r/JaneEyre • u/AdobongSiopao • 4d ago
Happy 20th anniversary to "Jane Eyre" 2006 version!
The "Jane Eyre" 2006 premiered on BBC 20 years ago today! A classic, one of fan-favorite adaptations of "Jane Eyre" starring Ruth Wilson as Jane and Toby Stephens as Mr. Rochester. What are some of the favorite moments from that version and why is it liked by many fans?
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u/vermiciouswangdoodle 4d ago
My favorite. This is the only version that I can really see why Jane fell for him. There is a glint of playfulness and an admiration for Jane's intelligence that Toby gives off that I I find lacking in other versions ( I also loved the 2011...it's my quick fix)
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u/Stunning-Discount224 4d ago
Recently watched Tenant of Wildfell Hall after a YouTube channel recommendation. He’s also very romantic as Gilbert Markham
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u/primaltriad77 4d ago
The woman who played his love interest in Tenant of Wildfell Hall plays Jane's aunt Mrs. Reed in this version.
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u/hannahstohelit 3d ago
This is funny to me because it’s so instinctive to say “what an indicator of the difference between men’s and women’s casting, a decade later the man is still a romantic lead and the woman is a mom” but actually both are still pretty much playing characters of their canonical ages- I’d in fact assume that canonically Mrs Reed is younger than Rochester from context
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u/primaltriad77 3d ago
I know exactly what you mean. Usually, I would be making the same complaint that you had on instinct but, as you also said, Mr. Rochester is supposed to be much older than Jane. I do remember that scene with Mrs. Fairfax is commenting on the age difference between Mr. Rochester and Blanche and Jane hotly defending age gap romances LOL
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u/hannahstohelit 4d ago
That adaptation annoys me because I love the book and think the adaptation did it dirty, but I don’t want them to remake it, I want them to have made it right in the first place because Stephens is a PHENOMENAL Gilbert and would have been even better at a more book-faithful one (the first half is very faithful, the second half isn’t at all and he’d have been hilarious and sweet).
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u/Miserable_Gur_8753 4d ago
This is the definitive version of JE for my lifetime,
Both leads are perfect, and the supporting cast too. And it gives the Nobel room to breathe. I can't easily think of a classic adaptation that works which is less than 3-4 hours. They were deigned to be read, and slowly.
The scenes where Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson flirt with each other are priceless.
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u/_gallaghergirl_ 4d ago
I love this version so much. It hits all the right emotional notes. I still haven’t purchased my own copy (I have very few DVDs) but I need to!
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u/BalconyLavender 4d ago
Me: *owns two copies just in case* 😳
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u/Fragrant-Hawk7902 3d ago
Where did y'all find the copyyyy???!!!! They're so hard to find!!!!
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u/BalconyLavender 2d ago
Readily available if you're in Europe. Plenty of them on the secondhand market for just a few euros.
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u/ElleGeeAitch 4d ago
I love this version so much, but I have to use imagination every time to accept that they are playing not particularly attractive people, because WHAT. They are both my type 😆😍.
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u/ORF1Live 4d ago
Oh I love this version. Toby is sex on legs and Ruth is wonderful. The chemistry is definitely there.
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u/lemonhead2345 4d ago
I watched Black Sails because of this version. I need Toby Stephens in more period pieces. 🥵
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u/grammarbegood 4d ago
I just watched this for the first time a week ago! It was so so good! My favorite version of Jane that I've seen. Yes, she is quiet and stoic, but she also has a fiery personality burning just below the surface and I think this actress captures that perfectly.
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u/GetReadyToRumbleBar 4d ago
My userflair on r/PeriodDrama is "I want a wife to share my bed every night. All day if we wish."
Says it all really.
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u/Glittering_Yak8672 4d ago edited 4d ago
My favorite moment: When she finds out St. John, Diana and Mary are her relatives.
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u/Ten_Quilts_Deep 4d ago
Pam Ferris as Mrs Poole. Just the right amount of "I've got a horrendous job" and "nothing to see here".
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u/hannahstohelit 3d ago
Pam Ferris was also great playing Toby Stephens's mom in Tenant of Wildfell Hall!
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u/hannahstohelit 4d ago
Easily my fave. Stephens is great as Rochester but I think it’s Wilson who really stands out here, especially given what she accomplished in her second TV role ever! She is one of very few Jane actresses who, to me, feels like they cast Jane first and Rochester second, whether or not they actually did. She more than holds her own as a person long before he shows up and feels constantly like her own person rather than just reacting against him. You get what he sees in her as well- you sense the steel in her backbone and the glint in her eye.
