Wuthering Heights - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Wuthering Heights



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Oh boy, to say that this is going to be a controversial film is an understatement. I’m not the biggest Emily Bronte fan, but I’m well versed in her novels as I have a wife who is an absolute addict for that generation of Victorian literature, and have seen everything from Emma, to Sense & Sensibility to every version of Jane Eyre imaginable. So I was prepared for a pretty typical Victorian period piece romance until I noticed that it was directed by Emerald Fennell, who caught my attention years ago for her highly entertaining revenge story that was A Promising Young Woman. Saltburn was a bit of a drop from form for her, but she kept up her moniker of being aggressive in pushing boundaries, so I was still curious. Luckily my wife went to the theater and warned me what I was in for, otherwise the sticker shock from this one would have been pretty legendary.

Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights is Emily Bronte in name only. She took the bare bones elements of Heathcliff and Cathy’s whirlwind romance and just put in the blender with elements of 50 Shades of Gray and “Morning Glory Milking Farm” and hit frappe. According to several interviews Emerald decided not to make a carbon copy retelling of the story, but simply “base it off the feelings I had when I read it at 14 years old” (whiiiiiiiiiiiich, kind of explains a lot. Especially if she was a 14 year year old without any understanding of the literature itself). Needless, to say, this is going to be a highly interpretive and personal retelling by Ms. Fennell, and one that is going to excite some viewers, but polarize a lot more of them in the opposite direction (of which I obviously was one of them).

Wuthering Heights deals with young Catherine (Cathy) Earnshaw (Margo Robbie) and the vagabond boy Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi). Cathy is raised by her abusive father (Martin Clunes) and a lone housekeeper, victim to his bouts of rage and emotional abuse that he heaps on everyone within ear distance. Probably the only good thing he has every done in his life was bring home an orphaned vagabond boy that Cathy names Heathcliff. And using her father’s manipulative tactics, she sort of takes him on as a pet project. Teaching him to read and write, and eventually bonding him to her. But, as life often does, things get in the way and two childhood “friends” drift apart and move on despite their obvious attraction to each other. Heathcliff to a new life he had never dreamed of, Mr. Earnshaw to an early grave due to booze, and Cathy into marriage with a man she doesn’t really love. But with all of these period piece dramas, their paths will cross once more, culminating in bitter rivalry, hate, and lustful passion in a truly Gothic ending.

Whether you’ve made up your mind or not about Wuthering Heights from my opening two paragraphs, you’re in for a visual treat of a film outside of the obvious changes to the source material, you’re in for a visual treat as this is a GORGEOUS looking film. Fennell utilizes a lot of classic film aesthetics and a more gritty and visually accurate period piece look for her film. And the film is nothing short of a virtual fire house of visual titillation. Colors, boards, the lovers staring at each other with heaving chests. It all visually overwhelms the viewer with an intensity that rivals the young lovers lustful passion for each other. Metaphors and visual allegories are literally everywhere in the film, ranging from the hanging at the beginning, to even flowers used for certain romantic scenes. Visually, I was absolutely enthralled by the film, and at times, I actually forgot how repulsed I was by the rest.

Now, I must say that I’m not repulsed by gratuitousness, or lasciviousness. I’m almost desensitized to that type of thing having grown up with 80s and 90s horror, and erotic thrillers of the 90s and early 2000s. It’s just that this isn’t that well done. Those joking winks and nods to 50 Shades of Gray and “Morning Gory Milking Farm” (if you don’t know what that is, don’t look it up. I’m trying to save your sanity) were not really jokes. Wuthering Heights plays out a like romance novel, where everything is seen through the eyes of how our two main characters are. This is the kind of film meant to titilate some, while repulse others, and then drown in a veritable barrage of visuals. The story is basically a Nina Bangs Harlequin romance novel wearing the skin of Emily Bronte’s famous novel. I’m sure some people liked this as the reviews have either loved or hated it, but I obviously fall into the “hate” category. Don’t get me wrong, the use of visual effects and Fennell’s use of allegorical and metaphorical visuals is amazing. But past that…..nah, this ain’t it dawg. This isn't The Bride bad, but it's not THAT far off either.




Rating:

Rated R for sexual content, some violent content and language.




4K Video: Video:

The film supposedly cost a massive $80 million to produce, and every SINGLE dollar seems to shown on screen. The 1.85:1 framed flick is absolutely massive in scope, with incredible visuals from just about every angle. There is a depth of lighting, framing, and vicious juxtaposition of colors throughout the product. One scene can look bright and cheery, with bright green lawns, a white wedding dress, and the pink and red of roses surrounding the wedding set. Then in another we’re awash with shadows and a deep blue and woody tone as Heathcliff and Cathy attempt to stay warm. Black levels are sickeningly deep and inky, showing off every ounce of fine detailing that you could possible imagine. Period piece costumes pop off the screen, and both skin tones and contrast are spot on. Simply put, this is one of the few films of 2026 that I can enthusiastically give a 5/5 rating for the video.









Audio:

To match the perfect scoring for the video, the dolby Atmos track packs a SERIOUS punch. From the opening scene with the hanging you know you’re in for a treat, with rambunctious LFE, intensely active surround channels, and overheads that allow for a good sense of ambiance to bleed in over the top of us. Dialog is crystal clear and thet mains do a great job shifting a lot of the more discrete sounds (such as a chair scraping from one end of the room to the other, or the vicious snapping of fire wood as it burns) across the sound stage, and the dynamic range is surprisingly wide. Especially for what I would consider a talky type film.












Extras:

• Audio Commentary by Writer/Director/Producer Emerald Fennell
• Threads of Desire (6:49) - Jacqueline Durran brings Emerald Fennell's imagined Gothic world to life through costume. Cathy's evolving silhouettes unfold in clear acts, while Heathcliff's transformation and the ensemble's distinct looks reveal emotion, status, and obsession.
• The Legacy of Love and Madness (5:32) - Emerald Fennell reflects on her lifelong bond with Wuthering Heights and the hidden depravity of the Victorian era, reimagining Emily Brontë's tale through emotion, memory, and desire to create an epic love story for a new generation.
• Building a Fever Dream (12:07) - An in-depth look at how Emerald Fennell built a world that feels alive. Where design, sound, and performance fuse into one hypnotic vision of love, madness, and creation. The making of a living, breathing fever dream.

Final Score: ​

If you couldn’t tell by now, I wasn’t a wild fan of Wuthering Heights. I certainly saw some redemption in Fennell’s exquisite use of visuals to mold the story and draw the viewer’s attention, but at the end of the day her attempt at being edgy and controversial with some classic literature just falls flat. In fact, it never got high enough to actually fall at all. It reads as an edgy attempt at trying to make Emily Bronte’s novel into something more akin to a Harlequin romance novel just to prove that she could. I honestly loved A Promising Young Woman when it came out years ago, and mildly enjoyed Saltburn. But this just repulsed me on most fronts. Warner’s 4K UHD disc is stunning, with picture perfect video and amazing aduio, as well as decent array of extras. Fans of the film will love this disc, while everyone else is going to want to skip it.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Martin Clunes
Directed by: Emerald Fennell
Written by: Emily Bronte, Emerald Fennell
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French, Spanish DD 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner Bros
Rated: R
Runtime: 136 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 5th, 2026

Recommendation: Skip It