband or male relatives.

Production
Filming started 18 May 1970 in Yorkshire.

Chinese release
In the 1980s, the movie was dubbed into Mandarin and widely released in China. The two leading voice actor and actress are 邱岳峰 (Qiu Yuefeng) and 李梓 (Li Zi). The dubbed version became dominant form by which the classic was known to the Chinese, with the dubbed monologues of the film becoming more widely recited than the original English. The dubbed version was also released on audio cassette tape, and the cassette version was more popular than the dubbed film.

Awards

 * 1972: Emmy Award - Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition (John Williams).

Soundtrack
John Williams composed the score, recording it at Anvil Studios, Denham, outside London.