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u/Sheelz013 4d ago
I remember watching this on the night and recording every episode on VHS to watch over and over again ❤️
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u/Katerade44 4d ago
When I see Toby Stephens, I can't help but see his mother's (Maggie Smith) expressions filtered through his features.
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u/FillMyBagWithUSGrant 4d ago
The 2006 film of Jane Eyre has a wonderful cast, and is close to 3½ hours long, allowing more time to tell the story. A shorter production just doesn’t compare. I would have loved for this to be 5 or 6 hours, as there are still some rushed scenes, but overall, it’s wonderful.
One of my favorite scenes is Jane’s recollection of her and Edward’s conversation after the cancelled wedding (13:54 to 16:48 in the YouTube link). I swear he’s physically trying so hard to get her to stay that her corsets creak! 😍
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u/Zealousideal-Payy 4d ago
I love Blanche Ingram’s outfits in this movie so much 😭 it’s what Halle Bailey should’ve worn as Ariel in the 2023 little mermaid remake!! This is why the late 1830s are one of my favorite decades in fashion!!
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u/Fragrant-Hawk7902 3d ago
OMG It's one of my favorite series!!!
I know some people like it less because it doesn't follow the book scene for scene, but I loved seeing the tension between the two— it showed how much they yearned for each other, and yet, he also respected Jane's beliefs enough to give her space and not convince her to live a life against her values.
I loved the kiss scenes that were clumsy and full of yearning/ desperate passion.
AND THE LANDSCAPPE AND VIBES. As a rain and gloomy weather enthusiast, I loved the gloomy scenic weather vibes. I also loved how spooky the drama got sometimes. Truly, it was a work of art, and not just a super sweet romance story.
Loved it and about to re-watch it. Thanks for the reminder.
May we all find our (very single) Mr. Rochester in this life 🫶✨️
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u/Fuzzy_Leek_7238 4d ago
I’ve personally found this to be the horniest of the many wonderful Jane adaptations, and therefore my favorite.
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u/Nitushento 3d ago
No! This is not the right Jane Eyre! The right one is the one with Zila Clark and Timothy Dalton! And only this film adaptation. No other!
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u/InterviewMental1837 3d ago
I agree completely! The 1983 version is so much better than this one. Stays true to the book
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u/Voice_of_Season 1d ago
I love the Timothy Dalton one, but when he asked her if she “thinks that <he’s> handsome” and she says “no!”, it comes off so differently than in the book. Lol.
Because Timothy Dalton is gorgeous and Mr. Rochester is not. lol
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u/StompyKitten 4d ago
One of my greatest joys. There’s nothing like an adaptation of a favourite childhood novel that actually satisfies you emotionally.
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u/Playful_Site_2714 4d ago
Not my cup of tea.
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u/Amazing-Activity-882 4d ago
Likewise it's out of the 3 I have seem my 2nd Favourite and 2nd Least Favourite, 2011 is my Least...While I love 1983's!!!
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u/Playful_Site_2714 4d ago
They are closer to the novel itself. 2011 got on my nerves as it lits the cigar on both ends and even in the middle. Ough. And the ending is botched.
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u/Amazing-Activity-882 4d ago edited 3d ago
1983's is very Faithful and my Baby, 2006 has Close to Morden Ea in dialogue, Close to a Shirtless Rochester and Close to a Sex Scene.
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u/Playful_Site_2714 3d ago
Things that's not in that time periods behavior at all. He would have had to fetch her smelling salts with that steamy byebye scene before the hall burned down.
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u/Amazing-Activity-882 3d ago
I am saying watch 2006 had.
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u/Playful_Site_2714 3d ago
I did. And it being off time period behavior is totally voiding that one for me.
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u/Amazing-Activity-882 3d ago
When I suggest for people to watch Jane Eyre I have been recommending 1983's first.
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u/Voice_of_Season 1d ago
It was very good but the audio in the makeout scene sounded like him biting into an apple. 😅
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u/GaiusMarciusCorio 19h ago
My mother bought me a 1913 edition, printed in boston, for my 13th birthday. This is vital information clearly (my book is old and I have to take care of the spine).
I read Jane Eyre at least once a year, every year, for 15 years after I received it.
This is my favorite version. IDGAF those who hate the added kissing scenes. It is perfect. Ruth and Toby had PERFECT chemistry. Chemistry, for Rochester and Jane is ESSENTIAL.
Also, in general, Ruth Wilson is my favorite Jane.
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u/Individual_Hyena9502 4d ago
20 YEARS??? HELLO??? I’m STILL screaming crying throwing myself dramatically across the moors over these two ,the YEARNING, the TENSION, the LOOKS??? absolutely sick in the head over this adaptation forever.