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The 1939 Wuthering Heights remains the strongest screen classic for romantic intensity and cinematic legacy, but it is not the most complete version of Emily Brontë’s novel. For the book’s multigenerational revenge plot, compare the 2009 television adaptation with the more expansive but less propulsive 1992 film. The ranking below weighs filmmaking, performances, atmosphere, originality and how each adaptation handles the story—not fidelity alone.
How these adaptations are ranked
Emily Brontë’s novel, published in 1847, follows a cycle of love and revenge across two generations. Its timeline runs from 1771 to 1802, according to TIME’s comparison of screen adaptations. That scope matters: some versions stop near Cathy’s death, while others carry Heathcliff’s revenge into the younger generation.
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Wuthering Heights (1939) | $17.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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This is an editorial ranking, not a claim of critical consensus. A film can be an exceptional work of cinema while omitting major parts of the book. The adaptations also differ in tone and setting: some make Yorkshire a landscape of romantic melodrama, while others translate the story into Mexico, France or feudal Japan. Film at Lincoln Center’s discussion of the competing approaches by Wyler, Buñuel, Rivette, Yoshida and Arnold offers a useful frame for those differences: Film at Lincoln Center on five adaptations.
The 10 greatest Wuthering Heights adaptations
1. Wuthering Heights (1939), William Wyler
Wyler’s film is the defining Hollywood interpretation: a sweeping, atmospheric romance built around Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. Film at Lincoln Center calls it the version many consider definitive, and TIME praises its leads’ presence on screen. Its place at the top rests on that cinematic force and lasting influence—not on completeness. The film cuts substantial material, especially the later story of Heathcliff’s revenge and the younger generation. Choose it for a classic screen romance; do not mistake it for a full account of the novel.
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2. Wuthering Heights (2011), Andrea Arnold
Arnold strips away much of the familiar romantic gloss in favor of gritty, sensory realism. Weather, landscape and physical detail make the story feel raw and immediate. Film at Lincoln Center describes the film as exposing the novel’s wild, pagan heart; TIME highlights Arnold’s casting of James Howson as Heathcliff and the emphasis on his outsider status. The result is a bold interpretation whose atmosphere and perspective matter more than a conventional, comprehensive retelling.
3. Abismos de pasión (1954), Luis Buñuel
Buñuel relocates the story to Mexico and turns its passions into feverish psychodrama. Rather than reproduce Yorkshire, the film makes the novel’s emotional extremity travel into a different cultural and visual world. It begins midway through the novel, as the British Film Institute notes, leaving viewers to infer the lovers’ early bond. That compression is part of its distinctive approach, but it makes this a provocative interpretation rather than a complete adaptation. See Film at Lincoln Center’s comparison of Buñuel’s version and the BFI guide to screen adaptations.
4. Wuthering Heights (2009), Coky Giedroyc
This two-part television adaptation, starring Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley, makes room for the consequences of Heathcliff’s revenge beyond Cathy’s death. TIME praises the central performances, while PBS’s official synopsis confirms the story reaches the younger Cathy’s entrapment. That broader plot coverage makes the 2009 version a strong choice for viewers who want more of the book’s second generation without relying on the 1992 film’s two-part structure.
Rank #2
5. Arashi ga oka (1988), Yoshishige Yoshida
Yoshida transposes the story to feudal Japan, where stark landscapes and an elemental, expressionistic style replace the familiar Yorkshire setting. Film at Lincoln Center evokes the film’s landscape and demonic spirits; the BFI describes it as idiosyncratic, deliberately paced and pessimistic. Its value lies in how completely it recasts the material: this is a deliberate cultural translation, not a period-accurate rendering of Brontë’s world. Read the Film at Lincoln Center discussion alongside the BFI overview.
6. Wuthering Heights (1967), Peter Sasdy
This BBC television version features Ian McShane and Angela Scoular and leans toward the gothic. TIME calls it unusually spooky, but also describes it as sometimes stiff and stage-bound. TIME further notes that only a black-and-white version survives. It is a worthwhile television interpretation for its eerie atmosphere, though its surviving visual form and constrained staging are part of the viewing experience.
7. Wuthering Heights (1992), Peter Kosminsky
Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche lead this attempt to include the whole book, including its second generation. That broader coverage makes it a useful comparison for viewers prioritizing plot completeness over a streamlined romantic arc. The trade-off is momentum: the BFI argues that the two-part structure weakens the film’s drive. For an alternative that also reaches into the younger Cathy’s story, compare it with the 2009 television adaptation.
