Wuthering Heights is a novel written by Emily Brontë and was published 1847 in Great Britain. The story tells the passionate love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and many around them. In 1939 the same-titled movie was published in USA and directed by William Wyler. Fifteen years later the Spanish version Los Abimos de Pasion, which is directed by Luis Buñuel, was released in Mexico. Both movies are based on Brontë’s novel. However, except for the title and language there are main differences between the movie Wuthering Heights and Los Abimos de Pasion. Moreover, I argue that Luis Buñuel’s Spanish version features more of the passion and brutality shown in the novel.
Heathcliff is a very powerful and often cruel man. He extremely loves Catherine Earnshaw, and this love is also the moving force in his life. After Catherine has married Edgar Linton, Heathcliff tries to seek revenge on his beloved Catherine. Laurence Oliver plays Heathcliff quite cool and emotionless in the movie Wuthering Heights, whereas in Los Abimos de Pasion, Heathcliff, who is called Alejandro, is greatly portrayed by Jorge Mistral. His acting is full of emotions and shows the intense love just as well as the pure hate. The same refers to Catherine, who is played by Merle Oberon in Wuthering Heights. In Los Abimos de Pasion, Catherine is called Catalina, who is represented by Irasema Dilian. One reason might be that Wyler’s movie was shot fifteen years before Buñuel’s movie. Therefore, people were not so open with emotions and sexuality in public. Another reason might be that Los Abimos de Pasion is a foreign movie with Hispanic actors. Usually Hispanics tend to show more feelings and emotions than Americans and Europeans.
Thus, both directors have done an excellent job, but I claim that Luis Buñuel's Spanish version of Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights is more thrilling.