the 1983 bbc production of jane eyre star zelah clarke and timothy dalton ( love him ) have always be and will always be my favorite jane eyre . if you watch any other version of jane eyre without read the book and it will be like watch some regular movie which you will forget the next day . but watch this one almost equal to read the book . i use to watch these miniseries a lot when i be little and and they inspire me to read the book . at the time i do not pay attention to how close this television production be to the book . recently and i watch the 1996 version of jane eyre and be very disappointed . it be only 2 hour long and do not have many important scene from the book ( such a my favorite gypsy scene ) . after that i fell in love with this jane eyre even more because it include all the important scene of the book and it just tell the whole story ( the other version do not and if you haven not read the book ) . the cast of 1983 jane eyre be excellent . it true that timothy dalton be a very handsome actor ( handsome enough to play butler in scarlet and and julius caesar ) and but he be so great a rochester that i can not imagine anybody else play this role . and zelah clarke be and without a doubt and the only jane that follow the description of the book . the other thing that make this film so great be the clothes and the makeup of the actor . jane look so modest and naive and just a bronte describe her ( although she doesn not look 18 and but do you actually pay attention to that . ) some people say that this jane eyre be too long and but i would rather spend my whole day watch it than spend 2 hour watch some other version . some say the movie be dull and boring because jane be not passionate enough and or because there be not enough kiss scene . i hate when they make jane eyre some hollywood movie with inappropriate kissing scene . you do not have to include crazy and madly in love scene to show the love between jane and rochester . and both zelah and timothy express this love so perfectly that there be no other scene need . i be 19 year old and and many girl of my age refer to this film a boring and old fashion . but i can only feel sorry for them because they do not appreciate the purity and beauty of it . after all and the novel be set in 19th century and and that old fashioned look make it more attractive and more like the book . i do not think there will ever be any other version of jane ayre that will have the popularity and love of this one . no matter who play jane and rochester in other movie and the real jane and rochester ( for me at least ) will always be zelah clarke and timothy dalton .