Lockwood then falls asleep and has a nightmare about a fanatical preacher leading a violent mob.
He then wakes up, hears that a sound in his dream had really been a branch rubbing against the window, and falls asleep again. The raging storm outside continues to add to the tension in this scene. This time he dreams that he wanted to open the window to get rid of the branch, but when he did, a "little, ice-cold hand" grabbed his arm, and a voice sobbed "let me in." He asked who it was, and was answered: "Catherine Linton. I'm come home, I'd lost my way on the moor." Special effects are used to make a fairly realistic looking ghost. Lockwood then screams but does not really sound as if he is truly scared. This is one of the criticisms in this production, which in my opinion is sometimes let down by bad acting.
After Lockwood has run away he finds Heathcliff standing with a candle. The candle lights up half of Heathcliff’s face and the other half is darkened by the shadows. This creates a contrast in colour and could also be perceived as showing the two sides of Heathcliff’s personality. The dark side is when he is violent and ill tempered, but he can also be romantic and pure, represented by the light side.
Lockwood tells him what happened, mentioning the dream and Catherine Linton's name, which distresses and angers Heathcliff. Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff shows his anger well in this scene.
At the end of this scene there is a long shot of Lockwood on the moors. This gives an impression of isolation about Wuthering Heights. The narrator has a sinister voice when this scene fades into the next one, which creates a feeling of uneasiness. It also gives a sense that that the scene hasn’t quite finished yet, which is true because it is repeated again at the end of the film.
An explanation for the repetition of the ghost scene could be to make the film have a circular feeling to it. By revisiting the scene the viewer will be able to find out what happened to Cathy’s ghost. It would also keep the viewer interested because they would perhaps be wondering why it is being shown again. It is also interesting because it is from Heathcliff’s perspective instead of Lockwood’s, which shows another side to the story. When the scene is shown for the first time the viewer might not understand what it means, but when it is shown again they will.
In Peter Kosminsky’s colour version of Wuthering Heights the ghost scene is repeated at the end. It is not repeated in the novel by Emily Brontë, so Kosminsky has clearly repeated it in order to bring more originality to the film.
There are several differences between the ghost scene at the beginning of the film, and the ghost scene at the end. The most important is that the end scene is viewed from Heathcliff’s perspective. This means that the viewer does not see everything that Lockwood saw all over again, which would make this scene predictable. Instead, the viewer is introduced to the scene with Heathcliff asleep on a bed, followed by Lockwood’s scream after he has seen the ghost. The scream sounds a lot more terrified this time around, which could be because it seems more sudden than before, or because the storm is the only other noise. It could also be because Lockwood sounds more distant, as the viewer hears the scream from Heathcliff’s point of view.
Heathcliff is awoken by the scream and goes to find out what it was, as in the scene from Lockwood’s point of view. When he does he says the line “you should not have gone in their” as in the previous scene. But this time he doesn’t sound as convincing, because of the lack of anger in his voice and his face. In fact he sounds as if he is more frightened than angry, which is poor acting by Ralph Fiennes, unless he has been told to sound that way by the director. In either case, it probably wouldn’t work as well as if he is as angry as he was in the first ghost scene.
Cathy is by Heathcliff’s side, and she looks more innocent than before. In the first ghost scene the viewer sees Lockwood enter the room, but this time he is already there when Heathcliff and Cathy arrive. This could be a reason why Cathy doesn’t look as sinister because in the first scene she sees Lockwood come out of the room having looked at all her books, but in the second scene the ghost has come from the shutters. The ghost is not as frightening coming from the shutters as it is when the branch turns into the ghost’s arms. This is because the latter is more shocking and has a degree of surprise.
As Heathcliff walks towards the door to meet Cathy the camera doesn’t follow him. He walks away from the camera, which is in a fixed position. This gives an impression that he is finally walking away from Wuthering Heights, and all the people he knew to meet his true love. Heathcliff walks very slowly to enhance the importance of the moment, and the familiar music has the same effect. The same tune throughout the production is very effective, because it is a tune that can be used to create a variety of different moods. In this instance, it is calm and relaxing because of the sentimentality of the moment, but it is also unsettling because it increases in pitch and volume.
In the last image by the tree all the rocks are blurred as if it is a dream, which is a clever effect by the cameraman. Throughout the film Heathcliff has been wearing very dark clothes which portray an evil nature, but in the last image he is wearing white, as if he has been purified and is now allowed to join Cathy. This makes a very fitting end to the film because the two main characters are reunited at last.
The ghost scene in Lawrence Olivier’s version of Wuthering Heights is obviously not as technically advanced as in Peter Kosminsky’s, but it is different in that it tries to convey a happier atmosphere. The focus is on a romantic feel rather than supernatural and frightening.
The main difference to the atmosphere in this version is the weather. The thunder and lightening in the colour version successfully create the evil atmosphere intended, but in the black and white version there is a pretty snowstorm reminiscent of a Disney film.
The music is entirely different, and also sounds like something out of a Disney film. This is because it has a lot of string and wind instruments playing, almost like an orchestra. The music helps to create a blissful atmosphere, which is seen through the actors. It doesn’t build any tension but it doesn’t need to because the atmosphere is relaxing. The actors are not especially scared by the ghost, although that maybe a result of outdated acting.
When Lockwood is looking in through the bars of the window the camera focuses onto his face as if someone is looking back at him. This is a clever shot because it gives the impression that something is there without the viewer actually seeing anything.
This effect is used again when Heathcliff is looking out through the windows at the end of the scene. The camera alternates between Heathcliff looking out and something else looking in which gives a two-way perspective. The snowstorm and the music are calming so although Heathcliff is upset when looking out of the window, the scene does not have any tension.
