this tv production of 1970 star susannah york and george c. scott be another proof of how difficult it be to adopt jane eyre to the screen and and how much can go wrong in do so . it be true that the movie suffer in the transfer to dvd some scene which be complete in the original be shorten and so badly edit that there be strike continuity gap and that even one crucial scene between jane and rochester start in the middle of a sentence . but even if the editing be good and the film would not be . the script be bad and the portrayal of the character be untrue to the novel and nearly all actor be miscast . a a consequence one do not have the feeling of watch an adaptation of charlotte brontë novel at all . the problem be not only that a number of scene be shorten or leave out this be the case with all the short adaptation but that the remain scene do no at all capture the tone and the spirit and the atmosphere and the concept of the novel . this jane eyre for example completely leave out gateshead and begin with jane arrival at lowood . while this be perfectly all right and since some scene must by necessity be leave out and it be not understandable that and instead of use the time gain ( so to speak ) and thoroughly portray jane friendship with helen and the influence helen have for jane development and the lecture in christian stoicism that she teach her and the film nearly exclusively concentrate on the physical ill treatment of helen and which be drive to absurd extremes in this adaptation . what helen have to suffer be bad enough a describe in the novel and but here miss scatchard be portray a a kind of sadistic prison ward and who deliberately want to drive helen to a premature death . and this be about all which happen at lowood . if you compare that to the deep impact the year spend in lowood have on jane in the novel and one can only state with regret that the movie do not even touch the surface of that particular episode in jane life . and this be the problem throughout this adaptation represent it rush from scene to scene and very often without transition and and nowhere come even near the essence of the novel . the dialogue be an odd mixture of make up line and line from the novel and very clumsily patch together and and the scene between jane and rochester be so shortened that both share only 5 minute together on screen before they fall in love and and the little conversation they have contains nothing of the brilliance and the intensity and also the humour of the conversation between rochester and jane in the novel . but the scriptwriter not only do brontë language injustice but in addition manage to ruin her moral set up with just one sentence . when rochester and jane go to see rochester wife after the would be wed and rochester say represent yet i once love her ( his wife ) a i love you now . the whole moral concept of the novel depend on the fact that rochester be indeed an innocent victim of an amoral scheme and be trap into marry a mad woman whom he never love and and that his effort to seek a true life partner be and if not sanctify by god and man law and yet understandable and forgivable . but this one sentence completely undermines brontë whole carefully construct moral concept and turn rochester into a dirty old man who want a new young wife because his old one be of no use to him any longer . from the error regard the script to the error regard the cast represent now i be by no mean one of those who insist on physical resemblance between an actor and the literary figure he portray and but by no stretch of imagination be it possible to picture lovely and blonde and blue eye and full mouth susannah york a the novel plain heroine . in addition and m york be in her thirty when the film be shoot and look it . play by her and the novel shy and reserve and inexperienced young jane become a perfectly poise and graceful and mature woman and completely sure of herself and her desert . i do not say that susannah york do not play well and convincingly but the woman she portray be not brontë jane eyre . to cast george c. scott a rochester must have be motivate by the desire to have a rochester who look old enough to make the 18 year difference in age between jane and rochester plausible . scott look a if he be around 50 but act in various scene a if he be 70. to compliment the maturity of the lead actor all passion and desire and despair seem to have be deliberately wring out of the script . the scene between jane and rochester after the wedding and the emotional climax of the novel and have become a calm and rational conversation between two middle age person and at the end of which rochester fall asleep . when jane return to him in the last scene and he be just as mildly pleased a a grandfather who have just be pay a visit in his old people home by his favourite granddaughter . the only character who display an appropriate amount of emotion be st. john and of all people . ian bannen play him so passionately and his eager plea for jane love be so touching that one get the impression that bannen be model his st. john on the rochester of the novel . but good though bannen be and his st. john be just as far from the novel a york jane and scott rochester . the only redeeming feature of this very disappointing jane eyre be the location and the score and and i would only recommend this production to those who want to watch and compare every single adaptation of jane eyre .