Too much of everything

Fresh and Exciting

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The Return of the Native (1994) (TV) was directed by Jack Gold. Many of us read Return of the Native in high school. That's because it's a great novel. Hallmark has given us a rendition that's faithful to the text.The plot takes place on Egdon Heath, which--even in 1878--was still a wild and primitive location. The people who live there have not shed off their pagan past. Some still believe in witchcraft. In fact, Eustacia Vye (Catherine Zeta-Jones), is thought to be a witch by some of the locals. Not only is Zeta-Jones an excellent actor, but her exotic beauty is perfect for this part.Clive Owen plays the seducer Damon Wildeve, Ray Stevenson plays the learned Clym Yeobright, who loses his vision so that he can't read. Chaire Skinner plays Thomasin, who is kind and gentle--everything that Eustacia isn't. Steven Mackintosh portrays Diggory Venn, an enigmatic reddleman. (Reddle is a red dye used to mark sheep.) I think acting honors go to Dame Joan Plowright, as Clym Yeobright's mother. Dame Joan is perfectly cast as the mother who sees her son taking the wrong path, and is helpless to stop him.This film will work better in a theater than on the small screen, even though it was made for TV. However, we saw it at home, on VHS, and it was still wonderful. When a classic novel is turned into an excellent movie, you don't want to miss it. Seek out this film and watch it. You won't be disappointed.

This is what happens when you try to turn a richly detailed 400 page book into a 100 minute made-for-TV Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. Needless to say, much is lost. The script ignores Hardy's lush narrative and substitutes expedient blather. Characters aren't developed so they come across as shallow and one-dimensional. Wildeve's passion for Eustacia is portrayed (to cite one example) as simple lust. In the book, his feelings are more complex."As for Wildeve, his feelings are easy to guess. Obstacles were a ripening sun to his love, and he was at this moment in a delirium of exquisite misery. To clasp as his for five minutes what was another man's through all the rest of the year was a kind of thing he of all men could appreciate."Because of time constraints, events are compressed, condensed and in some cases simply deleted. The subject of Thomasin's and Clym's inheritance (and an associated lengthy and amusing gambling sequence) is completely ignored. Worse yet, Mrs. Yeobright's attempted reconciliation with her daughter-in-law, her long, torturous and dramatic journey to her son's house and back, and the subsequent repercussions, are given absurdly brief and unconscionably unfaithful treatments. Thus, the arguably most important episode in the novel, the one that precipitates all of the ensuing tragedy, is glossed over in the movie. The (strangely well-lit) climactic storm sequence was also botched.As for the acting, I thought that Catherine Zeta-Jones as Eustacia Wye and Clive Owen as Damon Wildeve were actually pretty good given what they had to work with. Of course I might not have been so charitable with CZJ if she looked more like, say, Roseanne Barr. Steven Mackintosh succeeds in capturing the quiet dignity of the Diggory Venn character. Everyone else was pretty much forgettable except for Ray Stevenson who was awful as Clym Yeobright.Another positive – good scenery, reasonably faithful to Hardy's (extensive) description of Egdon Heath.

I chose this video because of it's historical flavor and the choice of actors. Unfortunately, neither of the two were very interesting. Not having read the book I was totally lost for the first 20 minutes or so. The story just moved so slowly and didn't keep my attention. Catherine Zeta-Jones gave a very poor performance and I was very disappointed. Joan Plowright came through, as usual, but still a little subdued. The whole thing was very subdued and sluggish. If you are looking for a movie with no nudity or language this will do. Also, if you are studying this book in school I am sure you would find this video helpful. Otherwise, I do not recommend this video.

This romance drama was marvelous. Considering it was on tv I thought it was wonderfully done. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays the gorgeous Eustacia Vye, who is in search of romance. She plays the part very well and looks gorgeous as usual. Highly recommend.Superb!!!