Rank #3
8. Hurlevent (1985), Jacques Rivette
Rivette’s French relocation exchanges stormy melodrama for a restrained, stylized chamber drama. Enclosed interiors and open landscapes create a distinctive tension, noted by both Film at Lincoln Center and the BFI. Rather than intensifying the lovers’ romance in a conventional way, the film makes space, performance and mood do much of the work. It is one of the most formally distinctive entries on this list.
9. Wuthering Heights (1998), David Skynner
This British television film stars Robert Cavanah and Orla Brady. TIME values its willingness to retain uncomfortable details about Heathcliff’s cruelty, though it describes the visual style as florid. That emphasis makes it a useful counterpoint to adaptations that smooth the story into tragic romance: here, the damage Heathcliff causes remains part of the character’s meaning.
10. Wuthering Heights (2026), Emerald Fennell
Emerald Fennell’s adaptation, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, is a current, deliberately interpretive version rather than an uncontested new classic. Warner Bros. identifies Fennell as both writer and director and lists international theatrical release beginning February 11, 2026, and U.S. release on February 13, 2026: Warner Bros.’ film page. Reception is contested. The Associated Press reports both criticism and defense from Brontë scholars, while TIME’s ranking is strongly negative. Those are attributed assessments, not a settled consensus. AP’s discussion also raises a central challenge for any adaptation: as Loughborough University lecturer Claire O’Callaghan put it, “But what film and TV can’t do is maintain the ambiguity in Emily’s novel — the fact that her book is both a tragic love story and a revenge novel and a tragedy.” Read the Associated Press report alongside TIME’s ranking.
Rank #4
- As the wind and rain beat down on the isolated farmhouse, the new neighbor Mr. Lockwood visits his surly landlord, Heathcliff. When the foul weather prohibits his return, Lockwood is forced to spend a dreadful night in the hauntingly named Wuthering Heights. On his return home, Lockwood discovers the tumultuous story of how Heathcliff, a foundling, came to own both houses, of his love for Catherin
Which adaptation is closest to the book?
For plot coverage, the 1992 film is the clearest attempt here to include both generations, though its two-part structure can weaken momentum. The 2009 television adaptation is another strong option: PBS’s synopsis confirms that it follows the younger Cathy’s story and Heathcliff’s revenge. Neither distinction makes one version a definitive match for the novel’s full ambiguity, which combines tragic love, revenge and tragedy.
The 1939 film is the best choice for a classic romantic screen experience, not for completeness. It cuts substantial plot, while Arnold’s 2011 version is more interested in sensory realism and Heathcliff’s outsider status than in a conventional, full-length retelling. “Closest” therefore depends on whether you mean plot coverage, tone or the experience of watching a memorable film.
Why the story changes so much on screen
The adaptations make different choices about what drives Wuthering Heights: the lovers’ attraction, Heathcliff’s cruelty, class and social exclusion, or the way revenge spreads into another generation. Relocations make those choices especially visible. Buñuel’s Mexico, Rivette’s France and Yoshida’s feudal Japan are not attempts to reproduce Yorkshire; they test how the story’s central conflicts work in other settings. The films also differ in how they frame Heathcliff as lover, menace and outsider. No single screen version settles those readings for every viewer.
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Arnold’s approach makes its own priorities explicit. In a 2011 Film Education study guide reproducing production press notes, she called the novel “gothic, feminist, socialist, sadomasochistic, Freudian, incestuous, violent and visceral.” She also said, “A book is such a different language to film and they are often complete as they are, so I have really surprised myself by attempting one.” The comments help explain why the 2011 film does not aim to reproduce every part of the book as a conventional screen narrative. See the Film Education study guide.
Another long-form option: the 1978 BBC serial
If sustained plot coverage matters more than placing every selection in a top ten, consider the BBC’s 1978 serial. The BBC Literary Archive identifies it as a five-part production, and its episode descriptions reach the younger generation’s story. That makes it a useful alternative for viewers drawn to the novel’s full, multigenerational shape. It is not ranked above because this list gives greater weight to distinction, influence and the strength of each adaptation’s artistic argument. See the BBC Literary Archive entry.
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