"Heiress" was filmed in 1949 and adapted from Henry James' famous book "Washington Square".
The original novel has carried out an extremely profound analysis of the relationship between father and daughter, family ethics, family love and human nature. This is not a love story, but a story that exposes the truest human nature.
I have watched both the original and two versions (49 and 97) movies, and I prefer the original and 97 movies.
The 49th edition (that is, this edition) has several flaws.
First, the beginning of the movie did not explain that Catherine's mother died after giving birth.
And this matter is actually very important. Without mentioning this matter, the audience could not understand why the father was so contemptuous and cruel to Catherine (because he felt that his daughter killed his wife, so he has always been very dissatisfied and contemptuous of his daughter, which is the source of her daughter’s life tragedy)
Second, the plot developed too fast in the first half of the movie. Many details are not explained.
For example: How did Morris deliberately please Catherine; how her father obstructed their love; and, how many gunpowder talks between her father and Morris, that was the most exciting point in the original work, but unfortunately they didn’t show up. .
Third, the biggest failure of this film is the ending. At the end of the original, Morris came to Catherine again, hoping to repair the old with her.
But Catherine had already let go of this relationship, and she calmly told him that she was doing well now and didn't want to be disturbed. Morris knew that he was wrong and walked away in despair.
At the end, Catherine saw through the warmth and coldness of human relationships, family love is nothing but a disguise, only benefits are real. At this time, she was already very mature, and she was relieved of the disappointed Han Morris.
There is no love or hatred in her heart.
At the end of the 49th edition, Catherine actually played Morris with a tooth for a tooth, making Morris happy, and finally was so angry that he only knew to smash the door of Catherine's house.
This kind of ending completely deviated from the spirit of the original and lowered the style of the masterpiece.
If Catherine had such a strong vengeance, she would not be happy in the future. At the end of the original work, after Catherine refused Mosley's courtship, she felt very calm, and then went to embroider, her heart felt like water stopped.
This pattern is much stronger than revenge.
In contrast, she prefers the end of the 97th edition. Catherine played the piano with her children in the mansion. She let go of all her grievances and felt relieved.
I was very moved when I saw the 97 edition at the beginning of this year. That's why I bought the original book. Unfortunately, the resources for this version of the movie are no longer available on the Internet.
I would like to ask, if I see a good movie in the future, do I have to download it from the hard disk first?
Otherwise, I don't know which day, a good movie will suddenly disappear from the Internet "magically".
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