One of the most celebrated 19th century romance novels of all time,
and still a staple of many high school reading curricula, Wuthering Heights — or Withering Heights, as a kid in my class once knew it — is also frequently tackled for adaptation on stage and screen, in ways that often don’t do much justice to the original source material. New to DVD, Masterpiece Theatre’s presentation thankfully gets right Emily Brontë’s classic love story, in ways both large and small.

Starring Tom Hardy (The Virgin Queen, RocknRolla) as Heathcliff and newcomer Charlotte Riley as Cathy, this intense, two-and-a-half-hour production will have romantics swooning. As adapted by Peter Bowker and directed by Coky Giedroyc, it’s a nicely mounted, attractively costumed and photographed production, and the lead performances both adequately capture the all-consuming nature of commingled lust and love. Set against the stark beauty of the English moor, the story, of course, centers around mysterious gypsy boy Heathcliff, who’s adopted by the well-to-do Earnshaw family. There, Heathcliff discovers his soulmate in the form of his stepsister, Cathy. She returns his passion, but Cathy also frets and fears over his future (the modern phrase would be “earnings potential,” I reckon), so much so that she marries another man for his wealth. Unable to have the love of his life, Heathcliff sets out to amass his own fortune, seeking to reclaim Cathy or bring vengeance and misery against anyone who comes between them. His actions eventually drive a heartbroken Cathy to an early grave, only further shattering Heathcliff’s heart.

Housed in a regular plastic Amaray case, Wuthering Heights comes to DVD on a region-one disc, presented in anamorphic widescreen. There are unfortunately no supplemental bonus features included here, which is a shame — even a brief, quickly slapped together talking-head-type biographical featurette on Brontë would have further shined a light on the material, and probably helped save at least one little kid out there somewhere from mangling the title. To purchase the DVD via Amazon, click here. To order the DVD directly from WGBH Boston Video, meanwhile, phone (800) 949-8670 or click here. B+ (Movie) D+ (Disc)