Jane Eyre (DVD)

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Likewise, director Robert Stevenson ("King Solomon's Mines," "Tom Brown's School Days") knew how to capitalize on Bronte's gothic atmosphere, although to be fair, the movie was probably as much Orson Welles's doing as Stevenson's. Welles's hand looms over the production from the opening shots: the dark, gloomy tone; the crisp black-and-white photography, with its penchant for long, wide shots in close spaces; the camera angles that emphatically distort size, small and large; the constant play of silhouette, light, and shadow; the sets; the casting; and the Bernard Herrmann musical score, often reminiscent of his work with Welles on "Citizen Kane," so important in holding things together even when they appear ready to come apart.

Is it any wonder that although Jane is the central character, it is Welles's Edward Rochester who remains foremost in memory? I mean, how could the resolute but essentially helpless little Jane (especially in the hands of a reticent Joan Fontaine) hope to contend with the lofty presence of Orson Welles galloping out of the mists? As a result, the studio offered to credit Welles as the film's co-producer, but he characteristically refused.

Look, too, for excellent performances early on by Henry Daniell as Mr. Brocklehurst, the cruel, cold-hearted chairman of Jane's school, a villain of the highest order ("Punish the body to save her soul"), making Ebenezer Scrooge look like Mahatma Gandhi. And there is the aforementioned Agnes Moorehead as Jane's equally insensitive benefactress; plus Peggy Ann Garner as the young Jane, a more spirited portrayal than Jane's later incarnation under Ms. Fontaine; and an uncredited turn by a very young Elizabeth Taylor as Helen, Jane's ill-fated childhood friend. Nevertheless, when Welles enters the scene, about a third of the way into the story, he pretty much dominates the picture, so it's sometimes hard to notice who else is in it.

Video:
This new Fox restoration of "Jane Eyre" closely retains its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio, with the cleaning doing wonders for its clarity and definition. The restored black-and-white transfer displays excellent contrasts and fairly sharp delineation, with virtually no signs of age or deterioration. One notices some small degree of grain, inherent to the film stock, but it serves to give the picture a greater feeling of vitality and life.

Audio:
Fox engineers have made the English audio available in two configurations, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo and 1.0 monaural. Just don't expect the two-channel format to sound much like modern stereo. The 2.0 treatment does broaden the sound stage somewhat, but it still feels like mono. There is, though, a smooth, realistic midrange that serves the dialogue and music well, in addition to almost dead-silent backgrounds.

Extras:
It took quite a while for Fox to get this production of "Jane Eyre" to disc, but now that they have, they've done it up right as one of their "Cinema Classics Collection." It comes with two audio commentaries, the first with Orson Welles biographer Joseph McBride and actress Margaret O'Brien, which combines learned insight with firsthand experience; and the second with film historians Nick Redman, Steven Smith, and Julie Kirgo, which is filled with fascinating background material. After the commentaries are an isolated musical-score track; an excellent, eighteen-minute, behind-the-scenes featurette, "Locked in the Tower: The Men Behind Jane Eyre," with film historians, authors, and relatives of the filmmakers taking part; a forty-two-minute U.S. War Film Department propaganda movie directed by Robert Stevenson, called "Know Your Ally Britain"; a restoration comparison; followed by production, storyboard, and poster galleries.

The extras wrap up with sixteen scene selections and an informational chapter insert; an original theatrical trailer; and English, French, and Spanish spoken languages and English and Spanish subtitles. A richly illustrated cardboard slipcover enfolds the keep case and four postcard screen shots therein.

Parting Thoughts:
Those critics over the years who have seen little more in this production of "Jane Eyre" than a conventional romantic potboiler were obviously watching a different movie from the one I grew up with. The "Jane Eyre" I see is a movingly dark, moody, brooding motion picture that appropriately captures the flavor of Charlotte Bronte's classic within a reasonable time frame. Film is a visual medium above all, an image conveying a thousand words, and there is no reason for a three-hour version of the story except to satisfy purists wishing to see every detail on screen, whether or not they are needed. Moreover, that this "Jane Eyre" is more Orson Welles's movie than co-star Joan Fontaine's or director Robert Stevenson's may be a blessing in disguise.

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