In February of this year, a new version of Wuthering Heights hit the big screen. Starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Cathy and Heathcliff, the film is not without its controversy. The casting has come in for criticism due to the pale-skinned Elordi being selected as Heathcliff and Robbie being too old to play Cathy, albeit looking great for her age. Eyebrows were also raised over the film playing fast and loose with the details of the story. One thing that can’t be denied, though, is that the film portrays Yorkshire in all its bleak and beautiful majesty.
The village of Low Row was used for many of the village scenes, with the Old Gang Smelting Mill to the north of the village featuring heavily, forming part of the surroundings of Wuthering Heights. The mill was built in the 19th century as a lead smelting mill. Low Row is on the banks of the River Swale in Swaledale.
 |
| Old Gang Smelt Mill 002. Photo by Kreuzschnabel, via Wikimedia Commons. |
The most northerly dale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Arkengarthdale made for an excellent choice in the filming of Wuthering Heights, with its bleak landscape and feeling of isolation. Reeth, the nearest settlement of any note, was used as a base camp for the crews involved in the filming, with the local pubs enjoying the extra custom keeping the crews fed and watered.
 |
| Looking down Arkengarthdale - geograph.org.uk - 6088446. Photo by Russel Wills, via Wikimedia Commons. |
The enticingly named Booze Moor near the village of Langthwaite served its purpose for the sweeping views of the windswept landscape, lending an atmospheric feel to the film. Roadside viewing points above the village are the nearest one can get to the moor by car. Visitors expecting to indulge in drunken debauchery will be disappointed: the moor is named after the hamlet of Booze, which derives from the Old English ‘boga’ (bow) and ‘hus’ (house) meaning ‘house by the curve’.
No comments:
Post a Comment